Help Save a Life - Give Blood!
Date: 01/03/21
When deciding your New Year’s resolutions, consider becoming a regular blood donor. January is National Blood Donor Month, which makes it the perfect time to donate blood and help save lives. Blood is needed for many reasons. For example, leukemia patients, burn victims and emergency transplants all require blood. The only source for this blood are donations. Every time you donate blood, you are helping save a life.
All healthy adults are encouraged to donate blood. You can usually donate every eight weeks, however, there are some requirements you must meet to give blood. These requirements ensure the safety of both patients and donors. To donate you must be 16 years or older and weigh at least 110 pounds. If you are 16 you must weigh at least 130 pounds and have signed parental consent.
Sometimes, people can’t donate blood. The most common reasons people are not eligible include:
- Not feeling well. Being sick with a cold, flu and other types of temporary illnesses is a common reason why people are asked to not donate. If you are feeling unwell on the day of your donation, you should immediately call and cancel. The good thing is that 24 hours after your symptoms pass, you will be able to donate blood again.
- Taking certain medications. Most medications won’t disqualify you from donating blood. But you may need to wait a specific amount of time before you are allowed to donate. The Red Cross has a list of medications that may or may not affect your ability to donate blood. Here are some common ones:
Aspirin | There is no waiting period for a regular blood donation. However, you must wait two full days after taking aspirin before donating platelets. For example, if you take aspirin products on Monday, the soonest you may donate platelets is Thursday. |
Antibiotics | Antibiotics are taken when a person has an infection. You shouldn’t donate blood if you have an infection or are taking antibiotics for an infection. You can donate the day after finishing oral antibiotics or 10 days after taking antibiotics by injection. |
Birth Control | Oral contraceptives do not affect your ability to donate blood. |
Vaccinations | You can donate blood if you were vaccinated for influenza, pneumonia, tetanus or meningitis. You can donate if you received the Tdap vaccine or an HPV Vaccine. For more information about immunizations, visit the Red Cross blood donor eligibility website. |
Insulin | Insulin doesn’t affect your ability to donate blood. Donors with diabetes who take any kind of insulin can donate as long as their diabetes is controlled. |
- Having low iron. You may be unable to donate blood due to low iron. You can take steps to help increase your iron levels so you can donate in the future.
- Having traveled outside of the United States. You may not be allowed to donate blood if you have lived or traveled to a malaria-risk country in the past three years.
The winter season and seasonal illnesses like the flu make it difficult for organizations like the American Red Cross to maintain a sufficient blood supply. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had an impact on blood donations. According to the American Red Cross, the organization must collect nearly 13,000 blood donations every day for patients in need. Donate blood—encourage those around you to do so as well!—in order to ensure patients get the blood they need.
Can’t Donate Blood? No problem! Just because you can’t give blood doesn’t mean you can’t make an impact. You can volunteer or even host a blood drive through the Red Cross in your community. For more information, or to find a donation center near you, visit https://www.lopa.org/blood-donation.