I donate blood every chance I get, and I’m up to two gallons so far. I know the body produces more naturally, but if I weren’t to donate it, would that blood have just… gone to waste? Does it just break down like our old skin cells and get washed away? How much new blood do we produce in, say, a year?
In: Biology
Your body is constantly breaking down and recycling old red blood cells in the spleen, and your bone marrow is building new ones and kicking them out to the bloodstream.
Blood cells circulate for about 120 days before they’re worn out.
>Does it just break down like our old skin cells and get washed away?
Recycled blood (along with bacteria and indigestible matter) is excreted as feces. There’s no set amount that’s replenished; blood is basically produced as needed, but it can only be produced so fast. If blood is lost faster than replaced then you’d need a transfusion or plasma expander to replace lost volume.
Latest Answers