Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 6-10 Subject: Health/Biology

Donating Blood

In the aftermath of the tragic terrorist attack against New York and the Pentagon, thousands of people across the nation and around the world lined up to donate blood. The overwhelming turnout Tuesday and Wednesday brought the nation’s blood supply to above capacity.

At a mobile blood bank in Tampa, Florida, a line of more than 750 people snaked through a parking lot. In Denver, the wait to give blood was six hours. In Phoenix, at least 400 people were turned away because there were too many for personnel to handle. In downtown Dallas, hundreds of people lined up at Reunion Arena to donate blood. The scene was repeated in other Texas cities.

Prior to the attack, the nation's blood supplies were critically low.

The American Red Cross is no longer asking for emergency donations, but instead is asking people to donate in the coming weeks to replenish current inventories.

In this lesson you will learn about blood, blood type, and blood donation.

What is Blood?

Start this week's lesson at the web site of the New York Blood Center and click Blood Facts. From this list of topics, click Blood 101. Here you can read a good introduction to the components of blood: red cells, white cells platelets, and plasma. What do red cells do? What do white cells do? What are platelets for? What does plasma contain?

Return to the Blood 101 page and click Check Your Blood IQ. Answer each question in the quiz by clicking true (T) or false (F). Find out if your answers were correct and read the explanation.

Another good site for learning about the basics of blood is the Puget Sound Blood Center Online. This excellent introduction to Hematology (the science of blood) contains plenty of microscopic images, illustrations, and diagrams. Start by reading What is Blood? and then click Next at the top right of each page to move to the next topic. Where in the body is blood made? What happens when you spin blood in a centrifuge? What is hemophilia and how is it treated? What does hemoglobin do and what kind of blood cells are filled with it?

Blood Type

The blood cells from one person can't just be given to any other person who needs it. There are several different types of blood, each with unique characteristics. The blood type of the recipient needs to match or at least be compatible with the blood type of the donor.

To learn more about blood type visit the Blood Donation pages of the American Red Cross site. The page answers basic questions about blood type, antigens, and rare blood types. Which blood type is the universal donor, and what does that mean? What is the rarest blood type (1% of the population)? What is the most common type?

For more on blood type, visit the McKinley Health Center's Blood Type page. How is blood type inherited? Which blood type is the universal receiver? If you have Type A blood, what types can you receive? If you have Rh- (negative) blood, which Rh can you receive?

To learn specifically about Rh factor, visit Information Please and look up Rh.

Donating Blood

If you have never had the chance to donate blood, it may seem like a scary thing. Don't worry; it's easy and it doesn't really hurt. And you can learn more about the process of donating blood back at the American Red Cross site. Read the Blood Services page about the need for blood donors, and then click the next link down on the left, What to Expect When Donating Blood. How long does the donation usually take? How long does it take for your body to replace the blood and plasma? Who should not donate blood?

Newspaper Activities

Donating blood seems like a simple thing, but it can literally save someone's life. A blood donor is a hero to the person who needs blood. During the past weeks the world has seen and heard news of many ordinary heroes--people bravely doing ordinary jobs who were in fact saving lives.

Look for an article in today's issue of The Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News that features an "ordinary hero". Next, find a photo of another hero and paste it on a separate sheet of paper. Write a short article about what kind of person you think they are, what their hobbies might be, etc. How is their life the same or different than yours?

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