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- Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds.
- When checked by our donor care specialist, your hemoglobin (iron) level must be at least 12.5 g/dL.
- Your blood pressure cannot be higher than 180/100 mm Hg or lower
than 90/50 mm Hg (Even if you are currently taking medication, as long as your
blood pressure meets these requirements, you are eligible to donate).
- Your body temperature must be between 96.4 and 100.4 degrees.
- Your pulse rate must be no lower than 50 beats/minute and no higher than 100 beats/minute.
- You will also be asked a series of questions to ensure that you are eligible to donate. (Please note that answering "yes" to certain questions will not automatically defer you from donating blood.)
- Certain medications will prevent you from donating, at least temporarily, while you are taking those medications.
Make an appointment to donate blood
Ways to Donate
- Whole blood – the
most common form of donating, whole blood is collected from the donor
and taken to the laboratory, where it is separated into specific
components, such as red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Eligible to donate every 56 days (8 weeks).
Total time
from registration to completion – approximately 30 minutes.
- Apheresis – this
method of donating allows the blood donor to give specific components of
blood, most commonly platelets. Platelets are commonly used by patients
undergoing chemotherapy treatments. A single-use kit collects the
specific component from the donor and returns the remaining components
to the donor, along with a saline solution for hydration. Although the
process is longer than donating via whole blood, the needle is smaller.
By collecting one full platelet unit from an individual donor, it
reduces the exposure to multiple donors, which is critical for patients
who have a suppressed immune system due to illness. Eligible to donate every 7 days, up to 24 times per year.
Total time from
registration to completion – 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
- ALYX – similar to
the apheresis method, ALYX allows the donor to give a specific blood
component. In this case, the ALYX machine collects two units of red
blood cells instead of one. Platelets and plasma are returned to the
donor by a single-use disposable kit and the donor receives a saline
solution for hydration. Eligible to donate every 112 days (16 weeks).
Total time
from registration to completion – approximately 40 - 45 minutes.
- Marrow – by providing a sample cheek swab and completing the
proper paperwork, donors can join the Be The Match Registry® at any
Blood Assurance location. The Registry matches potential donors patients
in need of life-saving marrow and stem cell transplants.
Learn more about joining the Registry®.
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