Don't be scared! Consider bringing a friend to talk to--and don't forget that there will be HBD volunteers (fellow Harvard students) at the drive to help you though--just let one of them know if they can help you in some way. Here's a list of tips to make your donation as easy as possible. One of the easiest things you can do is to make sure to eat a full meal and drink lots of fluids before donating.

The body replaces the donated blood volume within a few hours. It takes several weeks to replace the donated red cells. Donors can safely give blood every eight weeks.

Donating cord blood is medically safe. Donating poses no health risks to you or your baby. Donating does not affect your baby or your birth experience because the cord blood is collected after your baby is born. If you or your baby experience any complications during delivery, your doctor will not collect the cord blood. There is no cost for donating for public use.

Once the donated cord blood is processed and stored at the Cord Blood Bank, it is listed on the NMDP Registry and available to patients all over the world who are searching for a match. The cord blood can be transplanted into any patient whose doctor selects the cord as a match for that patient.

On any given day, more than 6,000 patients, their families and friends around the world are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a matching bone marrow donor or cord blood unit. These patients have leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

Again, early detection is the key! Continue to stay educated about recent breakthroughs in breast cancer. Remember to perform monthly self-breast exams, receive a clinical breast exam as recommended by your health care provider, and get an annual mammogram. Try and strive for a healthy, active lifestyle and include exercise, a balanced diet, and stress reduction techniques.

It is the job of the plateletpheresis nurse to keep you comfortable while you recline enjoying TV or a video. You will be kept warm and cozy under some soft blankets. Some donors feel a slight tingling sensation around their lips and nose when they donate. This is a mild reaction to the blood anticoagulant used in the procedure and can be minimalized if you tell the nurse.

You must show a valid photo I.D in order for a donor technician to complete computer registration for your donation. Then you answer questions relating to your medical history. A brief "mini-physical" tests your blood pressure, the iron content of your blood, your body temperature and pulse. The actual whole blood donation only lasts between four and eight minutes. Donors are requested to rest afterwards for about ten minutes before leaving.

No. Cord blood collection is non-invasive and painless to both the mother and baby. Cord blood collection only takes place after a successful delivery has been accomplished.

Absolutely! There is no way to contract a disease from donating blood. The bag sets are for one time use only. They are kept in sterile packaging until they are needed. Once a unit has been drawn, the needle is immediately disposed of. There is no way to re-use a needle on another bag set. Also, the area surrounding the phlebotomy site is thoroughly cleansed with iodine to greatly reduce the chances of a skin infection.

No, you cannot get HIV from donating blood. The equipment used is sterile and used only once, then immediately discarded. A new needle is used for each donation.

After donation, your blood will be tested for blood type, hepatitis, HIV (AIDS antibody), HTLV-1, and syphilis. Then it can be used either as whole blood for one patient or, after separation into components (such as red cells, platelets, and plasma) to help several patients.

Donating Blood is not painful and is completely safe for the donor. It takes approximately 5 minutes to donate blood and about 10 minutes for post donating rest and refreshment. Only 350 to 450 ml blood is taken which gets replaced in the body within 24 hours.

The donor is asked for his/her name, address and other personal data (picture ID is required. He/she will be given educational material to read describing AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and explaining how people become at risk of having been infected by the AIDS virus. People at risk of transmitting viruses and disease are asked not to donate blood. Next, temperature, pulse, and blood pressure are recorded.

You should eat a good meal that includes iron-rich foods – like red meat; green, leafy vegetables; and iron-fortified cereals – and drink plenty of fluids one to two hours before donating blood.

That's completely up to you. Most people donate whole blood, which is also known as red blood. Then there are people who donate platelets. Platelets are the part of the blood that aids in clotting. In a process called Platelet Apheresis, whole blood is drawn and then separated into its component parts (whole blood, platelets, plasma). The needed component part is then made available to the patient. Patients who have cancer, leukemia, transplants and blood disorders need platelets.

It is the safest source of blood. It prevents the risk of possible reactions to another person's blood, transmission of diseases and allergic reactions.

Juice and cookies, of course! Also, the University Student Blood Drive Organization now has some funding to provide some gifts to give as rewards to donors and volunteers, so you may receive an SBU T-shirt, Loews movie ticket, coffee mug, or another great prize for giving the gift of life! Donors also report feeling a great deal of satisfaction because they are helping to save up to 5 lives by giving just one pint of blood.

Several tests are performed on each unit of blood, including blood type and testing for infectious diseases, such as HIV, hepatitis and West Nile virus infection. The tests are extremely sensitive, but they cannot detect very recent infection (within a few days before the donation), so we count on our blood donors to answer the health history questions accurately.

According to the National Blood Data Resource Center (NBDRC), 13.9 million units of whole blood are donated in the United States each year. Approximately eight million volunteer blood donors provide blood for about 4.5 million patients annually.

Note: The following information will be based on whole blood donations. It may not be accurate for apheresis donors.

Typically, each donated unit of blood - referred to as whole blood - is separated into multiple components, such as red blood cells, plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipatitated AHF (antihemophilic factor). Each component can be transfused to different individuals with different needs. Therefore, each donation can be used to help save as many as three lives.

Columbia University Medical Center relies on voluntary blood donors and extensive testing to maintain safe blood supplies. Please speak with your surgeon well in advance of surgery regarding blood banking and the possibility of donating blood for yourself or having family and friends donate blood before surgery.

If the words 'Inca Trail' call up images of swaying rope bridges over deep ravines and narrow paths carved into the faces of sheer precipices, relax. There's nothing like that. And it's a walking trail, so you don't need to do any mountaineering. There are a few steep descents, and there are some places where there is a drop-off on one side of the roadway. However, even people who don't like heights should be able to walk these stretches quite comfortably.

Donating cord blood will not change your labor or delivery in any way. During delivery, all the focus is on you and your baby. No blood is taken from your baby, only from the cord and placenta after the baby is born.

After donation, your blood will be tested for blood type, hepatitis, HIV (the AIDS virus), HTLV (human t-cell lymphotropic virus), West Nile Virus, and syphilis. The American Red Cross also tests for antibodies to T.cruzii microorganism (Chagas' disease.) Then it can be used either as whole blood for one patient or, after separation into components, to help several patients.

No! We always use what's called "aseptic" technique, each needle is used only once, then discarded properly.