Directed Donor Education

What is a directed blood donation?
A directed blood donation is a process which allows you to choose a family member or friend with a compatible blood type to your own to donate blood for you. The units will be donated prior to the scheduled surgery and made available as you need them.

Is directed donation safer?
Studies have shown that blood given by a patient's friend or family is not necessarily safer than tested blood from the all voluntarily donated blood supply.

The safety of any donation depends on the donor providing complete and factual answers to health-screening questions. Sometimes friends or family may feel pressure into making a directed donation and may prefer not to answer questions about their health or behaviors even though they know that their blood could be unsafe. Even if a patient knows the donor personally, a directed donation may still transmit disease.

You can be assured that the American Red Cross Blood Services, Central Ohio Region will screen the donors and test the collected blood before distributing it to the hospital for your use.

What is the donation process?
Each patient must already have their blood type determined and an anitbody screening performed prior to scheduling a directed donation with the Red Cross (so that we can be sure your selected donors are the appropriate blood type for you).

The Special Collection Order Form, which you will need to get from your doctor or hospital blood bank, must be completed and should be faxed to the Red Cross at 614-253-2924.

A donor schedules an appointment by calling 251-1450 or 1-800-448-3543. They need to indicate that they are calling to schedule a directed donation. To be eligible to give, donors generally should not have given blood within the last 56 days. One unit (a little less than a pint) will be collected from each donor. Donors can schedule visits up to 42 days before your surgery and as close to seven days prior to your surgery.

Is there a fee for this service?
Yes. The same cost associated with collecting, processing, testing, storing and distributing of blood from the community supply are incurred with the directed unit. An additional charge will be made for the special services associated with the directed donation. Most medical insurance will cover these costs. Following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements, your donor's blood is tested for infectious diseases just as blood is tested in the community supply.

When do I begin to choose directed donors, and where do I send them to donate?
First, discuss this procedure with your physician. After the physician completes the Special Collection Order Form, it must be faxed to the American Red Cross to have a patient chart initiated. A scheduler will then contact you for our list of chosen donors. It is extremely important that all information given to the American Red Cross be accurate and complete before any blood donation is made.

In the Columbus area, donors can donate at the Carriage Place Donor Center or the StoneRidge Donor Center. Other nearby cities with donation centers include Mansfield, Chillicothe, Lancaster and Newark. Appointments can be scheduled at any of these directed sites for the donors calling 1-800-448-3543.

The American Red Cross strongly encourages directed donors to ask their friends or family members to become volunteer donors for the community blood supply. The majority of hospital patients in central Ohio in need of blood for surgery or emergency medical treatment cannot arrange directed donations, therefore, there must always be adequate blood supply for all patients all of the time. Your donation could mean the gift of lift to a person who is in critical need.