Donating blood is a wonderful way to volunteer to serve your community. The blood you donate can be used to save lives in a variety of ways. Accidents, unexpected surgical emergencies, national disasters, and to help people with a variety of blood diseases, are just some of the reasons blood is needed. Blood donation is a safe and relatively painless procedure.

When you decide to donate, you will be asked some questions concerning your general health, weight and age. You must be at least 17 years old, 100 pounds, be in good health and free from any diseases such as HIV/AIDS or hepatitis. You can donate blood once every 56 days, as your body needs that amount of time to regenerate its red blood cells. If you only want to donate a component of blood called platelets, a much shorter waiting period is all that is necessary.

Platelets are generally needed for people being treated for leukemia and other forms of cancer. It takes only about 10-15 minutes for the actual donation process to be completed and approximately 1 pint of blood is taken per donation. Most people do not feel any effects after donating blood, but some may experience slight dizziness. Rest and replenishment of fluids is usually all that is needed if this occurs.

Afterwards, your blood is screened for transmissible diseases, and then typed for both blood type and RH factors. When this process is completed, your blood is stored and sent to hospitals or other facilities to be used as needed. Donating blood is a vital yet easy way to help those in need.

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