If you have a blood transfusion how long does it take to process the foreign blood out of your body?

I'm writing a sci fi story where a genetically engineered virus was made using the blood of one of the targeted ethnicities. The catch is the person whose blood was experimented on had just had a blood transfusion for a prior accident and therefore the virus doesn't hit the right target.

I just need to know how long the 'wrong' blood would have stayed in the person's bloodstream before all traces of it were gone.

Thanks!

'Blood' is a complicated substance. It is often described as an organ, just like a kidney or a spleen.

The parts of 'blood' that a virus could 'target' are the cells it contains. Viruses enter cells and transform the production processes inside, so that the cell becomes a 'factory' for new virus. this process wil continue until the cell runs out of fuel, or is identified by the immune system and destroyed. Some viruses (such as HIV) invade 'white' cells belonging to the immune system.

Different cells have different lifespans; some are variable according to their function. Red blood cells are usually listed as surviving for about 100 days, but damaged cells are removed from circulation fairly rapidly. When cells are destroyed, some of the material is usually retained for recycling, so 'foreign' material can become a permanent part of the host body.

Try:

http://anthro.palomar.edu/blood/default....

for basic information, or websearch the term 'blood components'.

I think it's about 6 weeks.

Red blood cells - about 120 days, and white blood cells anything from 3 days to 3 weeks.

i was giving a blood transfushion when i was born

im still alive : - )