American society of clinical oncology (ASCO)

http://www.asco.org/

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Blood donation in Canada

http://www.blood.ca/centreapps/internet/uw_v502_mainengine.nsf/page/Home


Blood donation in Canada

-Why should I donate?

Millions of people everyday need blood transfusions, in case of an accident, an illness, or anythng else, they need someone like you to care enough to help and donate your blood, because you might just save a person's life.

-Who Needs Blood?

Approximately every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood. In fact, according to a recent poll, 52 per cent of Canadians say they, or a family member, have needed blood or blood products for surgery or for medical treatment.
The good news is that one blood donation - in just one hour - can save a life.

(One unit of blood is the equivalent to one donation)

 

 

-Can I donate?

 

 

Basic Eligibility

Please note that this information is subject to change. Final eligibility determination rests with the screening staff at the donor clinic.
Identification
Identification with full name and signature, or full name and photograph required.
Age
To donate, you must be at least 17 years of age, in general good health, and feeling well on the day of your donation. If you have never donated before and have had your 61st birthday, or if you are between the ages of 67 and 71, and have not donated within the last two years, you must be assessed by a physician who must fill out and sign the following letter. You must also meet the other standard requirements for donation. To find out more, please call us at 1 888 2 DONATE.
Letter to the Attending Physician (Please bring the completed letter with you to the clinic when you next come in to donate)
Weight
At least 50 kg (110 lb). Are you between the ages of 17 and 23? Visit our Eligibility Calculator or call 1 888 2 DONATE for additional criteria.
Frequency of Donation
Minimum interval between blood donations is 56 days.
Health
In general good health and feeling well. You should have had something to eat and adequate sleep. You must also meet hemoglobin (iron) requirements (test done at clinic).
Screening
At the time of donation, you will be asked a number of questions to determine your eligibility. For example:

If You Have: You Must Wait Before Donating:

• Had dental treatment (extractions, fillings, cleaning, restoration)
• For cleaning or filling: until the day after treatment
• For extraction, root canal or dental surgery: 72 hours provided there is full recovery
• A cold, flu or sore throat
• Full recovery
• Had ear or body piercing or tattooing
• 6 months

Donating blood does not put you at risk of disease. All needles are sterile, used only once and discarded. The usual blood collection - a "unit" - is about half a litre, or one pint. Your body soon replaces all the blood you donate.
Stem Cells
To be eligible to join the Canadian Blood Services OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, you must:

• Be between 17 and 35 years of age
• Meet certain health-related criteria
• Fall between certain height and weight levels

For more information please call 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).


-Donor Questionnaire

What is the Record of Donation?

The Record of Donation is a form that captures all relevant information about you and your donation, and follows you from the registration process, through screening to giving blood. It includes a confidential questionnaire that helps determine if you are eligible to give blood. After donation, it then travels with the unit of blood and sample through testing, processing and final use. What You Must Know Before filling out the donor questionnaire we ask you to read the What You Must Know to Give Blood, or the What You Must Know to Give Plasma or Platelets brochure. The brochure information will help you understand what to expect during your donation and includes some details on post-donation care. You should also read the What Happens to Your Donation brochure to learn how your blood may be used after donation.

Record of Donation form

Completing Your Questionnaire

Help us make the most of your time and donation! When you come in to donate blood, be sure to complete your Record of Donation by shading in the boxes on the form for questions one through 13. Shading instead of ticking the boxes has shown to reduce incomplete questionnaires. For safety reasons, incomplete questionnaires may result in a donation not being used. Thank you for your cooperation!

Have you wondered why we ask all these questions Every Time ?
Click on the poster below to find out.

Impact on Your Eligibility

An affirmative response to any of the Record of Donation questions does not necessarily mean that you are ineligible to donate. Once you have responded in writing to questions one through 13, a trained health professional will determine your eligibility during a confidential one-on-one interview with you at the blood donor clinic.

Information Recorded on the Record of Donation

• Your donor identification and address



• Your blood type, preferred language, and number of previous donations



• Results of physical tests including hemoglobin, blood pressure, and temperature



• Indication of how the unit will be processed



• Indications of which employees served you



• Your answers to questions on health and certain high-risk activities



• Comments by screening employee



• Confidential Unit Exclusion (CUE) label


• Deferral codes, if applicable



• Relevant details of the venepuncture and bleed time



• Unit labelling information



• Your signature, confirming your informed consent to use the blood collected and that you have answered all questions truthfully.

For more information about the Record of Donation, please speak to a nurse at your local blood donor clinic, or call 1 888 2 DONATE
(1 888 236-6283) and ask to speak with a member of our medical staff.


-What can I donate?

Types of Donations

Canadian Blood Services is responsible for recruiting blood and bone marrow donors, as well as collecting blood, plasma, and platelets at 41 permanent collection sites and more than 19,000 donor clinics annually.

Canadian Blood Services collects whole blood. Whole blood is comprised of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. Some donations are held and transfused as whole blood, others are processed to separate red blood cells and plasma.

All whole blood donations undergo leukoreduction, a process whereby white blood cells are removed. White blood cells often carry viruses and bacteria that can be detrimental to the recovery of the recipient.

Some donors donate plasma through a process called plasmapheresis. The donor’s blood is processed through an apheresis machine that extracts only the plasma and returns the rest of the blood to the donor. Plasma may be transfused into a patient or further processed into other products.
Platelets can be donated through a process called plateletpheresis.

 The donor’s blood is processed through an apheresis machine, much like in a plasma donation. In this case, only the platelets are collected and the rest of the blood is returned to the donor.

All main Canadian Blood Services donor clinics have a plateletpheresis program. Because the plateletpheresis programs differ from location to location, if you are interested in becoming a platelet donor, please call 1 888 2 DONATE (1 888 236-6283) during regular business hours and select option "1" from the automated voice system to speak to a member of our medical staff.

In managing the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, Canadian Blood Services also collects blood samples for donors who wish to join. Canadian Blood Services records the specific proteins that make an individual’s stem cells unique. This information is used to match donors with patients who need stem cell transplants.
Would you like to become a donor?

-Blood

Every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood. Much of the blood that is transfused every year is done under emergency or trauma situations. In Canada, hundreds of thousands of people each year receive blood components or blood products following accidents, during surgery or for cancer treatments, burn therapy, hemophilia and other blood-related diseases.

• The average amount of blood in one person is five litres or 10.5 pints
• There are approximately 450 ml of blood in a unit
• On average, 4.6 units of blood are required per patient
• In 2004/2005 Canadian Blood Services collected approximately 850,000 units of whole blood

ASH: American Society of Hematology

http://www.hematology.org/

Everything you needto know about Hematology!
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