Blood is made up of tiny cells including:
- White blood cells, which defend your body against germs (like bacteria and viruses) that can make you sick
- Platelets, which help blood clot and protect you from germs
- Plasma, which is the liquid part of the blood that carries blood cells and nutrients (like vitamins and minerals) to all parts of your body
Each of these parts of blood has an important job to do in your body. Red blood cells are the most important ones you get during a transfusion.
- Comes from healthy volunteers who donate their blood at blood drives
- Must be used within a certain number of days after being donated because the cells in the blood live only a short time
- Comes in small bags that contain one pint of blood (also called one unit of blood). Your doctor will decide how many units of blood you will receive during a transfusion
- Can be used by your body right away, which is why you feel better after a transfusion
Transfusions take different amounts of time for different people, depending on a person's age and health condition, the transfusion center or hospital where the transfusion is being given, and how many units of blood are needed.
It can take between 1 to 4 hours per unit of blood. So, for example, if you need 2 units of blood, it might take 2 to 8 hours for a transfusion.
After a person donates blood, the lab carefully checks every unit of blood, using 13 different tests, to make sure it doesn't contain diseases, such as hepatitis C or HIV. After the lab finishes all of the tests, the bag is labeled with the blood type and then it is sent to hospitals and transfusion centers.
Transfusions provide people with healthy red blood cells but also provide extra iron that your body doesn't need. People who have had 10 or more transfusions during their lifetime are at risk for iron overload. You can even have iron overload and still be anemic.
