A single trauma victim may need
as many as 50 units of blood.
Type O Negative blood is the
only universal type; meaning it can be given to persons with
any blood type in life-threatening situations when there is
not time for typing and cross-matching of blood. Only 7% of
the population have Type O negative blood.
Type O positive blood is found
in 38 % of the population. Anyone with a positive blood type
(85 percent of the population) can receive Type O positive blood.
Less than 5 % of healthy Americans
eligible to donate actually donate each year.
Over 95 % of all Americans reaching
age 72 will need blood or a blood product in their lifetime.
