What is blood and what is it made of?
Blood is a red coloured liquid that flows inside the human body. Each person has between 4 litres and 6 litres of blood. The heart pumps blood to all parts of the body.
Blood is made up of different components. These are red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma.
What is the purpose of blood?
Each component of blood helps the body in a different way. Red blood cells help carry oxygen to every part of the body. They also give blood its red colour.
White blood cells fight germs that enter the body. Platelets play a major role in stopping bleeding. Plasma is the liquid part of the blood which is yellowish in colour and contains water, sugar, etc.
It is very important to have enough blood in the body at all times. Otherwise, the body will not have enough oxygen to survive.
When do people require blood?
There can be many reasons why a person might need blood. For example, a person who has lost a lot of blood due to an accident may require blood urgently. When such things happen, blood may be taken from the body of a healthy person and given to a person in need. This is called a blood transfusion.
Blood transfusion is very simple and can be done in less than one hour. Donating blood saves lives. Blood can only be donated by healthy people between 18 and 65 years of age. All healthy people should be encouraged to donate blood.
