No. This is not possible as all materials used for collecting blood are sterile. In fact, persons who are healthy should come forward for voluntary blood donation.

Answer: No. This is not possible as all materials used for collecting blood are sterile. In fact, persons who are healthy should come forward for voluntary blood donation.

Our scheduling secretary will work out the details of your blood donation. During those visits to the hospital, you will also have your pre-operative blood work drawn, and you will see a physical therapist nurse and social worker to assist you in making this surgery and your care at home as smooth as possible.

Yes. It is called an autologous donation. Autologous (au-tol-o-gous) blood transfusion is a procedure in which you are transfused with blood that you have donated only for yourself. This type of donation only can be conducted with written permission from your physician. A written order must be faxed to the Autologous and Directed Program of The Blood Center.

Anyone in good health, age 17 or older, may donate blood. Donors must weigh 110 ponds or more. There are some medical conditions that can temporarily or even permanently keep you from giving blood. People who have been exposed to hepatitis or the AIDS virus are not eligible to donate, nor are those with a history of cancer, or heart disease. Our donor guidelines are set to protect the donor's health and safety as well as the health of the recipient.

No. Sterile needles are used to draw blood from each blood donor. After one use, this equipment is discarded.

Up to 6 months. If there has been NO risk for 6 months prior to the test, the results are 99.9% accurate. People with HIV may be MOST infectious to others during this first six months.

In the past some people became infected with HIV from receiving blood transfusions. People should be aware and alert when giving donation to blood banks. the needles and other equipments used in the process should be sterile and new and should be destroyed after use.

A person can have TB infection for years without any signs of disease. But if that person's immune system gets weak, the infection can quickly turn into TB disease. Also, if a person who has a weak immune system spends time with someone with infectious TB, he or she may become infected with TB bacteria and quickly develop TB disease. Because HIV infection weakens the immune system, people with TB infection and HIV infection are at very high risk of developing TB disease.

Copyright © 2002-2005 Health Information Publications. The information provided on this Web site has been developed exclusively by and for Health Information Publications and ehealthMD and may not be copied without written permission. The information provided is for general information only and is not intended to replace the advice of your health-care provider. This is original material developed by Health Information Publications, Copyright © 1990-2005

Everyday, hundreds of people's lives depend of volunteer blood donors. By giving the gift of life, you'll help to ensure that blood will be there for you, the people you love, and anyone else who needs it.

A person donating blood for a specific patient is called a "directed donor." Mothers usually cannot donate blood since they are often anemic following delivery. Fathers, other relatives and friends may donate blood. All donors must have a blood type that matches that of the baby. Since the baby's blood type is generally not known prior to delivery, and since a baby may need a transfusion in the first couple of days, there may not be time to donate blood before the baby requires it.

Some medications, or the underlying cause for taking the medication may not permit you to donate blood. If you are an IBD patient and/or are taking any drugs/medications and would like to give blood, please contact your local blood donor clinic for details. Some of our Regional Offices may have insurance brokers they can refer you to. While these brokers do cover inflammatory bowel diseases, it's usually life insurance policies.

Donating your child's cord blood or storing it for private use is a personal decision that only you can make. If you have a child with leukemia or other disease that may be treatable by transplant and you are pregnant, talk with your oncologist or pediatrician about saving your baby's cord blood. Families may feel a great deal of pressure from the promotions and advertisements they receive from the for-profit private storage cord blood banks.

If you are interested, or someone you know is interested, in donating cord blood, look for a Cord Blood Bank or collecting hospital within or close to your community. There are only a small number of cord blood banks in the United States, so donation to a local bank is not possible in many areas.

Not from one week before until 3 weeks after the shot. It is a stress to your body - which is what you are trying to avoid.

You must wait at least 8 weeks between Whole Blood donations. If you have made apheresis donation, the interval will depend upon the type of procedure, for example, you must wait at least 16 weeks between Double Red Cell donations, but you may donate Apheresis Platelets up to twice a week.