A blood bank is a facility focused on screening blood or blood component donors, as well as collecting, processing, testing, storing, and distributing this donated tissue.
A blood bank doesn’t just store blood, it also carries out various processes and tests to ensure that transfusions given to patients meet the quality standards required by current national and international regulations.
By agreeing to have blood, or one of its components, drawn to later give to someone who needs a transfusion, you can help save lives.
What Are the Components of Blood?While whole blood donation is the most common type of donation, there are other options where a specific blood component can be donated to meet each patient’s individual needs.
- Platelet donation: helps patients with cancer, or those about to undergo an aggressive treatment.
- Plasma donation: only plasma is collected, and it’s commonly used for patients with severe burns or survivors of serious accidents.
- Double red cell donation: thanks to specialized equipment, a single donor can give double the amount of red blood cells compared to a regular donation, without any added risk to the donor.
Requirements to Donate BloodThere are several requirements that must be met to donate blood, to ensure safety for both the donor and the recipient. These include:
- Being of legal age and no older than 65.
- Weighing at least 50 kg (110 lbs).
- Not being ill on the day of donation.
- Having no history of hepatitis B or C, syphilis, HIV/AIDS, among others.
- Not having multiple sexual partners.
- Not living with epilepsy, tuberculosis, cancer, or other severe heart conditions.
- Not having received an organ transplant.
- Not being pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Not having any new tattoos or piercings, and not having had acupuncture, an endoscopy, or a transfusion within the past year.
- Although there are different blood types, anyone can donate, what changes is who can receive it.
There are additional requirements you’ll learn about when you apply to become a donor.
Requirements to Donate PlateletsWhen it comes to platelet donation, the requirements are generally very similar, though donors may be asked to avoid taking certain specific medications beforehand, since these can affect platelet function.
At ABC Medical Center’s Blood Bank, we can provide you with specialized care. Contact us!
