The blood supply in the United States is among one of the safest in the world, thanks to a five-part system from the Food and Drug Administration that all U.S. organizations that collect blood have to follow.
We call this system the “Five D’s.”
Donor screening
We don’t ask all those questions before you donate blood and platelets because we want to be intrusive. Asking these. up front can save you a trip and your time, as the questionnaire keeps more than 90% of people from donating due to their health conditions, medication they use, and travel. You also have to wait a certain amount of time between donations, and a lot can happen in the time between donations.
Donor testing
The little tubes we collect when you’re about to donate are sent to our sister organization, QualTex Laboratories, to be tested for infections that could harm someone if donated. If a test comes back positive, you will receive a letter from us about your results. See a video about the testing process here.
Deferral list
Like every other organization that collects blood, we have to keep a list of folks who have been deferred or are not able to give. Fortunately, some of you may be eligible to donate again due to recent changes in some FDA guidelines. If you have any questions regarding eligibility, please email us at donoreligibility@southtexasblood.org.
Don’t use it yet
The technical term for this is “quarantine.” Your blood donation is held until all testing is completed and deemed safe. Only then is it delivered to patients in need.
Deficiencies and problems
If we find any problems with the way we process your donation, we will notify the FDA to investigate and correct any issues. We have multiple procedures in place to both avoid and investigate issues.
