Blood collection organizations have created many safeguards.  As previously mentioned, every potential donor is given a mini-health test and medical history screening. Needles and bags used to collect blood are used only once and then discarded, making spread of infection to the donor not possible.

To draw blood, trained volunteers, phlebotomists (medical technicians trained in drawing blood) and nurses use only new, sterile, disposable materials, which prevent donors from getting diseases.

The collected blood also goes through extensive testing for evidence of infection with diseases such as hepatitis, HIV and syphilis. While the potential risk of contracting AIDS from a blood transfusion has received a great deal of attention, you should know that all donated blood in the United States is tested for the HIV virus, which reduces the risk to a negligible level. The odds of getting HIV from a transfusion are less than one in 600,000.*