Is a unit of blood actually a quart.
Is it the same world wide.
First off, units of blood (often called pints) are virtually non-existent.
What is drawn by blood banks is between 450-500 cc of whole blood. This is almost always immediately processed & divided into components - plasma, platelet-rich plasma, leukocyte(white blood cell)-rich plasma, and packed red blood cells.
The whole quantity of RBCs in the original 450-500 cc of blood is now in 225-250 cc total volume, making storage easier & allowing the other components to be given to different patients. This maximizes the benefit from a single unit of blood.
I can only speak to standard practice in the US & in Germany, but can’t think of any big reason why there should be any variance in this.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.