13 Things You Should Know About Donating Blood

If you’re healthy and weigh more than 50 kilograms, you’re donor material.

- Anna-Kaisa Walker

1 If you’re healthy and weigh more than 50 kilograms, you’re donor material. Your body contains five litres of blood, and only about 450 millilitres are collected per donation. Plasma can be donated every seven days, platelets every 14 days and blood every eight weeks.

2 As universal donors,those with type O negative blood can save the most lives—but they only make up 6.6 per cent of the population. “flat type has the lowest supply levels,” says Michael Betel, director of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services.

3 It takes two minutes to find out your blood type. Canadian Blood Services holds free blood-typing events across the country.