People that donate blood are known to be special; this is because they are saving another person’s life. This is why you should also take 1 hour from your busy schedule to donate blood.

Blood donation has been known to be a life-saver for different types of patients such as those with cancer, burns, and individuals with blood disorders. So why not donate blood today and save a life!

In the event that you have donated blood before, this means that you have contributed to the 43,000 pints of blood used daily in the United States and Canada. Based on the information provided by Virginia Blood Services (VBS), each one of those pints can save up to three lives. Children, cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy, as well as those with severe trauma, are known to be the category of patients that are greatly in need of blood donation.

What are the different types of blood?

There are four main types of blood:

• A
• B
• AB
• O

Each of the blood types mentioned above can be positive or negative. Prior to blood transfusion, it is important to make sure that the patient-specific blood types match with the type of blood to be transfused. However, in emergency cases where there is no time to test for the specific blood type of the patient, type O blood can be used; this is due to its compatibility with other blood types such as type A and B.