# What are the consequences of a pint of blood loss

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-of-a-pint-of-blood-loss/290095>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 14, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-of-a-pint-of-blood-loss/290095 "2005-02-14T22:56:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-of-a-pint-of-blood-loss/290095/1 "2005-02-14T22:56:31Z")

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At the plasma center the machine screwed up and I lost a pint of blood. How will this affect me negatively? I am a 6’ male, 257 lbs with a lean body mass (LBM is more metabolically active so it requires more blood, I assume. I know men have 2 more pints than women though) of 191 lbs so I assume I have about 12-14 pints total since the average male has 10-12 pints.

So will one pint make a difference? How long until I make another pint?

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**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-of-a-pint-of-blood-loss/290095/2 "2005-02-14T23:04:30Z")

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Unlikely to impact on a healthy person of your size in any significant way. Push fluids to be sure. If you bled it out suddenly over a few seconds in front of your own eyes, you might have a significant drop in blood pressure, but if it was due to plasmaphereisis, it’s unlikely.

Did you lose the equivalent of a pint of whole blood, packed cells, or plasma?

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-of-a-pint-of-blood-loss/290095/3 "2005-02-14T23:13:21Z")

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The last time I gave blood at the blood center, I asked how much blood is in a typical donation. “Very close to a pint,” was the answer. So, if that’s how much you lost, you are not in trouble at all. It takes a few weeks to replace the platelets and the red and white cells, but the liquid is replaced within a few hours.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-of-a-pint-of-blood-loss/290095/4 "2005-02-15T01:14:06Z")

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Back when I was a blood donor I was literally half your weight and I never noticed the missing pint of whole blood I’d donate each time.

Extra fluids for a couple days, and you’ll shortly replace any lost cells. Like the doc Mercotan said, unlikely to impact you in any significant way.