Microbiology: A Systems Approach 4th Edition by Marjorie Kelly Cowan

Exercise 4

Donations Accepted
According to 2012 statistics from the American Red Cross, every 2 seconds someone needs donated blood, and more than 44,000 units of blood are needed every day. On average, a patient needing a blood donation requires 3 pints of blood, and a car accident victim can require up to 100 pints of blood. The average adult has about 10 pints of blood in his or her body. On average, 1 pint of blood is given per donation, so up to 100 donors would be needed to save the life of a car accident victim. Patients with cancer, organ transplant recipients, and those with other diseases also require blood transfusions.
Four types of products are used from a blood donation: red blood cells; platelets; plasma; and cryoprecipitate, a frozen blood product prepared from plasma. Donors can give whole blood or specific blood components, but any and all donations are desperately needed. Healthy donors, especially those with rare or especially needed blood types, can donate whole blood every 56 days. Red blood cells can be donated every 16 weeks. The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) estimates that 38% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but less than 10% donate. To be eligible to donate blood, a donor must be at least 16 years of age and at least 110 pounds. Supplies of blood fluctuate throughout the year, and blood supplies are especially low during the height of winter months. Regardless of the time of year, the need for donated blood is always critical.
What types of tests are performed on donated blood
Who should not or cannot donate blood
Once blood is donated, it is tested for specific infectious diseases that are transmitted via blood such as
• hepatitis B,
• hepatitis C,
• HIV,
• human T-cell leukemia viruses,
• syphilis,
• West Nile virus, and
• Trypanosoma cruzi.
According to the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), individuals who should not donate blood include
• intravenous drug users;
• men who have had sexual contact with other men since 1977;
• individuals who are HIV positive;
• anyone who has engaged in sex for money or drugs since 1977;
• anyone who has had hepatitis since his or her 11th birthday;
• anyone who has had Chagas disease or babesiosis; and
• anyone who has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), who has a family member with CJD, or who may be at risk for CJD.
Why are gay men or those who may have had exposure to HIV (i.e., intravenous drug users) prevented from donating blood