Why Donate?
Donating blood is a great way to give back to your community and it only takes about an hour of your time. There are a few requirements to donate blood:
- Must be in good general health
- At least 17 years old
- Weigh a minimum of 110 pounds
- Have a valid identification (CA ID or driver’s license or passport)
* Blood donors may be 16 years old, but must have parental consent and weigh a minimum of 115 pounds.
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Here are some reasons to donate:
- Statistics show that 25% or more of us will require blood at least once in our lifetime.
- Only 5% of eligible donors across the nation donate blood, but the number of transfustions nationwide increases by 9% every year.
- Every 2 seconds, someone in the USA needs blood.
- There is no substitute for human blood.
- Blood is perishable. Whole blood has a shelf life of 42 days. Platelets have a shelf life of 5 days.
- 1 out of every 7 hospitalized patients needs blood.
- A single shock trauma victim can require 100 units of blood in just a few hours.
- A blood donation is one pint. The average adult has between 10 and 12 pints of blood.
- Blood donation is completely safe.
Donors can make a donation every 56 days. If you donated 4 times this year, you could save up to 12 lives. The entire process takes 5 easy steps and generally takes approximately an hour. The actual blood draw only lasts between 6 and 10 minutes. The rest of your time is spent in reception, in the donor history, and in the post-donation refreshment area.
