Q 01/05

Charles Drew, who led the 1940 Blood for Britain plasma drive, condemned which wartime Red Cross practice as unscientific?

A) Segregating donations by race

B) Paying donors for plasma

C) Refusing female donors

D) Reusing collection needles

Answer · why

A) Segregating donations by race

Segregating donations by race replaced an outright ban on Black donors, under which Drew himself could not have given blood to the programme he had he...

Q 02/05

Donated platelets last only about five days because, unlike red cells, they are stored how?

A) In a refrigerator

B) At room temperature

C) In a deep freezer

D) Under liquid nitrogen

Answer · why

B) At room temperature

At room temperature, rocked constantly so they don't clump, platelets are more open to bacterial growth than chilled blood, which is why they have to ...

Q 03/05

Why does blood donation use a large 16- or 17-gauge needle rather than a finer one?

A) To reach deeper veins

B) To reduce bruising

C) To avoid shearing red cells

D) To keep the donor's vein open

Answer · why

C) To avoid shearing red cells

To avoid shearing red cells: forced through a narrow needle, the cells can rupture. The wide bore also lets a pint flow out in about ten minutes.

Q 04/05

According to the American Red Cross, someone in the United States needs blood roughly how often?

A) Every two seconds

B) Every thirty seconds

C) Every two minutes

D) Every ten minutes

Answer · why

A) Every two seconds

Every two seconds, the Red Cross says, and because blood cannot be manufactured, each of those units has to come out of another person's arm.

Q 05/05

What did US blood banks see in the weeks after the September 11 attacks, as after other national disasters?

A) A surplus of donations

B) A shortage of donations

C) Fewer repeat donors

D) Tighter screening rules

Answer · why

A) A surplus of donations

A surplus of donations followed 9/11: far more blood was given than the survivors could use, so an unusually large share of it expired on the shelf an...