Dave Stephens, Chair, Board of Directors, donated
at the blood drive at the York-Poquoson Chapter House.

Almost everyone can give

Generally, individuals may donate blood if they are in good health, weigh at least 110 pounds and are 17 years of age or older.

It takes only an hour of your time.

It takes approximately ten minutes to donate a unit of blood, although the entire process, from registration to refreshments, takes about an hour. Truly a small amount of time out of your life to perform a small miracle -- saving a life.

You can go about your normal activities.

Your body contains 10 to 12 pints of blood. One donation is a little less than a pint, only 450 milliliters. After you have donated and had something to drink to replace the fluid lost, you can resume your normal activities. Heavy lifting, however, should be avoided for the next 24 hours.

Your health and the health of the recipient is important.

The Red Cross cares about your health and the health of the patient. Trained Red Cross personnel will check your pulse, blood pressure, hemoglobin and ask you to answer questions about your general health before you give blood. This insures that you will be able to donate safely and the patient will receive the healthiest blood possible. Following donation, blood also undergoes laboratory testing to eliminate the possibility of disease.

Give as often as you can.

You can give blood every fifty-six days. Many donors have made a personal commitment to the patients served by the Red Cross. They donate their blood on a regular basis several times each year, and soon become part of our elite group of multi-gallon donors.

Call the York-Poquoson Chapter for further information about how you can donate your blood. But if you are unable to be a donor there are other ways to help. Click Here for more details.