Blood has been called the river of life because it carries oxygen and nutrients throughout your body. Blood is essential to life, a precious gift that you can share as a volunteer donor.
Blood may be transfused as whole blood or as one of its many components. Up to four components may be derived from one unit of blood. These include:
- red blood cells
- plasma
- platelets
- cryoprecipitated antihemophilic factor (AHF)
Since patients seldom require all of the components of whole blood, it makes sense to transfuse only that portion of blood needed by the patient for a specific condition or disease, saving the remaining components of the blood for other patients in need. This treatment, referred to as "blood component therapy," allows several patients to benefit from one unit of donated whole blood. Improvements in cell preservative solutions over the last 15 years have increased the shelf life of red blood cells from 21 to 42 days.
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