AAMC Blood Donor Center

AAMC Medical Staff President, Dr. Paul Elder, donates at the AAMC Blood Donor Center using the new apheresis unit, which separates blood into separate components. Renate Reed, BDC Tech., monitors the donation.

• AAMC Blood Mobile Program
• AAMC Mobile Blood Drive Schedule Summer ’07
• Basic Requirements
• Iron-Rich Foods for Donors
• The Blood Donation Process
• Did You Know?
• Donating Blood: it’s Simple, Safe and it Saves Lives

At AAMC's Blood Donor Center, located on Level Four of the Wayson Pavilion, blood is collected, tested and processed by professional lab technicians. This supply of blood is stored for use by AAMC patients. Having a sufficient supply of blood at the hospital limits the need to purchase blood from outside sources.

Autologous donations, where patients store a supply of their own blood in preparation for an upcoming surgical procedure are also done at the Blood Donor Center.

There will be an ongoing need for blood donations. Please make an appointment to donate over the coming month.

AAMC Blood Donation Appointment Line: 443-481-4215

If you want to donate blood, you must be:

• Between 17 and 70 years old;
• In good health;
• At least 110 lbs.;
• You can give blood while taking most medications.

Blood Donor Center Hours

Anne Arundel Medical Center Blood Mobile Program Each year 3,000 patients at AAMC -- your loved ones, your friends, your neighbors and, maybe even you -- receive life-saving blood transfusions. That’s nearly 7,300 units of blood needed each year in our community. Because there is no substitute for human blood, these patients are counting on caring people like you to donate this precious resource. AAMC’s Blood Donor Center was established more than 30 years ago to serve the residents of this community. The units donated at AAMC’s Blood Donor Center stay in the community to help the people right here. We are here to make sure everyone receives the “gift of life” when they need it. In addition to the satisfaction of having made a vital contribution, you will receive a free mini-physical when you donate blood. This includes blood pressure, temperature, and blood iron level (for anemia). We can also provide you with a free cholesterol screening. So you are receiving, as well as giving. We look forward to expanding our new mobile blood program. Our success is measured by our ability to meet the individual blood needs of every patient in our community. You can help AAMC support this cause by sponsoring a blood drive in your company, church, school, or organization. It is only through the generosity of donors that adequate supplies of blood products will be assured. To host a mobile blood drive, please call Selma Otto at the AAMC Blood Donor Center at 443-481-4272 or our toll free number 1-866-471-HERO. Anne Arundel Medical Center Blood Donor Center 2003 Medical Parkway Wayson Pavilion, Suite 450 Annapolis, MD 21401

Basic Requirements for Blood Donation

1. Be in generally good health and feel well
2. Be 17 - 75 years of age
3. Weight at least 110 pounds

Donation Frequency

1. Whole blood donors every 56 days

Immunizations

1. Polio, mumps, rubeola (a type of measles), smallpox - 2 weeks
2. Rubella (a type of measles) - 4 weeks
3. Tetanus, diphtheria, flu, Hepatitis B - can donate if no reaction present

Other possible Restrictions

1. Body/ear piercing - 1-year deferral unless piercing was performed with a sterile, single use, disposable, skin piercing needle, a piercing gun or a physician or nurse using a disposable needle and septic technique.
2. Dental work - cleaning, fillings, extractions, root canal, OK if no infection
3. Hepatitis exposure - 1 year
4. Tattoo - 1 year

Travel Restrictions

1. Malaria Area - can donate after 1 year if in a malaria area.
2. England - cannot donate if spent time that adds up to 3 months or more in the U.K. from 1980-1996 (England, N. Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands)
3. Europe - cannot donate if spent time that adds up to 5 yr. or more in European countries since 1980 (including time in the U.K. during 1980-1996) Military - cannot donate if spent 6 months or more in military bases in northern Europe 1980-1990 or Southern Europe 1980-1996

Medications

1. Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) - may be taken before any blood donation
2. Acutane - can donate 4 weeks after last dose
3. Allergy medication - can donate
4. Antibiotics - 7 days after infection: some are okay for acne
5. Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin and Naprosyn - ok
6. Aspirin - ok
7. Birth control pills - can donate if blood pressure is stable
8. Depression medication - can donate
9. Diabetic medication
   
   • Oral or insulin is okay if condition is stable
   • Injected bovine (beef) insulin since 1980- cannot donate
10. Diet pills - can donate
11. Female hormone pills - can donate
12. Propecia - can donate 4 weeks after last dose
13. Proscar - can donate 4 weeks after last dose
14. Soriatane (Acitretin) - can donate 3 years after last dose
15. Tegison - cannot donate if ever taken
16. Thyroid medication - can donate if stabilized

Medical Conditions

1. Allergies - can donate if no infection present
2. Asthma - can donate if no symptoms
3. Blood disorders or bleeding tendencies - cannot donate
4. Brain or spinal surgery that required a transplant of brain covering (dura mater) - cannot donate
5. CJD: donor or donor’s blood relative diagnosed with Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (CJD) or an increased family risk of CJD - cannot donate
6. Cancer
   
   • Basal cell, squamous cell skin cancers and keratosis - until removed and healed
   • Melanoma - cannot donate
7. Colds, fever, flu, sore throat, cough, respiratory infection, headache - cannot donate
8. Cold sore, fever blister, canker sore - can donate
9. Diabetes - can donate if stable
10. Heart Attack - if greater than one year and no symptoms - on no medication for the heart (Aspirin is okay)
11. Heart Surgery - Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) or angioplasty - 1 year after surgery, no symptoms and on no medication for the heart (Aspirin is okay)
12. Hemochromatosis - can donate
13. Hepatitis
    
    • Hepatitis or undiagnosed jaundice after age 10 - cannot donate
    • Positive hepatitis test - cannot donate
14. Herpes (genital) - can donate after lesions clear
15. Major/minor surgery - can donate after healed and released from physician care.
16. Pregnancy - 6 weeks after delivery
17. Stroke - 6 months after if no physical restrictions or medications
18. Venereal disease
    
    • Genital herpes - until all lesions are clear
    • Chlamydia, genital warts - can donate
    • Gonorrhea, syphilis and other venereal diseases - 1 year
19. Individuals at risk for AIDS must not donate blood. Do not donate blood if you have ever tested positive for HIV or if:
    
    • You have ever injected yourself with drugs not prescribed by a physician
    • You are a man and have had sex with another man since 1977, even once
    • You have hemophilia or blood clotting disorder and received clotting factor concentrates
      
    • You have had sex for drugs or money since 1977
    • Since 1977, born in, lived in or received blood products while in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger or Nigeria

Iron-Rich Foods for Blood Donors

The Blood Donation Process

Deciding to give blood is quite possibly more difficult than the action itself. Anxiety about a new experience and fear of the unknown causes many people to think twice about giving blood.

Be assured: Giving blood is safe and it saves lives. Since the needle is sterile and used only once, it is impossible to contract any disease by donating blood.

To donate you must be at least 17 years old, in good health and weigh at least 110 pounds. A good meal is recommended prior to your donation. The donation process involves four steps and takes about an hour.

• Registration
  You will be asked for your name, address, phone number and Social Security Number.
• Medical History and Mini-Physical
  A medical interviewer will ask you a series of confidential medical questions to determine your eligibility to donate. Then, your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and iron level will be checked. Low iron is the most common cause of blood donor deferral. To avoid low iron, donors should eat iron rich foods (see iron rich food inserts in this packet).
• The Blood Donation
  A technician will gently cleanse and sterilize your arm before inserting a needle that will cause a slight, momentary sting. The needle is sterile, used only for your donation, then disposed. If you wish, we also take an extra blood sample for the purpose of performing a cholesterol screening at no charge to you. The cholesterol screening results will be sent to the address you provided us at the time of registration.
• Rest and Refreshments
  Relax and enjoy fruit juice, cookies and assorted snacks for 15 minutes. Indulge yourself for a deed well done!

In the 24 hours after your donation, your blood donation will be tested, typed, and separated into various components to be safely transfused to up to three patients.

Did You Know?

Anne Arundel Medical Center Needs Your Blood

• Your donation will directly support the need of Anne Arundel Medical Center blood supply, by helping us you will be helping your community. We are here because, one day, your close friends, your business associates, co-workers, your family members and perhaps even you, will require this “Gift of Life.”
• Thanks to the support of our donors, staff, partners and patients, Anne Arundel Medical Center Blood Donor Center has been the “lifeblood” of the Greater Annapolis and surrounding areas for more than 30 years, helping to save countless lives. As our facility expands so does the need for blood. Our mission remains the same: protecting lives by providing quality blood services and exceptional customer service.

One Donation Can Save Up to Three Lives

Donated blood is separated into components that can be used for several patients.

• Red blood cells control anemia
• Platelets help blood clot and are needed by patients undergoing chemotherapy
• Plasma is used for patients with liver disease

Donating Blood: it’s Simple, Safe and it Saves Lives

It is safe to give blood.

• You cannot contract any disease by giving blood.
• All equipment is sterile and has never been used before.
• All donors are screened prior to donation to ensure that it is safe for them to donate and safe for a patient to receive their blood.
AAMC Blood Donor Center uses only volunteer, unpaid blood donors, which is the safest source of human blood.

You may donate blood every 56 days.

• A good meal and plenty of fluids are recommended prior to donation.
• Your body replenishes the plasma or liquid portion of each pint of donated blood in 12 to 36 hours.
• The red cells are replaced by the body in four to six weeks.

There is no substitute for human blood.

• Healthy people are the only source of “the gift of life.”
• Blood in liquid form has a life span of only 42 days, so volunteer donors must give regularly.
• One blood donation can save up to three lives.

Blood is used for all kinds of people:

• Accident victims
• Babies
• Children and adults with acute burns
• Those with catastrophic diseases such as leukemia and hemophilia

Leading users of blood and components are patients with:

• Diagnoses associated with cancer, heart disease, gastrointestinal disease
• Fractures and trauma
• Anemia
• Pregnancy
• Bone and joint abnormalities
• Lung, liver and kidney diseases

All donated blood is tested
After each donation is made, the laboratory tests the blood for a variety of agents. These include:

• Hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg)
• Hepatitis C core antibody (anti-HBc)
• Hepatitis C virus antibody (anti –HCV)
• HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibody (anti-HIV-1 and HIV-2)
• HTLV-1 and HTLV-II antibody (anti-HTLV-1 and anti-HTLV-II).
• Serologic test for syphilis
• Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAT) for HIV and Hepatitis C

• BACK TO SERVICES INDEX

• Your Blood Stays Right Here
• Your Blood Stays Right Here
• Double Donors

• Controlling High Blood Pressure Still a Problem for Many

• High Doses of Anemia Drugs Can be Fatal, Says FDA
• Oldest Adults At Risk For High Blood Pressure Effects
• Anemia Linked To Decline In Elderly People