Blood can be considered as one of the vital components of our body, and it plays several significant functions that helps in the proper working of our body. Often the healthcare providers carry out different analyses concerning blood to determine the root cause of different illnesses. Different parameters associated with the blood, and their corresponding values help in ensuring whether our body, and its organs are working properly or not.
Now, a lot of people might wonder how much blood in human body. Here, we need to keep in mind that the amount of blood that is present in our body might vary from person to person depending upon a wide variety of factors. For instance, the quantity of blood that is present in the body of a child will be significantly lower when compared to that present in the body of an adult.
Loss of blood in excess amounts can lead to severe health concerns. Sometimes, it can also put your life at risk. Here, we will also be going through some important aspects related to blood loss, and its impacts upon the patient. So, without wasting further time, let’s dive straight into our discussion regarding the amount of blood present in the human body.
Know how much blood in human body
When it comes to the volume of blood in our body, the exact quantity might vary significantly from one individual to another. This value depends upon a number of factors such as age, size, gender, etc. Here, we will be going through the amount of blood that is present in the body in different cases.
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Babies
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It should be noted that the babies that are born full-term usually have about 75 mL of blood per kg of body weight.
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This means, if a baby weighs around 8 pounds then he or she will have around 270 mL of blood in the body. This will be equal to about 0.07 gallons of blood.
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Children
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The weight of an average child is about 80 pounds.
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So, in that case, if we calculate accordingly, then an average child will have about 2,650 mL of blood in the body. This will be equal to about 0.7 gallons of blood.
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Adults
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The weight of an average adult lies between 150 to 180 pounds.
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So, if we calculate accordingly, then the quantity of blood in the adult body will lie between 4,500 to 5,700 mL. This will be equal to 1.2 to 1.5 gallons.
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Pregnant women
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The amount of blood in the body of a pregnant woman will be significantly higher when compared to the others. This excess blood helps them to support the growth and development of their babies.
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As per reports, during pregnancy the women will have about 30 to 50 percent more blood volume when compared to the ones who are not pregnant.
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Thus, they will have an additional volume of about 0.3 to 0.4 gallons of blood.
Find out how much blood you can donate or lose..
If you are wondering how much blood in human body, then you might also be curious to find out the volume of blood that you can donate or lose. Blood donation is indeed a very noble deed, and it is always encouraged. But, there are a number of points that should be kept in mind if you are intending to donate blood. The first and foremost criteria is the amount of blood that you can donate.
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According to different health organizations, the standard amount of blood that a person can donate is about 1 pint. This is regarded as a very safe amount, and it accounts to about 10% of the total blood that is present in our body.
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It should be kept in mind that after donating the blood, you might experience some dizziness. Some even tend to faint after donating blood, and this is completely normal, and there is nothing to worry about.
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Because of this dizziness, the donation centers will usually ask the people to rest for 10 to15 minutes. The officials at the centers will also insist that they take some refreshments before leaving the donation center.
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However, it should be noted that if a person has an accident or illness, then he or she might lose more blood. Such situations are indeed very serious, and it might lead to shock which can be life threatening.
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When a person loses blood, the body will begin to take the blood towards the vital organs of the body. As a result, the blood flow will be directed away from the skin, fingers, as well as toes.
Maintenance of blood levels in the body
Now that we know how much blood in human body, let’s take a look at the mechanism by which our body maintains the blood levels.
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As we all know, the cardiovascular or circulatory system is responsible for the transportation of the blood across the body. The heart helps in pumping the blood to the different blood vessels.
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Thereafter, these blood vessels assist in delivering blood to the different organs of the body. Through the blood, oxygen and different essential nutrients reach each and every part of our body.
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In addition to the cardiovascular system, there are a number of other organs and systems that play a very important role in maintaining the blood volume. These include the kidneys, skeletal system, and nervous system.
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The kidneys help in regulating the fluid balance of our body. Bone marrow, which is a very important component of the skeletal system, helps in producing blood cells. Lastly, the nervous system helps all the other systems to accomplish their tasks successfully.
Conclusion
So, we have discussed how much blood in human body. As we can see, there are a number of aspects that determine the amount of blood that is present in our body. Hence, the amount of blood in the body of a baby, child, adult, and pregnant woman will be considerably different as mentioned above. We have also gone through the standard amount of blood that an individual can donate or lose, along with the mechanism by which the blood volume is maintained.