Most donors say what you feel is like a quick pinch. You shouldn't feel any discomfort during the blood collection itself and the whole process usually only takes 45 minutes to 1 hour...and you can save two lives!
Blood is vital for children and adults who are living with cancer, having surgery, surviving a car accident, or recovering from other illnesses and injuries. By sponsoring a blood drive through The Blood Center of Central Texas, you will help ensure this life-saving gift is available when your Central Texas neighbors need it.
Each donation is 500mls or just a little more than one pint. The average adult has 10 to 12 units in their circulatory system or two pints for every 25 lbs. of body weight.
While Blood Center staff encourages everyone to donate once a quarter, you can even give blood more frequently than that. An eligible donor can donate whole blood every 56 days. After you donate blood, your body replaces the plasma or liquid component of your blood within 24 hours. It takes two weeks or longer for your body to create and replace the red blood cells you gave.
The private interview is one of the screening steps all blood centers use to help keep our blood supply safe. We are required to ask these questions and it is important that you answer truthfully. The interviews are private because the questions are personal and the information you are giving is confidential.
Your donation of blood is immediately processed into therapeutic components (red blood cells, plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate) based on patient need in your community. It is then put in quarantine storage while your blood sample vials go to our laboratories for testing. Once all the tests have been completed, the donation of blood is labeled and released for distribution to one of the 37 health care facilities in the ten Central Texas counties The Center serves.
Type O negative, occurring in about 9% of the US population, is the universal donor type and can be given to people with any other blood type. AB positive, which occurs in only 3% of the US population, is the universal recipient type and can receive blood from any other blood type.
The Blood and Tissue Center is fully committed to remaining a volunteer donor supported organization and does not pay for blood donations. Additionally, FDA regulations do not permit compensation for blood that is used for transfusion purposes as studies have shown that volunteer donors provide a safer blood supply.
No. You cannot catch a disease from donating blood. All clinical supplies used during a donation are sterile and designed to be used only once and then disposed.
Yes, the blood supply in the United States is the safest it has ever been. Blood centers follow five safety procedures: blood donor eligibility standards, individual screening, laboratory testing, confidential exclusion of donations, and donor record checks.
Are there any instructions I should follow before donating whole blood?
You should eat a good meal that includes iron rich foods and drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluids one to two hours before donating.
