Autologous Donations

Autologous blood donation is for patients who are undergoing scheduled, elective surgery. Each donation is subject to approval by the medical director. Patients must have a written order from their physician which includes:

• Patient's name
• Date & type of surgery
• Number of units to be drawn
• Hospital
• Physician's signature

Information on Giving Blood For Your Own Use

• This type donation can only be shipped to hospitals in our service area
• The first unit of blood cannot be drawn more than 42 days prior to date of surgery
• You may give blood once a week until you have the required number of units of blood provided you meet the donor guidelines at each donation
• Your last donation should be no later than 1 week before your surgery date
• We ask that you eat a hearty meal and drink plenty of fluids prior to your donation. It would be best to eat foods that are high in iron while you are collecting units for your surgery.
• Autologous donations are made by appointment only. Please call 325-670-2795 to schedule your appointment.
• At the time of donation, autologous donors will not be charged for the blood draw. At the time of transfusion, autologous donors will be charged the same fee as any other transfused patient with the exception of product fee.

Donor Directed Donations

Donors who want their donation to go directly to a specific individual must meet the regular donor requirements. A donor will be considered for the Donor Directed program with the written request of the recipient's physician. This request should include:

• Patient's name
• Date and type of surgery
• Number of donor directed units to be accepted for this patient
• Hospital
• Physicians signature
• Patient's Social Security number and date of birth

Directed donations are only accepted for hospitals in our service area. Each donation is subject to approval by the medical director. We must allow 5 days for testing and processing of each unit. Due to testing restrictions required by the federal government, no emergency donations can be accepted. In case of emergency, donor directed units may be utilized for transfusion to other patients.

Information Regarding Donor Directed Donation

• Donor Directed units must be type-compatible with the intended recipient (patient) and pass all testing required by the American Association of Blood Banks and the FDA. (The patient's physician may be informed of units not meeting these requirements. Donors of these units may be informed by letter of abnormal test results.)
• At the time of donation, there is no charge to the donor or intended recipient (patient)
• At the time of transfusion, the recipient (patient) will be charged the same fee as any other transfused patient
• There is no current scientific evidence that Donor Directed units are safer than those from the general inventory of voluntarily donated blood.