Blood donation can take about 30 minutes from start to juice and cookies!

• Donor history card (demographic information, donor consent, health history questions, and information related to AIDS risk factors)
• Interview (review of information, health history questions, perform mini-physical)
  
• Mini physical, includes temperature, blood pressure, pulse and hematocrit (acceptable temperature, less than 99.6F, blood pressure: systolic - 180 or lower, diastolic - 100 or lower), pulse 50- 100/minute and regular, hematocrit: 38% or more)
• Collection of unit
• Post-donation, rest and refreshments, post-donation instructions

Iron Deficiency and Maintaining Iron Balance

Donation intervals:

• 8 weeks between whole blood donations
• Apheresis donation accepted 72 hours after whole blood donation
• Apheresis donations accepted once a week
  
• Apheresis DRBC - 16 weeks

Types of Donations:

Platelet Apheresis

Process of donating platelets takes one hour to an hour and a half. Trained staff carefully monitors each procedure to ensure comfort and care of the donor.

• Whole blood requirements apply. An additional requirement is no aspirin or aspirin-like medication for 48 hours prior to donation. These medications include all NSAIDs. Tylenol is acceptable.
• Platelet apheresis donations is equal to platelets from five whole blood donors. It does not harm the donor.