Donating» How to Request an Appointment
You can donate the lifesaving gift of blood at one of our three locations, or at a blood drive near your community. Please use the links below to decide what's most convenient for you.
- Schedule a Donation at a Center
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Find a Blood Drive
Or, call toll-free to make an appointment: 888-723-7831
Types of Blood Donations» Whole Blood and Automated
A whole blood donation is where a donor gives about one pint of blood. The actual "draw" takes around 7 minutes. After a donation, our lab separates blood into its components: red cells, platelets, plasma, and white cells. Dividing donations into components allows us to provide exactly what hospitals need for patients.
Automated blood collection (ABC) is a procedure that only takes certain blood components from the donor and puts the rest of the blood back into the donor. An ABC donor can give red cells, plasma, platelets, or a combination of these components. The actual "draw time" depends on the donor and the type of donaiton; some ABC donations take 20 minutes and some take 1.5 hours. It's an efficient way to give patients in hospitals exactly the blood "products" they need.