Blood Donor FAQ's

At Our Lady of the Lake, donors must be age 16 (with parental consent) or 17 without parental consent. Donors must weigh at least 115 pounds and be in good health. Additional eligibility criteria apply.

Donating blood is easy, but can make a big difference in the lives of others. You can expect to be at the blood donor center for about an hour, although your donation takes about 8 to10 minutes on average. Here’s what to expect:

Registration

1. You will complete a donor registration, which includes information such as your name, address, phone number, and donor identification number (if you have one).
2. You will need to present a picture ID.

Health History and Mini Physical

1. You'll answer some questions during a private and confidential interview about your health history and places you have traveled.
2. A blood center team member will check your temperature, blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin.

Donation

The team member will cleanse an area on your arm and insert a brand new, sterile needle for the blood draw. This feels like a quick pinch and is over in seconds. It takes on average eight to 10 minutes to donate.

Refreshments

You'll spend a few minutes relaxing and enjoying complimentary refreshments while your body adjusts to the slight decrease in fluid volume.

The plasma from your donation is replaced within about 24 hours. Red cells need about four to six weeks for complete replacement. At least eight weeks are required between whole blood donations.

You must wait at least eight weeks (56 days) between donations of whole blood and 16 weeks (112 days) between apheresis Red Blood Cell donations. Regulations are different for those giving blood for themselves (autologous donors).

Red blood cell donations are donated through a process called apheresis. In it, platelets and other specific blood components, including red cells or plasma, are collected from a donor. Each apheresis donation procedure takes about one-and-one-half to two hours. Platelet apheresis donors may give every 3-7 up to 24 times per year.

Every 3-7 days you may donate platelets via up to 24 apheresis donations in a year, and at least three days after a whole blood donation, three days after a single platelet donation, or seven 7 days after a double platelet donation.

By taking proper precautions, it is safe to donate blood, which is in short supply.

While public health officials encourage people to avoid leaving home unnecessarily, the U.S. surgeon general says making an exception to donate blood is in the public interest. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration encourage blood donation for those who are well.

Donating blood is a safe process, and people should not hesitate to give. Blood drives have the highest standards of safety and infection control such as spacing beds and staggering donor appointments.

Face masks are required for team members and donors. We encourage all donors to bring their own face mask. If a donor does not have a mask we will provide one.

Yes, Our Lady of the Lake team members wear face masks at blood drives and donation centers

Our Lady of the Lake Blood Donor Center is currently looking for people who have fully recovered from the novel coronavirus to give convalescent plasma for seriously ill coronavirus patients. You may qualify to donate if you meet specific convalescent plasma and regular blood donation eligibility requirements, and if you have a prior, verified diagnosis of COVID-19, but are now symptom free and fully recovered.

If you meet all the criteria and would like to help, please complete the Donor Request Form. Eligible donors may give convalescent plasma every 28 days. For those who have recovered, this is a rare opportunity to help others, and we appreciate your willingness to help patients in need!

There’s no waiting period for donating whole blood. However, you must wait two full days after taking aspirin or any medication containing aspirin before donating platelets by apheresis.

You must wait at least 24 hours after completing a cycle of oral antibiotics for bacterial or viral infections. Antibiotics by injection for an infection require a 10-day waiting period. Acceptable if you are taking antibiotics to prevent an infection for the urinary tract, acne or rosacea.

You may still donate as long as you feel well, have no fever, and have no problems breathing through your mouth.

You can be exposed to malaria through travel, and travel in certain areas can sometimes disqualify you from donating until later. If you have traveled outside of the United States and Canada, your travel destinations will be reviewed at the time of donation.

Come prepared to provide travel details when you donate.

You may donate if your blood pressure is below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) at the time of donation. Medications for high blood pressure do not disqualify you from donating.

You may donate if you feel well when you come to donate, and your blood pressure is at least 90/50 (systolic/diastolic).

You may donate as long as your pulse is no more than 100 and no less than 50. A pulse that is regular and less than 50 will require evaluation by a physician.

Eligibility depends on the type of cancer and your treatment history. If you had leukemia or lymphoma, including Hodgkin’s Disease and other cancers of the blood, you are not eligible to donate. Other types of cancer are acceptable if the cancer has been treated successfully and it has been more than 12 months since treatment was completed and there has been no cancer recurrence. Lower risk in-situ cancers including squamous or basal cell cancers of the skin that have been completely removed do not require a 12-month waiting period.

Diabetics who are well controlled on insulin or oral medications are eligible to donate.

In general, you may donate as long as you have been medically evaluated and treated, have no current (within the last 6 months) heart related symptoms such as chest pain and have no limitations or restrictions on your normal daily activities.

You may donate if you have a heart murmur as long as you have been medically evaluated and treated and have not had symptoms in the last 6 months and have no restrictions on your normal daily activities.

In order to donate blood, women must have a hemoglobin level of at least 12.5 g/dL, and men must have a hemoglobin level of at least 13.0 g/dL.

You may donate platelets if you have sickle cell disease or trait and you meet the minimum hemoglobin requirements.

Acceptable as long as the skin over the vein to be used to collect blood is not affected. If the skin disease has become infected, wait until the infection has cleared before donating. Taking antibiotics to control acne does not disqualify you from donating.

You must wait 12 months after receiving a blood transfusion from another person in the United States.

You may donate after dental procedures as long as there is no infection present. Wait until finishing antibiotics for a dental infection, and wait three days after having oral surgery.

You must wait 12 months after a tattoo if the tattoo was applied in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities.

You may donate if the instruments used were single-use equipment and disposable.

Please call Our Lady of the Lake Blood Donor Center at 225-765-8843 and ask to speak to a recruiter.