Donor Eligibility

Each day, approximately 600 people donate blood to the American Red Cross Mid-Atlantic Regional Blood Services. Thanks to their generosity, hospitals receive the blood and blood products needed for their patients.

There are two methods by which a volunteer donation can be made:

Whole blood donations can be made at Red Cross donation centers and blood drives.

An apheresis donation requires special equipment that separates the platelets from the blood and returns the plasma and red cells to the donor. Apheresis donations can be made at the Norfolk or Hampton donation centers.

Both whole blood and apheresis/platelet donations are essential for a safe and adequate community blood supply. Consider doing both!

16 year old donors

In the states of Virginia and North Carolina, sixteen year olds can donate blood with parental consent as of September 1, 2008.  If you are sixteen years old, a Virginia or North Carolina resident, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and are in overall good health, you are a good candidate to donate blood.  If you are interested in donating blood, please email your address and the American Red Cross will mail you a Parental Consent Packet to be read and signed by you and your parent or guardian.  Don’t forget to bring the signed permission slip to the drive that you would like to donate at.  Every donation can help save up to three lives, thank you for wanting to help with the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross.

Click here if you’d like to request a Parental Consent Packet.

Interesting Facts about Blood

• Every 2 seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.

• 25% of blood products are used to treat cancer patients.

• A single shock-trauma victim can use 100 units of blood components in just a few hours.

• Approximately 4 million patients receive a blood transfusion each year.

• The approximate distribution of blood types in the U.S. population is*:

O+	38%
O-	7%
A+	34%
A-	6%
B+	9%
B-	2%
AB+	3%
AB-	1%

* Distribution may be different for specific racial and ethnic groups

• 76% of Americans expect that blood will be available to them when they need it; however, less than 5 percent of the population eligible to give blood actually does so (according to a survey conducted by the American Red Cross).

• 97% of the population will receive a blood transfusion by the age of 75.

• The Red Cross only collects blood from voluntary donors.

• The four main blood types are: A, B, AB and O, positive or negative

• One pint of blood can be separated into three components: red cells, platelets and plasma.

• Blood is perishable; red blood cells must be used within 42 days. Platelets must be used within 5 days.

• The average adult body contains approximately 10-12 pints of blood.