Welcome to the SIA, Stanford Blood Center, & Red Cross Club blood drive informational page! Check out the information below or click here.
This blood drive will take place in the small gym on Friday, March 15th, 2024. Below is information regarding donor eligibility, post-donation information, the donation process, and other essentials you may need.
Donation Requirements.
- Must be at least 16 years old
- At least 110 pounds for donors 19 or older
- (Donors under 19- check the height/weight requirements)
- Generally good in health
Other Requirements.
- Photo ID
- If under 17, signed SBC parental consent form (scroll below) completed in black or blue indelible ballpoint pen only. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.
- Different color inks, pencils, felt-tipped pens, and white out are NOT permitted.
- 16, 17, and 18-year-old donors who give a whole blood donation will be eligible to donate in 180 days (approx. 6 months), and those who give a double red cell donation will be eligible to donate again in 365 days (1 year).
How to prepare?
- Eat well! Have low-fat foods within 4 hours prior to donation.
- Drink plenty of fluid- 24 hours before and after donating.
- Studies show that if you quickly drink 16 ounces of water right before (within 30 minutes) of donation, your reaction risk is greatly reduced.
Donation Process.
- Registration @ the site
- Provide the donor’s name, DOB, address, and telephone number.
- Provide photo identification.
- Fill out a confidential Medical History Questionnaire to confirm eligibility.
- Medical History
- Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and a drop of blood will be taken to ensure the safety of the blood donor and transfusion recipient.
- Donation
- A trained SBC phlebotomist will clean the donor’s arm, insert a sterile needle, and draw the donor’s blood.
- It can take up to 15 minutes to donate blood but it typically takes only 6-8 minutes.
- Rest & Refreshments
- Donors are then guided to the cafeteria to rest for 15 minutes and have light refreshments before resuming normal activities.
Be ready for donation day!
Donations will take around 1 hour to complete. Don’t forget to bring your photo ID!
Students & teachers: A volunteer will visit your class and bring you to the donation site. Please read Important Post-Donation Information for steps following the donation.
Off-campus volunteers: Please reach the office for check-in. You will receive a “guest” slip. Following this, proceed to the small gym for donations.
Important Post-Donation Information.
You are required to spend 15 minutes in the Cafeteria following your donation.
- Stay away from strenuous exercise for 24 hours. If you are a student-athlete, make sure to inform your coach.
- Increase fluid intake & don’t skip meals for 24 hours.
- Keep the bandage on for at least 4 hours after you donate. Make sure it is clean and dry.
- No heavy lifting with your arm for 24 hours.
- Most donors have uneventful donations. If a reaction occurs, it is usually mild. Some of the most common side effects are bruising at the donation site or light-headedness.
Requirements & Deferrals.
Height & Weight Requirements:
If 16 years old:
Fill out a parent/guardian consent form,, found at the link below, in front of the viking vendor @ the cafeteria, or the last page of this document with black/blue ink pen. Come to the cafeteria for an SBC pen if you are not sure about yours! Please submit your signed paperwork there as well by Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
Iron:
One of the most common deferrals is iron! Make sure you qualify under these conditions. If you are anemic, you will not be able to donate. Why? Read Below.
Most of the iron in your body is found in the hemoglobin (Hgb) of the red blood cell, responsible for carrying oxygen to your body. When you donate blood, you temporarily give up a part of this valuable resource until the body has time to replace it. To be a donor, your hemoglobin should be 12.5g/dL or higher. This will be checked on your donation day as well.
Here is what you can consume to improve iron absorption.
- – Eat lots of food high in vitamin C (citrus fruits, cantaloupes, strawberries ) and vegetables (cabbage, green peppers, tomatoes, & broccoli).
- – Beef, poultry, fish, lamb, veal, and game multiply iron absorption fourfold!
- – Food cooked in iron cookware, especially acidic foods such as tomato-based sauces, soup, and stews, and boosted in iron by 3-4 times.
- – Food containing folate and B Vitamin, such as vegetables, citrus fruits, liver, beans, and seafood are beneficial as well.
Medications:
Using most medications and other prescriptions such as antidepressants and birth control will NOT make you ineligible to donate blood! However, there are only a select number of medications that prevent you from donating. Review the list of these medications here to see if you’re eligible to give blood and support local patients in need.
Travel:
If you have traveled outside of the US or to a malaria-risk country, you may not be eligible to donate blood. Email/call Stanford Blood Center at (650) 723-7831 for further questions.
Tattoo/Piercings:
Any tattoos or piercings will not result in a deferral as long as it was done in a licensed California shop. Piercings are okay if it was done with a gun or single-use sterile needle.
Other:
You must be cold or flu-symptom-free for 48 hours. Allergies are okay! You are recommended to take an iron pill a few days before the donation and eat iron-rich foods. For more information, visit this page.
Thank you for donating blood!
