Outline Worksheet for Informative Speech

Title: Blood of Life
Speaker:
Specific Purpose: At the conclusion of my speech, the audience will know what happens to blood from its’ creation in your own body, to the process of donation and subsequent use in transfusion.
Central Idea: How blood is created in your body, and the process from donation to transfusion.

Introduction I. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines blood as, “the fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of a vertebrate animal carrying nourishment and oxygen to and bringing away waste products from all parts of the body.” II. Blood is the essence of life itself, created in our own bodies, in the bone marrow. III. Blood donation is a relatively simple process that can save lives. IV. We can trace our own blood supply from creation to transfusion; looking at how blood is created and used by the body, how blood is collected and donated, and what happens to it after donation.

Transition: So, let’s get right to the marrow, inside the bones where it all begins.

Body
I. According to the Puget Sound Blood Center, blood is produced by the bone marrow inside your bones. A. Three kinds of blood cells are produced inside the marrow: red blood cells, disease fighting white blood cells, and blood clotting platelets B. From the bone marrow these cells enter the circulatory system, your blood vessels. 1. Here they are suspended in plasma, a watery liquid that makes up over half the total volume of blood. 2. Plasma is actually 90 percent water, which makes drinking your daily dose of h2o all the more important.

C. After the blood is made, it is pumped through your body, carrying oxygen to your cells and picking up waste products to be removed from the body, whilst also helping fight disease, and infections, even minor cuts and bruises.

Transition: Now that your body is busy making blood, and plenty of it, it can be donated.

II. Blood is needed every two seconds. It is estimated that 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but less than 10 percent do so annually. A. So who can donate blood? 1. The answer, according to America’s Blood Centers, is that people who are 16 to 17 years old, depending on what state you live in, who weigh more than 110 pounds, and are in general good health are likely eligible to donate blood.

B. Dr. Jerry Squires of the Medical University of South Carolina described the process of donating in detail in an interview with Dr. Linda Austin, a psychiatrist at the same University. 1. He says, “The first thing the Red Cross or any blood collecting organization is going to do is ask your name, your address, your age; essentially, get some demographic information on you. The second thing they’ll do is ask you a series of questions that relate to, number one, your safety as a donor in giving blood, and, secondly, the safety of that blood that you’re about to donate for patients. The third thing that happens is that they’ll do, I suppose you could call it a mini physical. They’ll check your temperature. They’ll check your pulse. They’ll check your blood pressure. And they’ll check your iron level, or your hemoglobin level, to make sure, since we’re going to remove some of that iron, or some of that hemoglobin, that the Red Cross does not leave you a little anemic as a result of the experience. Once that is done, then you get to donate blood. And, actually, the actual donation process itself takes about five to ten minutes. Once you’re done with that, they ask you to wait around for a little while; drink a soda, drink some juice, have a cookie, and then you can be on your way.” (Squires.)

C. That explains the relative simplicity of the process. America’s blood centers estimate the complete process takes about an hour, with the actual blood donation taking only about 10 minutes.

Transition: Finally, we can talk about where the donated blood goes.

III. What happens to your blood after it leaves your body? A. According to the Red Cross the next step for blood that is being donated is processing, testing, and storing the blood. 1. Donated blood is scanned into a computer database, most blood is then spun in a centrifuge to separate the transfusable components – red cells, platelets, and plasma 2. Blood that’s going to be used for transfusion has to be tested to make sure that it is free from any infectious diseases, sexually transmitted or otherwise. 3. Blood is also tested to see what type it s: A, B, AB, or O. B. After testing, blood is labeled and stored. 1. Red cells are stored in refrigerators at 6 degrees Celsius for up to 42 days 2. Platelets are stored at room temperature in agitators for up to five days. 3. Plasma and Cryo are frozen and stored in freezers for up to one year.

C. The blood of life is then distributed where it is needed. 1. Blood is shipped to hospitals where it is needed, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Conclusion
I. So now we have learned about the journey blood takes.
II. I have successfully told you all the steps blood takes, from creation in your bone marrow, through donation, storage, and up to the process of transfusion.
III. Without realizing it you are making blood right now, and can experience the entire process of donation yourself.

Works Cited

Merriam-Webster. “Blood”. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, 2012. Web. 10/31/2012. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blood Puget Sound Blood Center. “Marrow” Puget Sound Blood Center, 2012. Web. 10/31/2012 http://www.psbc.org/programs/marrow.htm MUSC Health. Dr. Jerry Squires. “Blood Transfusion: Donating Blood.” MUSC, 2012. Web. 10/31/2012 http://www.psbc.org/programs/marrow.htm America’s Blood Centers. “Blood Donor Guidelines.” America’s Blood Centers, 2012. Web. 10/31/2012 http://www.americasblood.org/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=4 Red Cross Blood. “What Happens to Donated Blood?” Red Cross, 2012. Web. 11/1/2012.
http://www.americasblood.org/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=4