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Registration
We ask you for information about yourself: name,
address, phone number, and give you some important literature on blood
donation to read. You must present a photo I.D. and proof of age at this time.
Screening & Mini-Physical
Next, we conduct a confidential interview in
which we will ask you questions about your medical history to determine
your eligibility to donate blood. Our staff will give you a mini-physical
during which we check your pulse, blood pressure, temperature and iron level. After the mini-physical, you are ready
to donate!
Donation
Every donation is collected with a new, sterile
kit. Giving blood is safe. You cannot get AIDS or any other disease
by donating blood. While you relax in a comfortable donor chair, we
cleanse your arm with antiseptic, and then draw about one pint of
blood. It takes about five to eight minutes to donate whole blood,
longer for automated donations such as platelets or double red cells.
Refresh
After you give, we ask you to enjoy some juice
and cookies in our refreshment area. Your body will replenish the
fluids lost during your donation in approximately 12 to 24 hours.
Normally, eight weeks are necessary for total red cell replacement.
Your donation will then be taken back to our laboratory for
testing
and processing. The entire process takes about an hour.
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