Common questions / 07/07/2019

Why do they test before donating the blood?

The objective of pre-donation TTI testing is to save resources, materials and man-hours which would have been spent to procure donor blood which could not be used in therapy and reduce the discard rate of donated blood.

When you donate blood do they tell you if something is wrong?

Test results are transferred electronically to the processing center within 24 hours. If a test result is positive, your donation will be discarded and you will be notified (our test results are confidential and are only shared with the donor, except as may be required by law).

What tests are done before you donate blood?

They’ll test your blood to see what blood type it is and to check for:

Babesiosis, a parasite.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody.
Hepatitis B virus.
Hepatitis C virus.
HIV.

What do they ask before you give blood?

Before you donate, an employee from the blood bank will ask you some confidential questions about your health and lifestyle. You’ll also get a short health exam or “mini-physical.” An employee will take your pulse, blood pressure, and temperature, and take a small amount of blood for testing.

Can a person with tattoos donate blood?

You can donate with tattoos If you got a tattoo in the last 3 months, is completely healed and was applied by a state regulated entity, which uses sterile needles and fresh ink — and you meet all donor eligibility requirements — you can donate blood!

Can someone with syphilis donate blood?

If you contracted syphilis or gonorrhea, wait three months following completion of your treatment to donate blood. If you have chlamydia, HPV, or genital herpes, you can still donate blood if you meet the other eligibility requirements.

Can I drink coffee before giving blood?

Donors should have a healthy meal and drink fluids within four hours before donating. It is best to avoid coffee and caffeinated beverages before donating. Bring a PHOTO ID.

How do you find out if you are a Red Cross blood donor?

Log in to your donor account on RedCrossBlood.org or the Blood Donor App to see your test results. Note: The Red Cross is not testing donors to diagnose illness, referred to as a diagnostic test, and a positive antibody test results do not confirm infection or immunity; a positive antibody test indicates potential prior exposure to the virus.

How are blood tests done on donated blood?

There are three main conditions that control Blood tests on donated Blood: politics of the moment, the honesty of the potential Blood donor in the pre-donation interview, and often the overriding factor, the cost of the tests on the donated Blood themselves.

What happens when you donate a pint of blood?

You arrive for your blood donation appointment. Health history and mini physical are completed. For a whole blood donation, about 1 pint of blood is collected; several small test tubes of blood are also collected for testing. Your donation, test tubes and your donor record are labeled with an identical bar code label.

Can you donate blood with only one reactive test?

If you have had only one reactive test for anti-HBc, then you may be eligible to donate blood again, provided that all other donor suitability criteria are met and the blood center’s procedures are followed.

Do you need an antibody test to donate blood?

An antibody test assesses whether your immune systems has responded to the infection, not if the virus or infection is currently active. The Red Cross is not testing donors to diagnose illness, referred to as a diagnostic test, and positive antibody test results do not confirm infection or immunity; a positive antibody test indicates potential

Can a blood test be done on an incomplete blood donation?

However, there are some additional tests that may need to be done on some donations as necessary. Sometimes the tests cannot be done, for example – if you give an incomplete blood donation or no blood samples are obtained, or if we cannot take a donation because of poor veins or you have low haemoglobin level for blood donation.

What are the recommendations for a blood donor?

The panel’s recommendations included continuing testing for anti-HBc as part of the donor screening process, both to prevent hepatitis B and as a surrogate marker for HIV risk. The panel also emphasized the need to improve the specificity of screening tests for anti-HBc.