| FAQ's
Your Blood Bank Questions Answered
In order to better serve you, we've compiled a list of commonly
asked questions. This list is meant to help you, the donor.
If you cannot find an answer to a specific question, please
contact Diana Berry, Director of Quality Assurance by emailing
your question to dberry@scbb.org
or calling 941-954-1600 ext 1037.
Donating Blood
How much
blood is donated each year?
AABB estimates that
eight million volunteers donate blood each year. According
to the National Blood Data Resource Center (NBDRC) about 15
million units of whole blood and red blood cells were donated
in the United States in 2001.
What are
the criteria for blood donation?
To be eligible to
donate blood, a person must be in good health and generally
must be at least 17 years of age (although some states permit
younger people, with parental consent, to donate). Minimum
weight requirements may vary among facilities, but generally,
donors must weigh at least 110 pounds. Most blood banks have
no upper age limit. All donors must pass the physical and
health history examinations given prior to donation. Volunteer
donors provide nearly all blood used for transfusion in the
United States. The donor’s body replenishes the fluid lost
from donation in 24 hours. It may take up to two months to
replace the lost red blood cells. Whole blood can be donated
once every eight weeks (56 days). Two units of red blood cells
can be donated at one time, using a process known as red cell
apheresis. This type of donation can be made every 16 weeks.
What should
you do before donating?
In order to make
the donation experience pleasant you should maintain a healthy
diet and the appropriate fluid intake. Also, note the name
and dosage of any medications you are taking. Usually, medication
does not keep you from donating, but the reason for taking
the medication might.
How does
the donation process work?
Donating is safe
and simple. The entire process takes about 45 to 60 minutes.
The actual donation process works like this:
- You will be asked to register by either filling out
a form or showing your donor card.
- You will be asked to answer some questions and read
some information.
- You will be taken in a confidential room where you will
receive a mini health-exam and asked some more questions.
- You will proceed to donor bed where your arm will be
cleaned with an antiseptic.
- Your blood will be drawn (the length of time depend
on what procedure you choose).
- Following you donation you will receive refreshments.
Where is
blood donated?
There are many places
where blood donations can be made. Bloodmobiles (mobile blood
drives on specially constructed buses) travel to high schools,
colleges, churches, and community organizations. People can
also donate at community blood centers and hospital-based
donor centers. Many people donate at blood drives at their
places of work.
Who should
not donate blood?
- Anyone who has ever used intravenous drugs (illegal
IV drugs)
- Men who have had sexual contact with other men since
1977
- Anyone who has ever received clotting factor concentrates
- Anyone with a positive test for HIV (AIDS virus)
- Men and women who have engaged in sex for money or
drugs since 1977
- Anyone who has had hepatitis since his or her eleventh
birthday
- Anyone who has had Babesiosis or Chagas disease
- Anyone who has taken Tegison for psoriasis
- Anyone who has risk factors for Crueutzfeldt-Jakob
disease (CJD) or who has an immediate family member with
CJD
- Anyone who has risk factors for vCJD
- Anyone who spent three months or more in the United
Kingdom from 1980 through 1996
- Anyone who has spent five years in Europe from 1980
to the present.
What can
you do if you aren’t eligible to donate?
While a given individual
may be unable to donate, he or she may be able to recruit
a suitable donor. Blood banks are always in need of volunteers
to assist at blood drives or to organize mobile blood drives.
In addition, monetary donations are always welcome to help
ensure that blood banks can continue to provide safe blood
to those in need.
What is
Apheresis?
The word apheresis
is derived from the Greek work “Aphaerisis” meaning “to take
away”. Apheresis, an increasingly common procedure, is the
process of removing a specific component of the blood, such
as platelets, and returning the remaining components, such
as red blood cells and plasma, to the donor. This process
allows more of one particular part of the blood to be collected
than could be separated from a unit of whole blood. Apheresis
is also performed to collect red blood cells, plasma (liquid
part of the blood), and granulocytes (white blood cells).
The apheresis donation procedure takes longer than that for
whole blood donation. A whole blood donation takes about 10–15
minutes to collect the blood, while an apheresis donation
may take about one to two hours.
Receiving Blood
Who needs
blood?
The need for blood
is great — on any given day, an average of 38,000 units
of red blood cells are needed. Blood transfusions often are
needed for trauma victims — due to accidents and burns
— heart surgery, organ transplants, and patients receiving
treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as
sickle cell disease and Thalassemia. NBDRC reports that in
2001, nearly 29 million units of blood components were transfused.
And with an aging population and advances in medical treatments
and procedures requiring blood transfusions, the demand for
blood continues to increase.
What are
the components of blood used to treat?
When you come to
donate a unit of blood, that unit is not kept in its whole
blood form. The unit is centrifuged at high speeds to separate
the constituent components from each other. Since red blood
cells are the heaviest, they sink to the bottom of the bag.
The platelet rich plasma and cryoprecipitate factors settle
near the middle of the bag. Each of these components are separated
into different bags for treatment as follows:
- Red Blood Cells:
Used to increase red cell mass after surgery, to treat
patients with anemia. Red cells are stored under refrigeration
for up to 42 days, or they may be frozen for up to 10
years.
- Fresh Frozen Plasma:
Used to treat clotting disorders, expand blood volume,
to treat shock due to plasma loss in burns. FFP is frozen
shortly after collection and is stored up to one year.
- Platelets: Used
to treat bleeding due to platelet shortage or to treat
platelet function abnormalities. Platelets are stored
at room temperature with constant agitation for up to
5 days.
- Cryoprecipitate:
Used to treat Hemophilia A, Von Willebrand’s disease,
and other clotting factor deficiencies. Cryo is made from
FFP and may be stored frozen up to one year.
- White Blood Cells:
Used to treat patients who cannot produce enough white
cells, due to disease or cancer treatment or are unresponsive
to antibiotic therapy. They must be transfused within
24 hours after collection.
- Immune Globulin:
Given to help fight infectious diseases such as hepatitis.
- Albumin: Used to
treat people in shock, and also used in plasma exchanges
for seriously ill patients.
How much
blood can a patient use?
It is difficult
to put an exact figure on each type of procedure or illness,
but listed below are general estimates for the top blood using
events:
- Hip Replacement Surgery
- 3 to 4 Units
- Leukemia Treatment
- 6 to 8 Units
- Stab Wound Treatment
- 6 to 12 Units
- Heart Surgery -
6 to 12 Units
- Gastro-Intestinal Bleeding
- 5 to 50 Units
- Aortic/Abdominal Aneurysm
- 5 to 50 Units
- Traumatic Organ Damage
- 10 to 100 Units
- Liver Transplant
- 30 to 150 Units
Blood Safety
Is it
safe to donate blood?
Yes. Sterile procedures
and disposable equipment are used. Each donor’s blood is collected
through a new sterile needle, which is discarded after use.
No one has contracted any infectious diseases from donating
blood.
What tests
are performed on donated blood?
After blood has
been drawn, it is tested for ABO group (blood type) and Rh
type (positive or negative), as well as for any unexpected
red blood cell antibodies that may cause problems in a recipient.
Screening tests also are performed for evidence of donor infection
with hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency viruses
HIV-1 and HIV-2, human T-lymphotropic viruses HTLV-I and HTLV-II,
syphilis and West Nile Virus (WNV).
The specific tests currently performed are listed below:
- Hepatitis B surface antigen
HBsAg
- Hepatitis B core antibody
anti-HBc
- Hepatitis C virus antibody
anti-HCV
- HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibody
anti-HIV-1 and anti-HIV-2
- HTLV-I and HTLV-II antibody
anti-HTLV-I and anti-HTLV-II
- Serologic test for syphilis
- Nucleic acid amplification
testing (NAT) for HIV-1 and HCV
- NAT for WNV
What is
NAT?
The nucleic acid
test (NAT) detects the presence of HIV, HCV (Hepatitis C)
and WNV (West Nile Virus) in blood using a semi-automated
system. It further ensures the safety of blood by permitting
earlier detection of HIV, HCV and WNV infections in donors.
The NAT system is capable of detecting a few more infectious
donors than other tests because it detects viral genes rather
than antibodies or antigens. Detections of viral genes permits
detection earlier in the infection since the appearance of
antibodies requires time for the donor to develop an immune
response, and detection of antigens requires time for a higher
level of virus to appear in the bloodstream.
General Information
About Blood
What is
blood?
Blood is made of
four components:
- Plasma is a mixture of water, sugar, fat, protein, and
potassium and calcium salts. It also contains many chemicals
that help form the blood clots necessary to stop bleeding.
More than 92% of plasma is water. Our blood consists of
55% plasma.
- Red blood cells contain a special protein called hemoglobin,
which carries the oxygen we inhale with our lungs to all
of the parts of our bodies. It then returns carbon dioxide
from our body to our lungs so we can exhale it. Hemoglobin
is also responsible for making red blood cells red. We
have so many red blood cells that our blood itself appears
red, even though it contains more than red blood cells.
- White blood cells are clear round cells that are bigger
than red blood cells. White blood cells produce proteins
called antibodies that help our bodies fight infections
caused by bacteria, viruses, and foreign proteins.
- Platelets aren’t really cells at all; they are
just fragments of cells. When we are injured, platelets
gather at the site of the injury and stick to the edges
of the wound. They release chemicals that help start the
process of blood clotting so that bleeding will stop.
How much
blood is in the body?
About 8 percent
of a person’s weight is blood. The amount of blood varies
according to height and weight, but an average man has about
12 pints of blood, and the average woman has about 9 pints.
What does
“blood type” mean?
There are two systems
that make up blood type, ABO and Rh. All people belong to
one of four inherited blood groups: A, B, AB or O. The letters
A and B refer to the kind of antigens that are found on an
individual’s red blood cells. An antigen is a protein or carbohydrate
on the red cell that triggers an immune response, such as
the formation of antibodies. There are four blood types in
the ABO system:
- Group A: Blood has A antigen on red cells, and anti-B
antibody in the plasma
- Group B: Blood has B antigen on the red cells, and anti-A
antibody in the plasma
- Group AB: Blood has both A and B antigens on red cells
but neither anti-A antibody nor anti-B antibody in the
plasma. Since they lack anti-A and anti-B antigens, persons
with AB blood are called universal donors for plasma.
- Group O: Blood has neither A or B antigens on red cells,
but both anti-A and anti-B antibodies are in the plasma.
Since their red blood cells lack A and B antigens, persons
with Group O are called universal donors for red blood
cell units.
People also have an inherited antigen on their red blood cells
known as Rh or D antigen. When the D antigen is present, a
person’s blood is designated Rh positive. When D antigen is
missing, the blood type is designated Rh negative. In general,
Rh negative is given to Rh negative patients and Rh positive
blood to Rh positive patients. What are
the blood types and their percentages?
O positive - 37.4%
of population. 1 person in 3
A positive - 35.7% of population. 1 person in 3
B positive - 8.5% of population. 1 person in 12
O negative - 6.6% of population. 1 person in 15
A negative - 6.3% of population. 1 person in 16
AB positive - 3.4% of population. 1 person in 29
B negative - 1.5% of population. 1 person in 67
AB negative - 0.6% of population. 1 person in 167
What is
rare blood?
The discovery of
many additional blood group factors or antigens outside the
ABO/Rh systems has led to the identification of rare blood
types. The term “rare blood” implies that only a very small
percentage of the population share the same combination of
blood group antigens. Racial origin influences the frequency
of these blood types.
What fees
are associated with blood?
While donated blood
is free, there are significant costs associated with collecting,
testing, preparing components, labeling, storing and shipping
blood; recruiting and educating donors; and quality assurance.
As a result, processing fees are charged to recover costs.
Processing fees for individual blood components vary considerably.
Processing fees for one specific component also may vary in
different geographic regions. Hospitals charge for any additional
testing that may be required, such as the crossmatch, as well
as for the administration of the blood.
What is
the availability of blood?
The blood supply
level fluctuates throughout the year. During holidays and
in the summer, levels tend to fall because donations decline,
but demand remains stable or even increases. In addition,
policies recommended by the Food and Drug Administration can
eliminate, or defer, donors who may be at risk for variant
Cruetzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD), the human variety of the
disease that is commonly known as “mad-cow” disease. Also,
FDA can recommend that a potential donor who may be at risk
for a transfusion-transmissible disease such as malaria be
deferred. These policies reduce the number of people who are
eligible to donate. |
