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What is the Importance of Blood Donation?

Blood is essential to help patients survive surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. This lifesaving care starts with one person making a generous donation. The need for blood is constant. But only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly.

Blood Donation Tips:

Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated makes it easier to find your veins and prevents you from becoming light-headed after donating, Dr. Vossoughi says.
Eat well beforehand. Don’t skip breakfast, and be sure to eat snacks offered to you. “These things will help you tolerate the donation well and feel like yourself the rest of the day,” she says.
Exercise before donating blood, not afterward. It’s OK to go to the gym before you donate blood but not so wise afterward. “We don’t want people getting dizzy,” Dr. Vossoughi says. “You’ve basically done your workout for the day once you’ve donated blood.”
Take iron tablets. The American Red Cross recommends that individuals who donate blood frequently take an iron supplement or a multivitamin with iron. “More and more, we’re recommending that teenage donors in particular take iron, because it’s been shown that teenage donors may become iron deficient after blood donation,” Dr. DeSimone says.

How does the Blood Donation Process Work?

Donating blood is a simple thing to do, but can make a big difference in the lives of others. The donation process from the time you arrive until the time you leave takes about an hour. The donation itself is only about 8-10 minutes on average. The steps in the process are:
Registration You will complete donor registration, which includes information such as your name, address, phone number, and donor identification number (if you have one). You will be asked to show a donor card, driver’s license or two other forms of ID.
Health History and Mini Physical You will answer some questions during a private and confidential interview about your health history and the places you have traveled. You will have your temperature, hemoglobin, blood pressure and pulse checked.
Donation We will cleanse an area on your arm and insert a brand–new, sterile needle for the blood draw. This feels like a quick pinch and is over in seconds. You will have some time to relax while the bag is filling. (For a whole blood donation, it is about 8-10 minutes. If you are donating platelets, red cells or plasma by apheresis the collection can take up to 2 hours.) When approximately a pint of blood has been collected, the donation is complete and a staff person will place a bandage on your arm.
Refreshments You will spend a few minutes enjoying refreshments to allow your body time to adjust to the slight decrease in fluid volume. After 10-15 minutes you can then leave the donation site and continue with your normal daily activities. Enjoy the feeling of accomplishment knowing that you have helped to save lives. Your gift of blood may help up to three people. Donated red blood cells do not last forever. They have a shelf-life of up to 42 days. A healthy donor may donate every 56 days.

Blood Donation

What is Blood Donation?

What is the Importance of Blood Donation?

Blood Donation Tips:

How does the Blood Donation Process Work?