Being a Blood Donor

Blood bank organizations constantly seek new donors. Those who fit the bill include individuals between 17 and 76 years old who weigh at least 110 pounds.Young people, in particular, are in demand. Why? For the most part, they're healthier than other age groups and thus more able to give. They can donate blood for a lifetime, ensuring a steady source of blood.

Giving blood doesn't just benefit recipients. Regardless of age, donating blood offers many benefits for donors. It lets you:

• Make a difference in your community by helping others.
• Develop a sense of commitment to and connection with your local community.
• Be assured that adequate supplies of blood are available for you, as well as your family and others.
• Check your blood pressure, temperature, hemoglobin and pulse rate every time you give.
• Join a group of special volunteers.

The demand for blood never lets up. Every day, thousands of people need donations to live. Before they can receive it, donated blood must go through time-consuming tests. Then, it must be used relatively quickly or it will perish — whole blood, for instance, is no longer usable after 42 days. As a result, maintaining an adequate blood supply is a challenge — especially when a disaster occurs, which may cause the need for blood to soar. The only way to meet demand is to have regular donations from healthy volunteers.

If you're healthy, your body - which has between 10 and 12 pints of blood - can easily spare about a pint, the amount that's collected at a donation. Because the body begins replacing donated blood immediately, most people can give blood every eight weeks.*

Blood drives are held throughout the year at schools, churches, synagogues, military bases, places of business and organizations in your community. Visit www.givelife.org to find the blood collection organization nearest you or to sponsor a blood drive.

Giving blood is easy and confidential. Essentially, all you have to do is show up.Blood bank professionals do the rest. Taking less than an hour, it includes these steps:

Screening
Before giving blood, you'll complete a health screening. The screening is done to ensure the safety of the blood supply. It requires you to provide your name, address, age and proof of identification with photo or signature identification. Your pulse, temperature and blood pressure will be recorded, and a drop of blood is taken from your earlobe or finger to be analyzed for sufficient iron level. You'll also have to answer questions about your health, lifestyle and disease risk factors, including inquiries on sexual behavior, which are designed to prevent people with a high risk for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases from donating blood.

Donating
After being screened, you'll be seated on a padded table or chair, your arm will be cleaned and a sterile needle will be inserted into a vein in your arm. Then, blood flows from the vein in your arm through a soft plastic tube, attached to the needle, into a plastic bag at your side. In about 15 minutes, a unit, which measures 500 milliliters or a little less than one pint, will have been collected. Then, the needle is removed and a bandage is applied to the wound.

When you're done, you'll be asked to stay and relax, and have some cookies and refreshments to replenish fluids. While most people are fine immediately afterward, a few feel slightly weak; but the feeling passes quickly. Within a few minutes you can return to school, work and most other activities. You can help speed your body's recovery by:

• Drinking extra fluids for the next 24 hours.
• Not smoking for one hour.
• Refraining from heavy muscular or strenuous activity, such as lifting or pushing heavy objects, for at least four hours.

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.*

The people who need blood come in all ages and from all ethnic and economic walks of life. They require transfusions to replace blood they've lost during surgery, because of accidents or internal bleeding, and to treat diseases. Many recipients are hospital patients. Others are people who appear to be healthy. Chances are you know people who have received a blood transfusion. They include:

Blood is comprised of different parts, which serve different purposes. They include:

• Red cells: blood cells that transport oxygen to body cells and remove carbon dioxide from the bloodstream.
• White cells (leukocytes): blood cells that protect the bloodstream from bacteria.
• Platelets: blood cells that help control bleeding by helping the clotting process.
• Plasma: consisting of 92 percent water, seven percent protein and one percent minerals, it's the source for gamma globulin, albumin and clotting factors.

Thanks to advances in medical technology, blood can be separated into its different components. Hence, a unit can be broken down into these components, which then can be given to people who have different blood needs.

• Red blood cells are used to treat anemia and blood loss resulting from trauma and surgery. Some heart operations can use up to 20 pints of red cells. Liver transplants normally use 10-20 pints and a hip replacement, 1-3 pints.
• Platelets are commonly used in treating cancers like leukemia. One patient can require the platelets from eight or more individual donations every day for weeks.
• Plasma is used for treating hemophilia, surgical shock, severe burns and immunodeficiency.

Blood is identified by its "type." There are four major blood types: A, B, AB and O. Each is divided into Rh positive or negative types.

*Source: American Red Cross, website, 2008www.givelife.org

Type O is the most common blood type. Type O donors are referred to as "universal" because in an emergency, their red blood cells can be transfused to people who have any other blood type. Because any patient can receive type O blood, there is a need for O donors to give regularly.

For rare blood types, Rare Blood Donor Registries have been established by blood banking organizations. Individuals with rare blood types are asked to join these registries so, if a need for their special blood type arises, they will be contacted for a donation. For example, up to one-third of requests for rare blood is for blood types such as U negative and Duffy negative, which are found more commonly among African Americans. Rare blood may be sent anywhere in the world to help a patient.

Regardless of how rare or how common your blood type is, it's needed. Whatever your blood type, you are important to someone and should donate regularly.

While most people are excellent donor candidates, certain medical conditions may temporarily prevent some from donating blood. For example, individuals who recently got a tattoo have to wait a year before giving blood; those who have a cold must wait until the symptoms are gone; those who have had a sexually transmitted disease need to wait a year after it's been treated.

Some people are permanently prevented from giving blood.* They include:

• People who have used intravenous drugs (illegal IV drugs).

• Men who have had sex with another man since 1977.

• Individuals who have had myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass.

• People with multiple sclerosis.

• Hemophiliacs.

• People who have suffered a stroke.

• People diagnosed with hepatitis at any time after their 11th birthday.

• Individuals having a positive antibody test for HIV (AIDS virus).

• People with babesiosis of Chagas disease.

• Men and women who had sex for money or drugs any time since 1977.

• People who have taken Tegison for psoriasis.

• People who have Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) and/or people with an immediate family member with CJD.

Learn more at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Eligibility Guidelines. If you're unsure about being a blood donor candidate, check with your physician.

Learn How and Where to Donate

American Red Cross 
www.givelife.org
American Red Cross has 50 years of experience in blood services. Their site supplies answers to commonly asked questions and helps you find a local chapter where you can donate.  You can call the American Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE

American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
www.aabb.org
AABB is an international agency dedicated to encouraging the voluntary donation of blood through education, public information, and research.  This site provides the latest medical articles, facts about blood, and products and services. You can call the AABB at 1-301-907-6977. 

America's Blood Centers (ABC)
www.americasblood.org
ABC is North America's largest network of non-profit, community blood centers, serving more than 180 million people at 600-plus collection sites. You can call the ABC at 1-888-USBLOOD.