Donor FAQs

Generally, no. Blood donations take a standard amount of blood from each donor; around 500ml (slightly less than one pint) is required for the donation to make a difference for a patient.

There is no deferral period if you received tattoos or piercings from a state regulated or licensed parlor in Florida, Georgia, or Alabama.

If the piercing was done under aseptic (sterile) conditions with single-use equipment, there is no deferral period. If a sterile needle was NOT used, the deferral period is 3 months due to the risk of infection.

You cannot donate if you’re currently pregnant or have been pregnant in the past six weeks.

Yes, donors with diabetes are eligible to donate.

If you have any cold symptoms, it is best that you fully recover before donating, as donating blood can make the effects of common colds worse.

Having a low iron count is not the same as being anemic; anemia must be diagnosed by a doctor. LifeSouth requires a hemoglobin level of 12.5 d/dL for females and 13.0 g/dL for males, due to the American Association of Blood Banks’ suggested regulations. Some forms of anemia are not due to inadequate iron consumption. If you are chronically anemic, please consult a physician.

If you’ve been diagnosed with “mono” in the past, you are eligible to donate as long as you have fully recovered. Discuss this diagnosis during your donor interview to determine your eligibility.

Donors with a history of cancer are eligible to donate as long as they have completed treatment and recovered with no sign of active cancer remaining. Donors receiving prophylactic treatment, such as hormone therapy after breast cancer, are eligible to donate. Donors with low-grade prostate cancer (i.e. Gleason score 3+3) with no treatment planned are eligible to donate.

Having traveled or lived outside of the U.S. doesn’t carry an automatic deferral. The FDA determines which areas may pose a risk, and these areas can change. For an updated list of areas that can defer you from donating blood, call us at 888-795-2707.

Unless your blood pressure levels are extremely high, donation is possible. Many medications prescribed for high blood pressure are also permissible. Blood pressure is checked before every donation to make sure it is within an acceptable range.

Yes. If you received the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, there is no deferral for blood donation. If you can’t remember or it was another manufacturer, there is a two-week deferral. The list of vaccines and eligibility will be updated regularly as new vaccines receive approval.

There are very few medications that prevent you from donating blood. The deferral period is different for each medication. If you are taking any of the medications below, please call 888-795-2707 to confirm the deferral period.

Antiplatelet agents (usually taken to prevent stroke or heart attack):

• Feldene (piroxicam)
• Effient (prasugrel)
• Brilinta (ticagrelor)
• Plavix (clopidogrel)
• Ticlid (ticlopidine)
• Zontivity (vorapaxar)

Anticoagulants or “blood thinners” (usually to prevent blood clots in the legs and lungs, and/or to prevent strokes):

• Xarelto (rivaroxaban)
• Fragmin (dalteparin)
• Lovenox (enoxaparin)
• Pradaxa (dabigatran)
• Eliquis (apixaban)
• Savaysa (edoxaban)
• Coumadin, Warfilone, Jantoven (warfarin)
• Heparin (heparin)
• Innohep® (tinzaparin)
• Arixtra (fondaparinux)

Acne treatment:

• Accutane (isotretinoin)
• Amnesteem (isotretinoin)
• Absorica (isotretinoin)
• Claravis (isotretinoin)
• Myorisan (isotretinoin)
• Sotret (isotretinoin)
• Zenatane (isotretinoin)

Hair loss remedy:

• Propecia (finasteride)

Prostate symptoms:

• Proscar (finasteride)
• Avodart (dutasteride)
• Jalyn (dutasteride)

Basal cell skin cancer:

• Erivedge (vismodegib)
• Odomzo (sonidegib)

Relapsing multiple sclerosis:

• Aubagio (teriflunomide)

Psoriasis:

• Neotigason® (acitretin)
• Soriatane (acitretin)
• Tegison (etretinate)

Hepatitis exposure:

• Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (HBIG)

Other:

• Experimental medication or unlicensed (experimental) vaccine
• Growth hormone from human pituitary glands
• Insulin from cows (bovine or beef insulin) manufactured in the United Kingdom

At LifeSouth, we strongly recommend a meal or snack within two hours prior to donating blood.

We are not allowed to take your blood donation without first seeing an official form of identification. It must show proof of age, your signature and/or your photo. An example of such identification would be a valid passport or driver’s license.

First, you must show a valid photo I.D. Then, a donor technician completes computer registration for your donation. After that, you will be asked to answer questions relating to your medical and travel history. A brief mini-physical will be conducted to test your blood pressure, the iron content of your blood, your body temperature and pulse. The actual whole blood donation only lasts between four and eight minutes. Donors are asked to rest afterwards for about 10 minutes before leaving. The entire donation process takes approximately 45 minutes.

There may be a little sting when the needle is inserted, but there should be no pain during the donation.

No. Sterile procedures, materials and disposable equipment are used in all LifeSouth blood centers and bloodmobiles. You cannot contract HIV or other viral diseases by donating blood.

You must wait at least 56 days between donations of whole blood and 16 weeks (112 days) between double red cell donations. Platelet apheresis donors may give every seven days for a max of 24 times per year.

Donors are served refreshments and encouraged to stay in the donor chair for a short time after donating. Occasional light-headedness may occur, especially if a donor leaves the chair before having a short rest, or uses alcohol or tobacco products soon after the donation.

The pint of donated blood is separated into three components: red blood cells, plasma and platelets. If needed, two additional components may be made from a pint of blood: cryoprecipitate and white blood cells. The blood components are then stored until they are needed. Patients only receive the blood components that their body lacks. For example, some patients (such as cancer patients) may only need platelets while burn patients may only need plasma. Patients who have lost a great deal of blood due to trauma injuries, transplants or major surgery may require transfusions of all blood components.

Donors who test positive for infectious diseases will be notified based on state/federal regulations.

The body makes antibodies in response to foreign antigens (those you were not born with). If you receive a blood transfusion or if you are pregnant, you may be exposed to red blood cell antigens that differ from the ones you were born with. Since your body views these antigens as foreign, your body may create antibodies to defend itself against the foreign red blood cell antigens. These types of antibodies are called “unexpected red blood cell antibodies.”

You may wish to share this information with your doctor. While the positive antibody has no immediate impact on your health, the fact that you have a positive antibody will be used to determine the blood most suitable for any future need of blood transfusion.

Antigens are substances recognized by the body as foreign. A foreign antigen causes the body to produce an antibody to react with the antigen.

Blood antigens are found in everyone’s body, attached to the red blood cells. A person’s specific red blood cell antigens are set at birth. These antigens determine your blood type. For example, people who have a blood type of A+ have the “A” antigen and the “Rh” antigen attached to their red blood cells. Your body will not recognize the antigens associated with your blood type as foreign. It basically ignores these antigens.

The blood center tests all blood donors for the presence of unexpected red blood cell antibodies, because the donated blood may cause transfusion reactions within the recipient.

A positive antibody screen test is no cause for alarm; it is very common. It simply means that testing has shown you may have unexpected red blood cell antibodies.

If a donor’s blood tests positive for the antibody screen, the red blood cells may still be used for patients. Since antibodies are mostly present in the plasma (the liquid portion of blood), donors with positive antibody screens are asked to donate whole blood or double red cell donations. If your donation tests positive for the antibody screen, the blood center will perform additional testing on the red blood cell component you donated. If this additional testing shows no evidence of the unexpected antibodies in the red blood cell component, it can be used for transfusion.

Donors with positive antibody screens should not donate apheresis platelets due to the high levels of plasma present in these components.

Blood donors are confidentially notified of any unusual results found by our blood tests. There is a possibility of false-positive test results with any laboratory test. A positive test may indicate the presence of disease.

Tests performed on every unit of blood include:

• ABO and Rh
• Antibody Screening
• HBsAg – Hepatitis B Surface Antigen
• Anti-HBc – Hepatitis B Core Antibodies
• Anti-HCV – Hepatitis C Antibodies
• Anti-HIV 1/2 + O – HIV-1 and HIV-2 Antibodies
• Anti-HTLV-I/II – HTLV-I and HTLV-II Antibodies
• Anti–T. cruzi – T. cruzi Antibodies – The agent that causes Chagas Disease. (Tested only on LifeSouth first-time donors)
• HCV HIV-1 +2 NAT – A Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) that detects the RNA of the Hepatitis C virus and the HIV-1 virus
• HBV NAT – A Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) that detects the DNA of the Hepatitis B virus
• Syphilis
• West Nile Virus – A Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) that detects the RNA of the West Nile virus
• Cholesterol – as a service to our donors
• Zika Virus – A Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) that detects the RNA of the Zika virus

Tests performed on some units of blood include:

• Anti-HLA antibodies (previously pregnant females giving platelets or plasma)
• Anti-CMV
• Hemoglobin S (Sickle Cell)
• HLA Type – to locate compatible blood components and to match patients with special platelet needs.
• Red Blood Cell Antigen

A hemoglobin less than the level required for donation does not necessarily mean that you have a disease or your result is clinically abnormal. Hemoglobin levels may vary according to your age, race, gender, genetic factors and lifestyle. The hemoglobin value that we measured today may be perfectly normal for you, even though the regulations say that it is too low to be a blood donor. However, if your hemoglobin is significantly lower than the cutoff ranges, this may be a sign of anemia.

Sometimes donors deferred for low hemoglobin return the next day and are eligible to donate. Please monitor how you feel, choose a donation schedule that is healthy for you and work with your doctor on ways to maintain healthy hemoglobin and iron levels while donating blood.