Give Blood
To learn more about blood donation opportunities, visit www.redcrossblood.org/ or
call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543).
Every minute of every day, someone needs blood. That blood can only come from a volunteer donor, a person like you who makes the choice to donate. There is no substitute for your donation.
When you make a blood donation, you join a very select group. Currently only 3 out of every 100 people in America donate blood.
From its beginning, the American Red Cross has formed a community of service, of generous, strong and decent people bound by beliefs beyond themselves. The American Red Cross blood donor embodies this principle. Please join us in our mission to maintain a safe and stable blood supply by making your appointment to donate blood today.
To find out where you can donate, visit www.redcrossblood.org/ or call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543).
Want to know if you're able to give blood? Review the donor eligibility guidelines.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
 | Be in generally good health and feeling well. |
| Be at least 17 years of age; upper age 60 (420d*). |
| Weigh at least 110 pounds (45 kg). |
| Pulse: 80 to 100 beats/min and regular. |
| Temperature: Should not exceed 99.5 (37.5c). |
| Blood Pressure: acceptable range is 160/90 to 110/60. |
| Skin: the venipuncture site should be free of any lesion or scar of needle pricks indicative of addiction to narcotics or frequent Blood donation (as in the case of professional Blood donors). |
DONATION FREQUENCY (may vary)
| Whole Blood donors may donate every 56 days. |
| Plasma donors may donate twice a week (max. every 48 hours.) |
| Platelet donors may donate a maximum of 24 times per year. |
| Other specialized donations are subject to other rules. |
DO NOT DONATE BLOOD IF:
| You have ever tested positive for HIV, |
| You have ever injected yourself with drugs or other substances not prescribed by a physician, |
| You are a man and have had sex with another man, even once, |
| You have hemophilia or another Blood clotting disorder and received clotting factor concentrate, |
| You have engaged in sex for drugs or money since 1977, |
| You have lived in western Europe since 1980, |
| You have been held in a correctional facility (including jails, prisons and/or detention centers) for more than 72 hours in the last 12 months, |
| You were born in, lived in or had sex with anyone who lived in, or received Blood products in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger or Nigeria since 1977 (this list changes frequently; updates are very important) or, |
| You are, or have been a sexual contact of someone in the above list. NOTE: There is a special watch for potential donors who have visited or lived in England/United Kingdom from 1980 to 1999, and those who have lived and/or worked in Western Europe since 1980. |
MEDICAL CONDITIONS
| Accident & Injury: can donate if otherwise healthy |
| Aids: can not donate |
| Allergies: can donate if there is no infection present and there is no treatment ongoing |
| Anemia: defer donation until no symptoms exist |
| Arthritis: can donate if mild and not on medication |
| Asthma: those with severe asthma requiring regular treatment can not donate; can donate ifthere are no symptoms evident |
| Babesiosis: can not donate |
| Blood disorders or bleeding tendencies: can not donate |
| Blood Pressure: acceptable range is 160/90 to 110/60. (see medication section below for medication restrictions.) |
| Brain or spinal surgery that required a transplant of brain covering (dura mater): can not donate |
| Bronchitis: defer donation until four weeks or after recovery |
| CJD: When a Blood relative has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), or there is an increased family risk of CJD; can not donate |
| Cancer: Basal cell, squamous cell skin cancers and keratosis; can not donate until removed and healed. Melanoma; can not donate. Malignant tumors; can donate five years after removal of early stage contained solid tumor, no chemotherapy, and in remission |
| Chicken Pox: defer donation until four weeks after recovery |
| Chlamydia: like all other venereal diseases; a minimum of a one year deferral is required |
| Colds, fever, flu, sore throat: can not donate until symptoms (sore throat, cough, respiratory infection, headache) are completely gone |
| Cold Sore, Fever Blister, Canker Sore: can donate |
| Colitis: can not donate |
| Colostomy: can not donate |
| Dementia: can not donate |
| Dengue: defer donation until four weeks after recovery |
| Dermatitis: can donate if mild; defer donation if severe |
| Diabetes: can donate if treatment is by diet control and condition is stable; defer donation if on medication |
| Diarrhea: defer donation until three weeks after recovery |
| Eczema: can donate if mild. defer donation if severe |
| Emphysema: can not donate |
| Filariasis: can not donate |
| Food Poisoning: defer donation for one week after full recovery |
| Gastroenteritis: defer donation for one week after full recovery |
| Gall Stone: can donate if not on medication |
| Gonorrhea/Syphilis: defer donation for one year after complete recovery |
| Gout: can not donate |
| Heart attack: can donate if greater than one year since, and no symptoms present, the attending Blood authority physician must carefully evaluate |
| Heart surgery, Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) or angioplasty: can donate one year after surgery, if no history of heart attack, and the donor is on no medication for the heart (aspirin is okay) |
| Hemochromatosis: can not donate |
| Hepatitis: Hepatitis or undiagnosed jaundice after age ten; can not donate. Positive hepatitis test: can not donate. Can donate if the history of hepatitis is pertaining to mononucleosis or CMV infection |
| Herpes (genital): can donate four weeks after lesions completely clear |
| Leprosy: can not donate |
| Malaria; had Malaria in last three years: defer donation for three years after full recovery (also see Travel and Residency Restrictions below) |
| Pregnancy and Miscarriage: can donate after six weeks of full term normal delivery. Can donate six weeks after termination in third trimester. First or second trimester miscarriage can donate after stable |
| Prostate: can not donate |
| Sexually transmitted diseases - Genital herpes: can not donate until all lesions are completely clear |
| Sickle Cell Trait: can not donate |
| Seizures in the last five Years: can not donate |
| Spondylosis: can donate if feeling well and not under any treatment at all |
| Strokes: can not donate |
| Surgery (all): can donate after healed and released from physician care. |
| Syphilis: see Gonorrhea |
| Thyroid: for Hypothyroid, can donate if feeling well and euthyroid on thyroxine for six months. For Hyperthyroid: can not donate until euthyroid for six months. |
| Tuberculosis: can not donate until two years after complete cure |
| Viral Infection: can donate after cure and off treatment |
| Worms: can donate after complete cure |
MEDICATION GUIDELINES
| Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol): may be taken in normal moderate doses before any Blood donation |
| Accutane: four-week deferral |
| Allergy medication: can donate |
| Antibiotics: 72-hour deferral after infection is healed |
| Anti-inflammatory drugs (Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin and Naprosyn): may not be taken within 24 hours before a platelet donation (some other rules may apply) |
| Aspirin-containing products or Feldene and Lodine XL: may not donate within 36 hours before platelet donation |
| Birth control pills: can donate |
| Blood pressure medication: can donate under present FDA and American Red Cross standards in force |
| Depression medication: can donate |
| Diabetic medication - Injected bovine (beef) insulin since 1980; can not donate |
| Diet pills: can donate |
| Diuretics: can donate |
| Female hormone pills: can donate |
| Any human pituitary-derived hormone (i.e. growth hormone): can not donate |
| Soriatane (Acitretin): three-year deferral |
| Tegison (used to treat a severe skin disorder): can not donate if ever taken |
| Thyroid medication: can donate if stabilized |
IMMUNIZATION EXCLUSIONS
| Polio, mumps, smallpox: two-week or more deferral |
| Rubella or Rubeola (types of measles): four week deferral |
| Tetanus, diphtheria, flu, Hepatitis B: can not donate until any reaction is over |
OTHER POSSIBLE RESTRICTIONS
| Acupuncture: one-year deferral |
| Alcohol: defer donation if consumed in last 12 hours |
| Body piercing: one-year deferral |
| Cocaine: taking through the nose (snorting); one-year deferral minimum, local Blood authority will prevail |
| Dental work - Cleaning and fillings: one-day deferral; Root canal: three-day deferral after work is complete |
| Ear piercing: can donate if the piercing was performed in a doctor’s office (with written verification) otherwise, one-year deferral |
| Electrolysis: defer donation for one year |
| Hepatitis exposure: one-year deferral |
| Menstruation: can donate |
| Rape: one-year deferral |
| Smoker: can donate |
| Tattoo in the last 12 months: one-year deferral |
| Transfusion: defer donation by one year if undergone transfusion with Blood products. Candonate if undergone autologous transfusion only |
TRAVEL and RESIDENCY OUTSIDE of the UNITED STATES
| England/United Kingdom - visited or lived in from 1980 to 1999: deferred indefinitely (this standard varies between United States FDA and The American Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks. |
| Western Europe - visited or lived in since 1980 deferred indefinitely |
| Born in, lived in or had sex with anyone who lived in, or received Blood products in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger or Nigeria since 1977 (this list changes frequently; updates are very important): deferral indefinitely. |
| Lived or traveled in an area where Malaria is prevalent (Central America and South America, etc.): three-year deferral, |
| Other international travelers: different restrictions apply as precaution against mad cow disease, depending on what blood bank and region  |
For up-to-date information or opinions about American Red Cross rules about Blood donor deferrals, call 1-800-448-3543.
I give every chance I get. James has given as well and plans on doing so again.
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