On Thursday and Friday, August 5 and 6 the New York Blood Center will be accepting blood donations at the North Highlands Fire House at 504 Fishkill Road. Hours for both days are 2-8pm. For more than 40 years, New York Blood Center (NYBC) has provided our community with the highest quality transfusion products and services. That dedication and commitment continues today as New York Blood Center provides life-saving blood products and clinical and transfusion services to close to 200 hospitals in New York and New Jersey each and every day.
Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with appropriate written permission from their parent or legal guardian), weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. Donors age 76 and older can continue to donate blood if they meet all donor criteria, and present a physician’s letter allowing them to donate.
Prior to donating, be sure to eat at regular mealtimes and drink plenty of fluids. The NYBC recommends that donors not take aspirin, or products containing aspirin, for at least 72 hours before their scheduled appointment.
The first step to giving blood is to fill out a donor registration form. The registration form provides some basic information, such as name, address and age. NYBC staff will also ask a series of questions regarding disease history, medication usage and recent travel. Donors must also show us your photo or signature ID, or a bar-coded NYBC Donor ID Card. A brief medical history is taken, including a check of pulse, blood pressure and temperature, and a drop of blood is analyzed for hemoglobin (iron) content.
The actual donation procedure is done by skilled, specially trained technicians and takes 10 to 12 minutes for a whole blood donation. All materials, including the needle used for donations, are new, sterile, disposable and used only once by you for per blood donation. There is no risk of any disease transmission to a donor.
A little less than one pint of whole blood is given in a standard donation. The average adult has between eight and twelve pints of blood and can easily spare one. In fact, the body replaces blood volume, or plasma, within 24 hours. Donors should plan to spend about an hour from start to finish when making a blood donation.
Most people feel fine after donating blood. Full activity may resume immediately as long as donors feel well, but the NYBC recommends avoiding heavy lifting, pushing or picking up heavy objects for at least four or five hours after giving blood. After the donation is complete, a short period of rest is encouraged and refreshments will be available. After donating, The NYBC also suggests drinking extra fluids for the next 48 hours.
Additional information may be found at the NYBC website http://www.nybloodcenter.org or by calling 800.688.0900.
2-Day Blood Drive North Highlands Fire House
