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Donating Blood: Blood Safety

Blood Screening

When you give blood at the ALPS Blood Center, your blood is screened for various diseases to ensure the safety of our blood supply. These screening tests include:

• Syphilis
• AIDS/HIV-1/HCV
• Hepatitis B and C
• Virus associated with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma
• CMV - a virus that can be associated with other forms of hepatitis and infection

Physical Examination

Potential blood donors are examined for normal levels of hemoglobin, blood pressure, and body temperature to ensure the donors health at the time of donation.

Medical History

ALPSBC requests medical information from each donor to ensure a safe blood supply. Based on answers to various questions, blood screening, and the physical examination, blood donors will be deferred for the following reasons:

• Positive HIV test, signs or symptoms of AIDS
• Hepatitis, Malaria, Chagas Disease, Babesiosis
• Venereal Disease or other infectious disease
• Receiving clotting factors or growth hormone of human origin
• Possibility of SARS
• High-risk behaviors such as a man having sex with another man, having sex for money, and use of IV drugs
• Traveling to high-risk countries

Confidential Self-Exclusion

If after donating blood, the donor realizes that he/she should not have donated because of risk factors, behaviors, or diseases, they are asked to call the center and inform them that their blood should not be used. They can do so by using the donor number given to them before the donation.

There is Absolutely NO Risk of Getting AIDS or Any Other Disease from Donating Blood!