Blood banking is the process that takes place in a laboratory to ensure that the donated blood or blood products are safe before they are used in blood transfusions and other medical procedures.
Blood banking includes typing the blood for compatibility and testing for infectious diseases.
About 40,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day. The number of blood units donated is about 14 million a year. There are approximately eight million volunteer blood donors. About four million patients receive transfusions of blood units each year. Each unit of blood is broken down into components, such as red blood cells, plasma, and platelets.