Please take a minute to peruse the Central Blood Bank notice I received in the mail yesterday. Check and see if you are available to donate blood at the above blood drive located at Wheeling Hospital, 1 Medical Park, Wheeling, W.Va., in their Auditorium B (Basement Level) during the hours of 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

So many lives can be saved when you donate blood for a “life saving” transfusion.  If you have never donated blood before, see the Central Blood Bank’s donation process below.  I have donated blood in the past and it is very easy, but my hemoglobin has not been up to par the last few times I attempted to donate, so I was rejected.  You will be checked out as well to make sure everything is up to snuff before you are approved to donate blood.

Step 1: Registration – In the reception area, you will be asked general information, such as name and address.  In order to maintain accurate records, all donors are asked to present proper identification (e.g. driver’s license, personalized Central Blood Bank donor ID card or military ID card, birth certificate and a picture ID with full name, etc.).

Step 2: Mini Physical – During the mini-physical, your temperature, pulse and blood pressure will be checked.  Your hemoglobin will be tested as well — which involves a small drop of blood drawn and tested to ensure the donor has enough iron-carrying red blood cells to safely donate blood.

Step 3: Medical Interview – You will meet privately with a Central Blood Bank staff member to review your medical history.  This information is kept strictly confidential.

Step 4: Pre-Donation Refreshments – Before the donation, you may be asked to drink a glass or two of decaffeinated fluids to help hydration levels.

Step 5: The Donation – In the donation area, a trained phlebotomist will sterilize the area of your arm before drawing the blood.  When donating whole blood, one unit (approximately one pint) is removed. An automated or apheresis donation means you are donating the individual component(s) – everything that you are not donating is returned to you.  For example, if you donate platelets, whole blood is withdrawn and spun in a sterile, self-contained centrifuge to separate the platelets; then your red blood cells, white blood cells and plasma are all returned to you through the same needle.  Apheresis and automated processes take longer than the whole blood donation process. All materials used during each donation are pre-packaged, sterile and disposable.  These materials are used only once and then discarded.

Step 6: Refreshments and Relaxation – After the donation, you will be directed to the café/canteen area, where you will rest while enjoying light refreshments.  After 15 minutes, you will be permitted to leave that area and resume your daily routine.

The average platelet count is between 150,000 and 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. The donation does not significantly decrease the number of platelets in the donor’s body, and the donated platelets are replaced in approximately two days. Platelet donors can donate every seven days and up to 24 times a year.

The qualifications for platelet donors are similar to those for whole blood donations. The minimum age is 17 (16 with signed parental consent form*), and platelet donors must weigh at least 125 pounds (110 lbs. with a high-enough platelet count).

The WHOLE BLOOD donation process, from registration to refreshments, takes approximately one hour.

The DOUBLE RED BLOOD CELL donation process takes a little more than an hour.

The PLATELET donation process takes approximately two hours.

ThePLASMA donation process takes approximately 45 minutes.

So, it is not hard to donate blood and only takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour.  Please consider scheduling an appointment or just walk in on Monday, February 23, 2015, between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. to donate “life saving” blood.

You never know when one of your loved ones may need a blood transfusion for whatever reason and they ultimately survive because of that transfusion – GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT DECISION TO DONATE BLOOD SO YOU CAN POSSIBLY SAVE A LIFE.

To schedule an appointment, you can visit www.centralbloodbank.org and click the “make an appointment” link and search with the Group Code W382.  You can also schedule an appointment by contacting Beth Zebick at 304-243-3339 or Cara Poludniak at 304-243-8309.