AmericasBlood.org | May 2022 | Blood Donation | Medical Insurance
U.S. Blood Donation Statistics and Public Messaging Guide
Over 40 verified statistics from published research.
Designed for blood centers, media, and anyone who is generally interested in the current state of blood donations and utilization, this guide is the first of its kind designed to provide the latest look at America’s blood supply and its donors. It uses data curated from published research, credible public sources, and input from industry experts. We encourage readers to use the editable social media graphics contained in this guide that highlight the 13 of the most widely used statistics.
This Guide will be updated annually to reflect the latest statistics.
General Information about Blood and Blood Donation
Q1.1: do blood donations help patients in need?
■ Every donation can help save a life.
■ Each donation can help save or deeply impact more than one life.
Q1.2: How many patients can each blood donation help?
■ One donation can help two or more patients in need. Each donation can be separated into more than one blood product including but not limited to red blood cells, plasma, and platelets.
■ Some donations result in two or three of the same type of product, just more doses for patients (e.g., double red blood cells, plasma from automation, or platelets from automation).
■ Each traditional whole blood donation can be separated into different blood product components in the lab (red blood cells and plasma) and depending on the amount of time from donation to the lab, additional products can be made such as platelets and cryoprecipitate which are used in cancer treatment and heart surgeries.
Q1.3: How many blood centers are there in the U.S.? How much do they collect?
According to the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Blood Establishment Registration database1, there are 53 community blood centers and 90 hospitalbased blood centers in the U.S. Independent, community blood centers collect approximately 60
percent of the nation’s blood supply and the American Red Cross collects approximately 40 percent.
Q1.4: How often can individuals donate blood in the U.S.?
Individuals can donate whole blood no more than once in eight weeks.
Individuals can donate platelets (apheresis donation) as much as twice in a seven-day period — or up to 24 times in a rolling 12 months.
Individual blood centers may apply additional policies.
Q1.5: How many pints of blood do people have in their body?
An average adult has about 10.5 pints of blood in their body.
Q1.6: What is the prevalence of each blood type among the U.S. population?
The approximate distribution of blood types in the blood donor population is as follows.
Distribution may be different for specific racial and ethnic groups and in different parts of the country.
TABLE: PREVALENCE OF BLOOD TYPE 7 BLOOD TYPE PREVALENCE HOW COMMON IS YOUR BLOOD?
O Rh-positive 39% 1 in 2.5
O Rh-negative 7% 1 in 11
A Rh-positive 32% 1 in 3
A Rh-negative 6% 1 in 17
B Rh-positive 11% 1 in 11
B Rh-negative 2% 1 person in 50
AB Rh-positive 4% 1 person in 25
AB Rh-negative 1% 1 person in 100
