Well I used to work in the ICU for children and ran a heart lung machine called ECMO. The pump alone can hold 2-4 units of packed red blood cells, Platelets and Albumin. Some babies can go through a lot of blood quickly. I'm always very thankful to the people that donate and we always made sure we didn't waste the blood we got. Also it doesn't last that long and always needs to be available. Just think, children that are receiving chemo may need blood transfusions or platelets every week or more and these are the healthy ones. The sick ones like the ones I used to see might receive blood two or three times a day. So for all those who donate I thank you and my last motorcycle accident I almost needed blood. My Hct was very low but I was asymptomatic. Lets just hope we have enough people that do donate and don't get pissy when they call. As far as the donation of blood and the red cross charging please.... Ever wonder how much it costs to draw it, separate the blood components, test it, store it, ship it, and to be insured. Those people in their white lab coats aren't cheap.