Article (Transfusion -- March 8, 2012): The United States Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Study: Evidence for Vector-borne Transmission of the Parasite That Causes Chagas Disease Among United States Blood Donors.
The ALS Association says the average lifespan of someone diagnosed with the condition is between two and five years. More than 50 percent make it past year three. Twenty percent make it past year five. From there, the number plummets. Less than 5 percent make it past two decades.
Most people develop ALS between the ages of 40 and 70, with the average age being 55, but there are some cases of people getting ALS in their 20s and 30s. Last summer, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge brought $115 million in donations to help continue the battle to find a cure for the life-ending disease. Navy veteran Lt. Cmdr. Matt Bellina was 30 when he got the official diagnosis he had ALS.