Patients need blood throughout the country. We need over 1000 units of blood a day to meet the needs in just the Los Angeles metropolitan area. O donors are also quite important and hard to keep in inventory. Because the majority of the population is O, the demand for that type is high. And AB donors are quite rare because the AB blood group is the most rare blood group we have among the ABO groups.
Blood donation is a very safe process.
The donor goes through a mini physical exam, including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and an arm exam. The donor has to answer many medical history questions regarding their health and aspects of their health that may affect the blood for a recipient. After the medical history is taken and the exam is done, a small drop of blood is taken from the earlobe or finger tip to do a test for hemoglobin, this test helps to determine if a donor has enough red blood cells to safely donate whole blood. Once they've passed that test, then we prepare to draw blood from them using a sterile single use disposable needle and a fresh blood bag that will be used only for them. About 10-15 percent of the donor's blood volume is removed during a blood donation, depending upon the size of the donor.