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Donor Questions
Why Give Blood?
About every two minutes, someone in your community needs blood products. When you donate, you usually help more than one person. While your blood donation may be transfused as whole blood, most of the time it is separated into fractions called components and transfused to patients with different needs. Your red cells help anemia, trauma and surgery patients, as well as newborn babies fighting for life in neonatal intensive care units. Your platelets assist cancer patients. Your blood's plasma is greatly needed by victims of shock, severe burns, hemophilia and other causes of major blood loss.
Blood is a living tissue with a limited life span measured in days, so new donations are constantly required.
Who Can Donate?
Most healthy individuals 17 years of age and older (16 years of age with parental consent) and weighing at least 110 pounds can donate blood. People on many kinds of medications are accepted as donors. Our medical staff will need to know the name of your medication, reason prescribed and the dosage you are taking.
How Do I Donate?
Whole Blood Donations
The process is safe and simple. A trained health care specialist will first register you and take a short, confidential medical history. You will also have your temperature taken and your blood pressure, pulse and iron level checked. Once you have been approved as a donor, the specialist will collect the unit of blood, a procedure taking only five to ten minutes. You will feel a slight pinch when the needle is inserted, but this feeling lasts only a second. A new, sterile, disposable needle and collection set are used for each donor, so there is no risk of becoming infected with AIDS or any other infectious disease. Overall, the procedure is both painless and harmless. Afterwards, you will move to the refreshment area to rest and enjoy juice and cookies. You can give blood every eight weeks.
Apheresis Platelet Donations
Apheresis donation procedures may take approximately 2 hours. The specific component that you are donating, platelets, is removed and all the rest of your blood is returned to you.
Apheresis is a safe process. All the solutions, tubing and needles are sterile, used only one time and then discarded. The process is relatively painless. As with any donation process, there are some potential discomforts. These may include a slight feeling of being lightheaded, slight pain when the needle is inserted into your vein, or some may feel cool or hot. These discomforts are common and the staff are very experienced in alleviating these sensations.
During the donation process, you can watch a movie or television, read a book, or talk to the staff. Once the donation process is complete, you may be required to rest for about 15 minutes. You will always be treated to a snack and beverage.
How Often Can I Donate?
Donors are allowed to donate at difference intervals based on the type of blood product donated.
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Type Of Donation
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Interval
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| Plateletpheresis Donors |
Every two weeks or 24 times in one year |
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| 2 unit Red Blood Cell Donors |
Every 16 weeks |
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| Whole Blood Donors |
Every 56 days |
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