In the Greater Alleghenies Region, out of 100 donors: 35 are O Positive, 33 are A Positive, 9 are B Positive, 9 are O Negative, 8 are A Negative, 3 are AB Positive, 2 are B Negative and 1 is AB Negative. Although all blood types are needed every day, there is a special need for type O Negative because it is the universal blood type and can be transfused to anyone in an emergency.

More patients are type “O” than any other blood type, and “O” patients can only be transfused with type “O” blood, which often leads to supply shortages.

In a Red Cross Blood Region, we believe in the concept of community responsibility, meaning everyone who needs blood gets it, automatically, equally, fully, and whether or not they themselves are able to donate.

Because whole blood is routinely separated into components, each part has a different shelf life. Red blood cells, or the part of the blood commonly used to help trauma patients, can be stored up to 42 days, while platelets, the component of blood that promotes clotting, last only five days. Plasma, used to treat burn victims, is frozen and lasts approximately one year.

You will be notified by the American Red Cross about any unusual test results, and provided with information to share with your physician if that is necessary.

There are many reasons why a donor may be temporarily deferred from giving blood, including low iron, cold/flu symptoms, pulse, temperature, or certain medications. This is no reason to be embarrassed or concerned, and certainly no reason to stop giving blood. Little changes in your diet a few days before you plan to donate may remedy problems with low iron levels. This includes eating more green leafy vegetables and proteins and stocking up on more snacks like prunes and raisins. However, if you continue to have low iron, you may wish to consult your physician.

It’s also a good idea to wait until you’ve completely recovered from a cold or the flu before you attempt to give blood. If you’ve been on antibiotics, you must wait at least 48 hours after you’ve taken your last dose, and be symptom-free.

If you should be permanently deferred from donating blood, you may wish to discuss the deferral with our Donor Affairs Staff by calling 1-800-542-5663. The Red Cross also provides many volunteer opportunities to stay involved in this life-saving effort.

Individuals who donate every two weeks are giving through a special process called apheresis. During this process, platelets are collected by separating them from the other parts of the blood. Blood is taken from one arm, passed through a blood cell separator, where the needed parts of the blood are removed, and the remainder returned through the other arm to the donor. Although platelets can be collected by pooling whole blood donations, apheresis is important because a more concentrated blood product can be collected at one time.

Individuals who donate every two weeks are giving through a special process called apheresis. During this process, platelets are collected by separating them from the other parts of the blood. Blood is taken from one arm, passed through a blood cell separator, where the needed parts of the blood are removed, and the remainder returned through the other arm to the donor. Although platelets can be collected by pooling whole blood donations, apheresis is important because a more concentrated blood product can be collected at one time.

Certain patients may be eligible to donate blood for themselves in advance of their scheduled surgery. This process requires pre-scheduling and written approval from the patient’s physician.

This process, known as a directed donation, requires the written consent of the patient and doctor prior to the blood donation. Directed donations are scheduled by appointment before the patient’s surgery.

The American Red Cross believes that voluntarily donated blood is a vital resource that is to be provided to whoever needs it, wherever that may be. That means that your blood may be used at your local community hospital, at a hospital in a neighboring community, or by a patient in another state. It is our goal to ensure that no patient need goes unmet.

While there is no charge for blood itself, the costs of recruiting, collecting, testing and distributing blood are passed on to hospitals in the form of a “processing fee.” These processing fees, along with the hospital’s charges for testing and transfusion of the products may appear on the recipient’s hospital bill, but they are typically covered by the patient’s insurance.

You can call our Collections Department at 1-800-542-5663 to talk with someone about donor eligibility. All questions will be handled in a confidential manner.

If you are at a blood drive, you may ask to speak with the Charge Nurse, who will also be able to answer any questions you may have about blood donation.

Science has yet to duplicate or improve upon human blood as a form of treatment for certain illnesses and injuries. No potential blood substitute can do all the jobs performed by blood—carry oxygen, form clots, fight infection, transport nutrients—or perform any of these jobs as well as human blood. When and if a blood substitute is made available, it will most likely be used under certain conditions and on a limited basis. Your blood donation is needed now and in the future.

All blood collected in the Greater Alleghenies Region undergoes blood typing to determine ABO and Rh blood type and screening to detect atypical antibodies and markers for these infectious diseases: hepatitis B; HIV 1/HIV 2 (AIDS antibody); hepatitis C; HTLV I/II; and syphilis. Blood that tests positive is destroyed, and the donor is notified and permanently deferred.

No one should ever be afraid of getting AIDS, hepatitis or similar illnesses from donating blood. A new sterile needle is used for each person who gives blood. The needle is used only once and then is destroyed. The need for blood is always great, and healthy people who are not at risk for AIDS should continue to donate blood.

The process of giving blood normally takes no longer than an hour’s time, and under 15 minutes for the actual donation.

First, you’ll go to the registration station where a permanent record of your donation is begun. Next, you’ll answer some brief questions about your health history, to help make sure that giving blood will be as safe as possible for you and any potential blood recipients. Then, your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and red blood cell level are checked to make sure they fall within established guidelines.

You’ll donate approximately a pint, or about one-twelfth of the blood in your body. In the canteen area, you’ll be served some refreshments to help begin your body’s replenishment process. Your body replenishes plasma, the liquid portion of blood, in hours; platelets and white cells, within days; and red cells, within a couple of weeks. All in all, you’ll find that giving blood is a relatively easy, painless process.

To further ease the blood donation process and help maintain accurate donation records, the Red Cross encourages donors to make an appointment to donate blood and to bring with them their Red Cross donor card, driver’s license or other form of positive identification.

• At an American Red Cross National Testing Lab, each unit of blood undergoes testing to ensure patient safety. These include tests for HIV 1/2, Hepatitis B and C, HTLV I/II, Syphilis and ABO and Rh (blood type) testing.
• In the American Red Cross Regional Blood Center, blood is divided into component parts, including:
  • Red Blood Cells: for patients with chronic anemia or acute blood loss.
  • Platelets: for patients undergoing cancer therapy, recovering from transplants, or with aplastic anemia.
  • Plasma: for patients with advanced liver disease, serious burns or clotting deficiencies.
• Leukocytes, the white blood cells which are important in fighting infection, are removed from most blood products.
• Blood components are labeled according to type, and securely stored and shipped at appropriate temperatures.
• Within the Greater Alleghenies Region of the American Red Cross, blood products are shipped regularly to more than 100 regional hospitals.
• Blood is cross-matched with patients’ blood, and is transfused according to need.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires donors to wait at least 56 days between whole blood donations. That means healthy individuals, aged 17 (Some states permit 16-year-olds to donate with parental permission) and older, who weigh at least 110 pounds, can normally give blood up to six times a year. There is no upper age limit for blood donors.

Giving blood is a relatively simple yet caring way to make a difference in our community, by saving someone’s life. At least one out of every ten hospital patients, or one patient every two seconds, receives blood. In the Greater Alleghenies Region alone, we must collect more than 1,000 units of blood each weekday.

There is no substitute for donated blood. It is needed every day as a form of treatment for injuries and certain illnesses, such as trauma, cancer and anemia. Patient need for blood and blood products is constant, year-round, and blood must be readily available to meet this need.

In the Greater Alleghenies Region, individuals aged 17 years in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia and 16 years in Maryland and Pennsylvania, with parental consent, who weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. Normally, donors can safely give blood every 56 days.