# How long is refrigerated human blood good for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314 "2011-05-26T16:33:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/1 "2011-05-26T16:33:46Z")
After reading up on Obamas “beast” it is mentioned that among other things like shotguns and tear gas launchers it houses a supply of his blood. Fair enough they might need his blood for a transfusion if he is ever shot and better to use his blood then trust some hospital for theirs. But my question is how long would it be good for? They must need enough for it to be useful having a small amount probably wouldn’t be useful so it begs the question 1. What is the minimum amount they probably have for it to be useful 2. How often must he “resupply” the stocks ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/2 "2011-05-26T18:05:59Z")
1. In the U.S., one cannot donate more frequently than 56 days. 2. Red blood cells, the most frequently used component, have a shelf life of 35–42 days at refrigerated temperatures. (From Wikipedia\*) 3. 56 \> 35-42 4. Ergo, if there IS a pint of Barack Obama’s blood in The Beast, it cannot be there (and useable) 100% of the time. So, maybe there’s a pint or two of Type O blood, red cells only, in the Beast’s mini-fridge from an allogeneic donor? BTW, where did you get the info in your OP? I’ve never heard of that. - [Blood donation - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_donation) ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/3 "2011-05-26T18:12:02Z")
[http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/01/15/obamas-presidential-limo-revealed-and-its-a-beast/](http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/01/15/obamas-presidential-limo-revealed-and-its-a-beast/) I have seen it mentioned before although when looking for the cite i saw a bbc news story mentioning it only has AB blood type not his actual blood which makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/4 "2011-05-26T18:53:55Z")
As stated above, 42 days is the maximum shelf life for blood that has been preserved with SAGM. It is possible to glycerolize blood and freeze it for years at a time. The disadvantage of this is that it is not easy to get to in an emergency; the blood must be deglycerolized before use, a process that takes some time. For this reason, this process is only really used to store extremely rare blood types. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/5 "2011-05-26T19:22:27Z")
I find that after a week it’s really only good in a stew. Freeze it if you’re not going to use it immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/6 "2011-05-26T19:33:42Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > [TechCrunch | Startup and Technology News](http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/01/15/obamas-presidential-limo-revealed-and-its-a-beast/) > > I have seen it mentioned before although when looking for the cite i saw a bbc news story mentioning it only has AB blood type not his actual blood which makes more sense. Yep. It’s not his blood; it’s blood which has already been cross-matched to ensure compatibility. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/7 "2011-05-26T19:42:35Z")
Wow I’ve never seen a topic here go this long without someone mentioning that that’s not what “[begging the question](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question)” means ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-refrigerated-human-blood-good-for/583314/8 "2011-05-26T19:47:26Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > [TechCrunch | Startup and Technology News](http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/01/15/obamas-presidential-limo-revealed-and-its-a-beast/) > > I have seen it mentioned before although when looking for the cite i saw a bbc news story mentioning it only has AB blood type not his actual blood which makes more sense. If it only has type AB, the POTUS better also be type AB. AB is the universal recipient. It can be fatal to a type A, B, or O recipient.