What is blood?

Blood is the special fluid in your body made up of cells and liquid. Blood flows through your body helping deliver important stuff to keep you healthy. Here are some of the things blood does:

• Removes waste materials produced by cells in your body
• Distributes special chemicals, called hormones, which coordinate the body's growth and development
• Fights harmful bacteria and viruses         
• Carries oxygen and nutrients to millions of cells, which are the tiny building blocks of the body
• Spreads warmth
• Seals wounds and repairs injuries

What is in blood?

Blood is made up of five major parts.

1. Platelets are the construction workers in your blood. They throw themselves into wounds, grab onto each other using a sticky substance called fibrin and make a seal (or a scab) to stop bleeding and keep germs out.
2. Red blood cells are constantly loading and unloading. It takes less than a second for a red blood cell to unload its cargo of oxygen and pick up a load of carbon dioxide waste in its place.  
3. Plasma is the liquid part of your blood and makes up about 55 percent of the volume of your blood. It transports and delivers blood cells, nutrients and important messengers called hormones throughout the body.
4. Stem cells in your bones give birth to new red blood cells. In the second it takes to blink your eyes, more than a million new cells are born and old cells are replaced.
5. White blood cells can leave the blood vessels that transport them. They move freely among the body's cells seeking out and destroying germs. These germ fighters are essential to keeping you healthy.
    

Who gives blood?

Anyone who is 17 years old or older (16 year olds can, too, with parental permission), weighs at least 110 pounds and is in good health can be a blood donor.

Where do you give blood?

People give blood either at one of four Kentucky Blood Center (KBC) donor centers (Lexington-Beaumont, Lexington-Andover, Somerset or Pikeville) or at a blood drive at work, school or church. KBC has more than 2,000 blood drives every year!
 

Does everyone have the same blood?

No. Everyone has a different blood type. There are four main blood types.

1. Type A
2. Type B
3. Type AB
4. Type O

A, B and O are called antigens. Everyone’s blood has at least one of these antigens, but there are over 600 other antigens that make up your blood, too, so everyone’s blood type is pretty unique!
 

Who has which type of blood?

• 45% of people have type O
• 40% of people have type A
• 10% of people have type B
• 5% of people have type AB

Why give blood?

Every two seconds, someone somewhere in Kentucky needs blood, and you never know when you or someone you know might need it.

KBC needs 400 volunteers each day to give blood. Only blood from volunteers can be given to a sick patient. And, some patients need a lot of blood to live.

There is no substitute for human blood. It cannot be produced in a laboratory. It must be donated by people.
 

How can I help?

The Elementary School Super Hero program is designed just for kids to get involved in blood donation nation! Kids who join the KBC Super Hero program become leaders at their school, learn what it takes to get volunteers to donate blood and get a cool Super Hero water bottle and other awards for their efforts.
 

Scout the Bloodhound

Scout the Donor Dog is a friendly bloodhound, who likes to sniff out blood donors. As the eight-foot tall KBC mascot, Scout can be seen walking in parades, giving hugs and high fives at community events and encouraging donors at blood drives.

Although Scout can’t talk, he always has a handler with him who can answer your questions about being a blood donor or why donating blood is so important.

Scout’s schedule is pretty busy, but if you’d like to invite him to visit your blood drive or community event, click here to make your request and Scout will check his schedule.

 

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