How long do white blood cells live for?

Question

I am due for a crucial blood test and want to know if it makes any difference what I do in the days prior to the blood being taken.

Answer 1

Every day, the human body manufactures and destroys about 100 billion neutrophils- the most common type of white blood cell and one of the most highly-produced cells. Neutrophils live about eight hours, are bacteria-eaters and are a key component of the immune system. Without them, the body can be subject to life-threatening infection.

Answer 2

I sort of hate to answer this question because I might encourage you to do something I'd hate to think about. But, since I don't know what you have in mind...there are a lot of different kinds of WBCs and some live a long time. For example, the lymphocyte memory cells are responsible for responding to infections (or inoculations) you've had, and they drift around the body for decades. Others turn over more rapidly, as suggested by the earlier respondent.