Here are 25 Interesting Facts About Human Blood.
1-5 Interesting Facts About Human Blood
1. After needing 13 liters of blood for a surgery at the age of 13, a man named James Harrison pledged to donate blood once he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen, which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood a record 1,000 times and saved 2,000,000 lives. – Source
2. A Green Bay Packers fan used to donate blood often to afford tickets to games. He learned later on that he had a potentially fatal blood disease that was preventable through blood donation. He had unknowingly been saving his life the entire time. – Source
3. In the late 90s, Saddam Hussein commissioned a Quran to be written in his own blood. Now, Muslim leaders aren’t sure what to do with it–To write the Quran in blood was a sin, but to destroy it would also be a sin. – Source
4. George Washington was bled to death by doctors, who were treating him for a cold. Bloodletting was a common medical practice in those times in order to remove “dirty blood,” when in reality it only weakens the patient. Half or more of his blood was removed within a few hours. – Source
5. In 2004, a rapist fooled DNA tests by surgically implanting a tube filled with blood in his arm and tricking the laboratory technician into having a blood sample taken from it – Source
6-10 Interesting Facts About Human Blood
6. In Japan, blood type is believed to be an indicator as to one’s personality, creating a market for blood type themed goods (condoms, drinks, books). The belief is so prevalent that the Japanese version of Facebook has a “Blood Type” drop down option for profiles. – Source
7. Gregory Scarpa, Sr. of the Colombo crime family despised African-Americans so much, that he refused to get blood from a blood bank following an ulcer. He ended up contracting HIV from another Italian mobster, who donated his blood to Scarpa. – Source
8. Bayer sold HIV and Hepatitis C contaminated blood products, which caused up to 10,000 people in the U.S. alone to contract HIV. After they found out the drug was contaminated, they pulled it off the U.S. market and sold it to countries in Asia and Latin America, so they could still make money. – Source
9. 1.3 million pints of donated blood spoil every year since blood only has a 40-day shelf life. – Source
10. It was a tradition in Ireland that if you donated a pint of blood, they’d give you a pint of Guinness to replace the iron. – Source
11-15 Interesting Facts About Human Blood
11. Paper cuts hurt so badly because paper does more microscopic damage to the skin, and there often isn’t blood to protect nerves afterwards. – Source
12. Your nose runs when it’s cold because the blood vessels in the nose get more blood to keep it warm. This causes the blood vessels to dilate and they produce more mucus. – Source
13. In 2007, a team of Canadian surgeons got a shock when the patient they were operating on began shedding dark greenish-black blood. It was later attributed to the migraine medication he was taking. – Source
14. Wheelchair athletes with spinal injuries will sometimes intentionally injure themselves on the lower body (e.g. break a toe), causing their bodies to respond by raising blood pressure and enhancing their performance. This practice has been banned as cheating. – Source
15. The human cornea extracts oxygen directly from the air. It has no blood supply. – Source
16-20 Interesting Facts About Human Blood
16. Blood banks gave thousands of people AIDS in the 1980s, even after the CDC confirmed that the virus was blood borne, because it was not cost effective to screen the blood. – Source
17. Pus is just white blood cells that died fighting off infection. – Source
18. There is about 0.2 milligrams of gold in our bodies, most of which is in our blood. – Source
19. Scientists have developed a way to get oxygen into the blood without the lungs. – Source
20. Because blood only has a shelf life of approximately 42 days, after 9/11 and the flood of blood donations, the Red Cross had to throw out all of the surplus blood, and experienced a shortage. – Source
21-25 Interesting Facts About Human Blood
21. Mosquitoes prefer blood type O to any other. – Source
22. Among other things, the Presidential state car features a blood bank of the President’s blood type in the trunk. – Source
23. The football (soccer) player Cristiano Ronaldo has no tattoos so that he can donate blood twice a year – Source
24. Corn starch (a common thickening agent in foods), will spike your blood sugar level faster than pure sugar. – Source
25. Ancient Egyptian kings would avoid drinking wine because of its resemblance to blood, believing that it was the blood of those who battled the gods and lost – which is why drinking it temporarily drove people out of their senses and made them a little crazy. – Source
