How Much Blood is in the Human Body? Facts and Figures

The amount of blood varies according to age, gender and weight. Here we are telling on the basis of average how much blood is there in which age group -

• Infant: Newborns have about 75 ml of blood per kilogram of weight. For example, if a child weighs about 4 kg, then his body may have about 300 ml of blood.
• Children: On an average, a 36 kg child's body may have about 2,650 ml or 0.7 gallons of blood.
• Adults: Adults can have about 4.5 liters to 6 liters of blood. Its quantity depends a lot on body size, age and gender.
• Pregnant woman: A pregnant woman may have about 30-50 percent more blood than a normal woman to nourish the baby in the womb.

It is important to understand that there is no proper amount of blood in the body. It depends on many things, such as weight, size, gender, food, age, health and even living place. For example, the body of a short and underweight person needs less blood than an older and overweight person of the same age. People living in high altitudes have more blood in their body because the amount of oxygen in the air is less there.

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A hemoglobin test is done to find out how much blood is in a person's body. The normal level of hemoglobin may vary according to age and gender. We are trying to explain this through two tables below -

Men have slightly higher hemoglobin than women. It is measured in grams per deciliter (g/dL) of blood.

Gender Normal hemoglobin level (g/dL)

• Female 12-15 or more
• Male 13-17
• Pregnant female 11-15

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At birth, the hemoglobin level in babies is higher than in adults because they require more oxygen in the womb. After a few weeks of birth, this level gradually decreases and comes to normal levels.

• Age Boy (g/dL) Girl (g/dL)
• Birth to 30 days 13.4-19.9 13.4-19.9
• 31 to 60 days 10.71-17.1 10.71-17.1
• 2-3 months 9.0-14.1 9.0-14.1
• 3-6 months 9.5-14.1 9.5-14.1
• 6-12 months 11.3-14.1 11.3-14.1
• 1-5 years 10.9-15.0 10.9-15.0
• 5-11 years 11.9-15.0 11.9-15.0
• 11-18 years 11.9-15.0 12.7-17.7

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Blood is produced in our body on its own, but due to some reasons, there can be a lack of blood in the body, such as blood donation, period, injury or problems like anemia. Usually our body makes up for the lack of blood, but if there is a lot of blood loss in the body, it can cause problems.

When there is a lack of blood, the body does not get the full and right amount of oxygen. Due to lack of oxygen, various organs of the body and the brain can stop working. This situation can also become life-threatening. The development of the body is also affected due to the lack of nutrients and hormones to reach the organs in the right amount. Some symptoms of low blood level are -

• Rapid breathing
• Weakness
• Difficulty in understanding or confusion
• Pale skin color
• Sweating
• Nervousness
• Fainting

The following types of problems can occur due to lack of blood -

• If there is a 14% decrease in the proper level of blood, there may be a problem of unconsciousness and confusion.
• If there is more reduction than this, one starts feeling nervous.
• When there is a loss of blood up to 30%, the heartbeat becomes about 120 beats per minute and the blood pressure starts falling suddenly.
• A loss of more than 40% blood can be fatal, in which the person can go into a coma or even die.

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There can be many reasons for lack of blood in the body, such as periods, serious injury, illness and cancer etc. Many types of life-threatening conditions can arise when the level of blood decreases, so it is necessary to treat the lack of blood in the body. Also, regular checkups should be done from time to time and attention should be kept on blood pressure, so that the amount of blood can be corrected in time.