Individuals who want to donate whole blood or apheresis must be : At least 16 years old (donors under the age of 17 may only donate whole blood, and must have a signed parental/guardian consent form). At least 19 years old and weigh a minimum of 110 pounds.
Your heart handles blood in much the same way. The heart pumps about 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of blood a day through its chambers. Of Â­course, we're not big enough to hold that much liquid, so it just pumps the same blood over and over, and it doesn't benefit from a drop of it. At least, not initially.
How does my heart pump blood? Your heart is divided into two separate pumping systems, the right side and the left side. The right side of your heart receives oxygen-poor blood from your veins and pumps it to your lungs, where it picks up oxygen and gets rid of carbon dioxide. The left side of your heart receives oxygen-rich blood from your lungs and pumps it through your arteries to the rest of your body. Your heart has four separate chambers that pump blood, two on the right side and two on the left. How does blood flow through the heart? Blood flows through your heart and lungs in four steps: The right atrium receives oxygen-poor blood from the body and pumps it to the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. The right ventricle pumps the oxygen-poor blood to the lungs through the pulmonary valve. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left ...