In addition, the Red Cross maintains a system of national reference laboratories to help physicians resolve complex serological problems and identify rare blood. Hospital blood bank technologists call the Red Cross every day to resolve special blood typing issues so that they can safely transfuse their patients. Criteria of a Blood Donor To give blood, you must be healthy, at least 17 years old, and weigh 110 pounds or more. It is not possible to contract the AIDS virus by donating blood. The needle is sterile, used only once, and discarded after use.
Nurses always wear gloves.
The only blood test performed at the blood drive is to determine the donor's iron level. In fiscal year 1996, the Red Cross collected 5.8 million donations of blood from American Red Cross blood donors. The Red Cross has the world's largest registry of rare blood donors and maintains a frozen supply of rare blood available for immediate shipment across the globe. This registry is tapped daily, responding to more than 1,000 requests each year. The Red Cross is prepared to support the U.S. military's blood needs during times of war.