Local Blood Services

The Greater Carolinas Chapter Blood Services works together with another unit of the American Red Cross called the Carolinas Blood Services Region to provide life-saving blood products to our community.

The Carolinas Blood Services Region - Team Carolinas - is headquartered in Charlotte, NC, and encompasses 82 counties in North Carolina and parts of South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. There are 56 Red Cross chapters within this 36,000 square mile area, which includes a population of more than 6 million people.

The Carolinas Region serves more than 100 hospitals and medical centers, distributing approximately 1,500-1,600 blood products each day to assist in the care of patients. To accomplish all this we employ approximately 1,000 staff members and work with thousands of volunteers each year. To learn more about the Carolinas Blood Service Region, please visit http://carolinas.redcrossblood.org.

Other programs and services offered by Carolinas Blood Services Region include:

• Two 24/7 reference laboratories
• Frozen rare units of blood - The American Red Cross maintains the National Rare Donor Registry
• Therapeutic apheresis
• Marrow, stem cell and sickle cell programs

How to Sponsor a Blood Drive

The work of saving lives begins with people like you sponsoring a successful blood drive.

By sponsoring a blood drive, businesses, churches, synagogues, community organizations and schools all work voluntarily to assure that there is enough blood for anyone in our community who needs it. New blood drive sponsors are always needed, especially around major holidays. In other words, we need you!

Our dedicated staff is committed to being your partner in success. We will enable you to recruit donors through educational and promotional materials, including posters, email, telerecruitment and direct mail. In addition, you will have a personal liaison who will support you and answer your questions. On the day of the drive, our professional collection staff will help ensure donors have a pleasant and rewarding experience.

What you do:

Offer a suitable location
Help recruit donors from your organization, group or community
Schedule donors for their donation appointment

What we do:
One of our representatives will work with you every step of the way as you plan and organize your blood drive.

• Help you determine how many donors to expect
• Reserve the trained Red Cross staff that you'll need for your blood drive
• Bring the blood drive equipment to you
• Set up the equipment and take it with us when we leave
• Confidentially screen donors
• Collect blood donations

Whether your organization is large or small, you can make a difference. In fact, small groups and businesses can easily participate by sponsoring a day at our donor center. To learn more, please contact us at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or register online here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is blood needed?
Blood helps keep the body healthy. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body, and takes carbon dioxide and other waste products to the lungs, kidneys, and liver for disposal. It fights infections, and helps heal wounds. It is needed to sustain the lives of people whose blood functions have been impaired by injury or illness.

How much blood is donated each year?
According to the National Blood Data Resource Center, U.S. institutions collected more than 15 million units of whole blood and red cells in 2001, the most recent year for which data are available. Blood centers collected 93% of the donated units, while hospitals collected 7%. These donations were made by approximately eight million volunteer blood donors. The American Red Cross collects almost half of these donations across the U.S.

How much blood is needed each year?
According to the most recent data from the National Blood Data Resource Center, U.S. hospitals transfused nearly 14 million units of whole blood and red blood cells to 4.9 million patients in 2001 - that's an average of 38,000 units of blood needed on any given day. Whole blood can be separated into its components red blood cells, plasma and platelets. The total number of units of all of these components transfused in 2001 was 29 million. And the volume of blood transfused is increasing at the rate of 6% per year. In emergency conditions such as war or disaster, the need for blood may change.

What is done with donated blood?
Typically, each donated unit of blood - referred to as whole blood - is separated into multiple components, such as red blood cells, plasma, platelets, and several derivatives of these major components. Each component can be transfused to different individuals with different needs. Therefore, each donation can be used to help save as many as three lives.

Who needs blood?
Under normal circumstances, every two seconds someone in America will need a blood transfusion. Blood transfusions are used for trauma victims - due to accidents and burns - heart surgery, organ transplants, women with complications during childbirth, newborns and premature babies, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

Can you accumulate and store blood?
Blood has a limited shelf life. The different components of blood can last from 5 days to a year or more.

• Platelets must be used within 5 days of donation.
• Red blood cells may be stored under refrigeration for a maximum of 42 days. Frozen red blood cells can last up to 10 years, but because of the high cost involved, only a small portion of the blood supply can be frozen.
• Plasma is generally frozen and must be used within one year.
  

Because blood is perishable, new donations are needed every day.

What blood type is needed most?
All blood types are needed. Common blood types are needed because there are many patients with them. Less common blood types are needed because there are fewer donors to give them. However, people with O- blood are particularly in demand because they are the "universal donor." People of all blood types can receive O- blood safely, so it is used during life-threatening emergencies or when the matching blood type is in short supply. AB types are universal recipients. This relationship is reversed for plasma products. AB type plasma can be transfused to all patients, while O- types are the universal plasma recipients. Therefore, all types are really needed!

What is Apheresis?
Aphersis is the process of removing a specific component of the blood, such as platelets or plasma, and returning the remaining components (red blood cells and plasma or platelets respectively) to the donor. This process allows more of one particular part of the blood to be collected than could be separated from a unit of whole blood. For example, the amount of platelets collected in one apheresis donation is five to eight times more than in a regular blood donation. Platelet apheresis donations also allow donors to give a lot more often if desired. Platelet donors only need to wait 3 days before they are eligible to donate again, versus 56 days for whole blood donors.

Is donating blood safe?
Donating blood is a safe process. Needles and bags used to collect blood are used only once and then discarded.

How often can one give blood?
Regulations in the United States allow people to donate whole blood once every 56 days. The waiting period between donations can be different for other blood components. For example, donating only platelets in a process called apheresis requires only a 3 day wait before a person can give again. Donating two units of red blood cells through a similar process doubles the waiting period to 112 days.

Are the health history questions and my test results confidential?
Yes. The health history will be conducted by a trained professional in an area arranged to preserve confidentiality. Your answers will be kept confidential, except where required by law. If your blood tests positive to any of the administered standard tests, you will receive confidential notification. The Red Cross maintains strict confidentiality of all blood donor records.

What can I do if I am not eligible to donate?
While you may be unable to donate blood, there are other ways you can help. You can help organize a blood drive, recruit other suitable donors, or volunteer at donor centers or mobile blood drives to help make donors' experiences positive ones.

How can I ensure a pleasant donation experience?
You'll want a good night's sleep the night before, and a good breakfast or lunch before your donation. Drink fluids like juice, milk, or soda ahead of time. Take your normal medications as prescribed. Ensure you have adequate iron level by making iron-rich foods part of your daily diet. These include red meat, poultry, fish, green leafy vegetables, iron-fortified cereals, nuts, raisins and prunes. During your donation, relax. After your donation, have some juice and cookies in the canteen. Then you can go about your daily activities, but avoid heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for the remainder of the day.

Should I give blood now or wait until I am called?
Under normal circumstances eligible donors are encouraged to donate as often as possible. Please call 1-800-GIVE LIFE or schedule an appointment online. During emergency circumstances please listen to media reports in your area and donate as requested.

How long does it take to donate blood?
The whole process takes about an hour. It starts with registration, a health history and a mini-physical. Then comes the actual donation, which usually takes 10-12 minutes. Afterward, you will be asked to spend a few minutes in the "canteen" where you can have a light refreshment before returning to your normal activities.

How much blood is taken — won't it make me weak?
A blood donation equals approximately one pint of blood. The average adult body has 10-12 pints. The vast majority of people will not feel any different because of the donation. A very small percentage may experience temporary dizziness, but some rest and fluids will help you feel better quickly. Your body will replace the lost fluid within 24 hours.

What will happen to my blood after I donate?
Each blood donation is assigned a unique computer barcode number, which will identify it throughout its path from the donor to a hospital patient. Immediately after the blood donation, the blood is placed in transport containers designed to keep it at a safe temperature until it reaches a Red Cross component laboratory. Samples of the blood donation are simultaneously sent to one of five Red Cross National Testing Laboratories to be tested for transmissible diseases. In the component lab, the blood is separated into its components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. The products are then placed in quarantined, temperature-controlled refrigeration units until the test results are received (usually 12-16 hours later) and the blood can be released for distribution. From local distribution centers, the blood is transported to hospitals based on patient need. Hospital personnel then transfuse the blood or blood products to a patient in need.

Can I direct my blood donation to an individual?
Patients scheduled for surgery may be eligible to donate blood for themselves in the weeks before non-emergency surgery in a process known as autologous donation. Family members and friends can also make directed donations. Autologous and directed donations can only occur at the request of a patient's physician.

Can I direct my blood donation to the military?
The American Red Cross has created a strong operations network that helps us direct your blood donation to the areas of the country — or the world — where they are most needed. While you can't direct your donation to be specifically routed to military personnel, you can be sure that it will be sent to the areas of most critical need.