• One donation can help save as many as two lives in our region.
• The Red Cross collects approximately half of the nation's blood supply.
• Approximately 5% of the eligible population in the United States donates blood-4% of people in the Alabama and Central Gulf Coast region give blood. It is estimated that 70% are eligible.

How much blood is needed?

• The need for blood is great – on any given day, we need to collect approximately 800 units of blood to help local hospital patients.
• Blood transfusions are often needed for trauma victims – due to accidents and burns – heart surgery, organ transplants and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases such as sickle cell disease.

Keeping the supply safe

• The Red Cross has nine National Testing Laboratories (NTLs) that test samples from all of the blood collected.  Within 18 hours of submitting blood samples to the NTL, test results are sent back to the blood services region where the donation was given.
• If testing indicates a unit of blood may pose a threat to a patient, the unit is destroyed. The donor is then entered into the Donor Deferral Register, a national computerized database of more than 250,000 individuals who are deferred from donating blood.
• Each Red Cross blood donation also undergoes nucleic acid testing (NAT), an investigational testing method used to detect both HIV-1 and hepatitis C before the body has begun to produce antibodies.

Blood Type Distribution in the U.S.

(Chart from bloodbook.com)

• Type O - is called the universal donor because it can be given to anybody; it has no proteins to cause clumps
• Type AB + is the universal receiver because the recipient has all of the proteins and so will not form clumps

Who is the average donor in the United States?

• College-educated, white male, between the ages of 30 and 50, who is married and has an above-average income
• Persons 65 years and older compose 13 percent of the population,* but they use 25 percent of all blood units transfused
• Using current screening and donation procedures, a growing number of blood banks have found blood donation by seniors to be safe and practical*

The importance of minority donations
While the Red Cross encourages any healthy person meeting the requirements to give blood to do so as often as possible, minority donors are especially in high demand.  While five percent of the population donates blood, only 0.5 percent are African-American and Hispanic donors.

Blood types and traits are inherited, much like other genetic features such as eye color.  Blood from African-American or Hispanic donors has different proteins – antigens – on its surface than blood from Caucasian donors.  As a result, a more complex classification system exists beyond ABO types to provide a higher degree of similarity between donor and recipient to ensure that a rejection reaction is less likely to occur.

Blood Donor FAQ

Who is eligible to give blood?
In general, to give blood, a donor must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh a minimum of 110 pounds.  Other aspects of each potential donor’s health history are discussed as part of the donation process before any blood is collected.  Each donor receives a brief examination during which temperature, pulse, blood pressure and blood count (hemoglobin or hematocrit) are measured.

Is it safe to give blood?
Yes.  The Red Cross ensures that donating blood is a safe opportunity to give the gift of life. Each needle used in the procedure is sterile and is disposed of after a single use.  It is important that all blood donors are in good health, are well-rested and have eaten prior to donating.

How often can I donate blood?
People in good health who weigh at least 110 pounds can donate a unit of blood as often as every eight weeks (56 days).

Please tell me about the blood donation process.
Donating blood is a four step process, which takes about an hour from start to finish.  The first step is registration at the reception desk.  The second step is a stop at the health history desk, where trained professionals will check your blood pressure, iron level and temperature and will ask specific questions about the potential donor’s health to ensure that he or she is eligible to donate that day.  The third step is the actual donation, which takes about 8 - 10 minutes.>  The fourth and final step is a visit to the refreshment area before leaving the blood donation site.

Where can I go to donate blood?
The Red Cross partners with an extensive network of groups committed to saving lives, including businesses, high schools, colleges, churches and other community organizations. People can also donate blood at Red Cross blood centers. Individuals wishing to make a blood donation to the Red Cross may call their local Red Cross Blood Services office or 1-800-GIVE LIFE.

Can I get a disease if I give/receive blood?
NO, Giving blood: the procedure itself is very safe.  Every donation is taken from a new and sterile needle, which is immediately disposed of after that single use.

Receiving blood: it is also a safe process to receive a blood transfusion.  In fact, the risks of contracting a blood-borne disease through transfusion are far less than the risks of not receiving that transfusion at all.  The nation's blood supply is safer today than it has ever been and is as safe as modern science and medicine can make it.

Why doesn't the Red Cross pay its blood donors to increase the blood supply?
Scientific data shows that people who donate blood for altruistic reasons are the safest blood donors.  As an extra layer of safety to the blood supply, Red Cross accepts only volunteer blood donors.

Can a patient donate his or her own blood for use in surgery?
Yes.  When blood transfusions are anticipated, such as upcoming elective surgery, a person can donate blood for his or her own use when approved by their physician.  In some cases, it is possible to donate blood for a specific person.

What kind of research does the Red Cross conduct?
A scientific staff of more than 250 at the Holland Laboratory focuses on:

• Improving the safety and efficacy of blood services in the United States
• Studying the molecular biology of blood and the immune response
• Developing new biomedical products and technologies that will address the health needs of patients worldwide.

Goals include finding improved ways to produce needed therapeutic plasma products, developing methods of eliminating residual infectious agents from tested donor blood and finding new applications for Red Cross products.  In addition to the Holland Laboratory, about a dozen Red Cross Blood Services regions are involved in local research and development programs, often in collaboration with universities and large teaching hospitals around the country.

* Data from the American Association of Blood Banks.
+ Data from the Red Cross.

All About Blood