Do you know what is your blood type? Let’s learn five big blood facts for kids.
There are eight blood cell types, A+, A-, B+,B-, AB+,AB-, O+ and O-. There is both a positive and a negative version of each blood cell type. AB positive is the Universal Recipient, meaning people with AB Positive blood can receive red blood cells from all blood types. O negative is the Universal Donor, meaning anyone can receive the red blood cells from their donations. O positive is the most common blood type in the world, while AB negative is the rarest blood cell type.
This may sound surprising but did you know that your blood contains about 0.2 milligrams of gold. Yes, you heard that correctly, Gold! Our blood also contains other elements such as oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. Gold makes up roughly 0.02% of blood. Although we use gold for aesthetic purposes, for example in jewellery and buildings, our blood uses gold to transmit electrical signals throughout the body and maintain our joints.
We all know that our blood is red, however you may not know that some animals have different colour blood. Besides red blood, some organisms can have blue blood, yellow blood and even green blood. Earthworms and leeches are an example of organisms that have green blood. Sea cucumbers and starfish have yellow blood. Crabs, spiders, snails, and octopuses all have blue blood. Some species of marine worms such as peanut worms have violet blood. Beetles, butterflies and other insects have colourless blood. The colour of blood is determined by the type of respiratory pigment used to transport oxygen through the circulatory system to cells.
Blood carries out many functions for the body and it is an incredibly important fluid that we can’t live without. One of the main functions of blood is to carry oxygen to different parts of the body in order to keep us alive. Blood also transports waste to the liver, kidneys and skin to allow it to be excreted. Our blood regulates our temperature and forms blood clots when we become injured to avoid huge blood loss.
Blood is made up of four different components, plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and each one serves a different function. Essentially our blood is made up of liquid and solids. Plasma is the liquid part of the blood and it is made of water, salts, and protein.
Plasmas make up over half of your blood’s total volume. Its function is to transport nutrients, hormones, and proteins to the parts of the body that need it. The solid part of your blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red Blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. White blood cells help fight infections and platelets prevent and stop bleeding by forming clots.
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