Donation Tips

Double Red Cell Info

In a traditional blood donation, donors give whole blood–which consists of red cells, plasma and platelets. With the automated process called double red cell donation, donors can give just red cells–but two units of red cells–and that's the component of blood that is in the greatest demand.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, to be eligible to donate double red cells:

  • Men must weigh at least 130 lbs. and be at least 5'1"
  • Women must weigh at least 150 lbs. and be at least 5'5"

For more on double red cell technology, read an article or view more on criteria.

Schedule Double Red

Scheduling an appointment for double reds can be done two ways:

  • Click on specially marked (*) drives.

Blood Drives

Date Drive Time Location
Mon 02/06 10 AM — 4 PM IM Building, Gym 3
Mon 02/06 1 PM — 7 PM The Pointe Apts, Vairo Blvd
Tue 02/07 10 AM — 4 PM Rec Hall, Mezannine
Tue 02/07 1 PM — 7 PM North Halls, Warnock Lounges
Wed 02/08 10 AM — 4 PM Pasquerilla Spiritual Center
Thu 02/09 10 AM — 4 PM HUB, Heritage Hall +^
Fri 02/10 10 AM — 4 PM HUB, Heritage Hall +^
Tue 02/14 10 AM — 4 PM Hammond Building, Kunkle Louge
Wed 02/15 10 AM — 4 PM Blue Band Building
Thu 02/16 10 AM — 4 PM Penn Stater Hotel
Sat 02/18 11 AM — 5 PM IM Building, Gym 3 ^
Wed 02/29 10 AM — 4 PM Bryce Jordan Center, rooms E and F

* Double Red Cell donations locations
+ Charles Drew Blood Donation Blood Drives
^ Bone Marrow Registry Drives

The drives on February 9th and 10th are part of our Charles Drew Blood Donation Campaign. This is a special blood campaign geared towards diversifying the blood bank in memory of Dr. Charles Drew, an African American physician. Many members of minority populations, especially the African American population, have rare blood types. By increasing the amount of multi-cultural donors, we can help meet this continuous need.

Have you ever wanted to literally save a life? Well, on February 9th, 10th, and 18th you'll have the opportunity to do so by signing up to join the bone marrow registry through DKMS. It's easy to do (just register and have your cheek swabbed), and takes under 10 minutes. Give hope to leukemia and lymphoma patients who need transplants. The more donors that register, the better the chance for sick patients to find a bone marrow match. For more information, visit www.DKMS.org.

Sign up to donate blood from the links above, or schedule an appointment to donate blood.

Can't find where the blood drive is? Click here for a map of campus.

Want to blog about your blood donation? Then click here to do so!

Our blood drive campaigns during the year

Give Life... For Life

Give Life... For Life, the Student Red Cross Club's donor retention program, began in 2010 as an effort to increase the number of times a donor returns to donate blood. This tiered reward system enters donors in multiple prize raffles based on the number of times they have presented to donate during the school year. The more times you return to donate, the more tiers of prizes you are entered to win. Entry is simple - each time you come to donate, log your donation on the laptop computer. Done! Your donation is logged.

Another component of Give Life... For Life is the donor retention blog, which can be found at http://givelife-forlife.blogspot.com/. This blog contains stories submitted by donors about their donation experiences. Through this blog, we are attempting to encourage people to donate blood and to donate multiple times. Entries can be submitted by sending an email to srccdonorretention.donorblog@blogger.com.

Give Life... For Life was started by the Penn State Student Red Cross Club's current sponsorship officer, Emily Dong, in 2010. It is currently being maintained by the club's donor retention chair for this year, Rishi Agrawal. Rishi can be reached at rra5046@psu.edu.

THON Blood Drives

Join the Red Cross and THON at our THON Blood drives which run from December 2nd though THON Weekend. For every presenting donor, $4 will be donated to THON and credited to the organization of your choice. Come out and donate FTK!

Curious to see how many donors your organization has credited to it? Check it out here.

Penn State - Ohio State Blood Battle

Beginning this year, we will be challenging Ohio State to a blood battle similar to how we challenge MSU in November. It will be a friendly competition to see who can collect more blood. The competition will run from March 21st through April 29th, and both schools will schedule 1300 units of blood. The winning school will not only get bragging rights in the Big Ten, but possibly in the nation! Make sure you donate!

Penn State - Michigan State Blood Donor Challenge

November 1st through the 18th is our 17th annual PSU-MSU Blood Donor Challenge and Alpha Epsilon Delta Blood Cup! The PSU-MSU blood donor challenge is a friendly competition between Penn State and Michigan State to see who can collect the most blood during three weeks in November. We have won 11-5 (last 4 years in a row!). The slogan for this year is "Beating Spartans, Saving Lives."

During the same time as the PSU-MSU Challenge, we have the AED Blood cup, which is a friendly competition within organization/clubs at Penn State. There are three categories: Large group (50+ members), small group (less than 50), and Greek orgs. Any successful donor can sign the blood cup book for their club or another club at the canteen. Winning groups get bragging rights and a Blood Cup Trophy!

Aside from the free pizza and free t-shirt given out to every presenting donor, we have a lot of GREAT big ticket items this year including a $200 shopping spree, two $100 shopping sprees, a flat screen TV, Big Boulder/Jack Frost lift tickets, and Fullington Bus trip to New York City with a gift certificate to Broadwayshows.com. At every blood drive we will also be giving away lion cash, certificates to local restaurants and stores, etc.

Bleed Blue

Be a presenting donor this blood drive and you could be one of the winners of our Red Cross "Bleed Blue" Donor of the Game promotion! Winners will receive prizes including: tickets to a Penn State Football home game, pre-game hospitality passes, t-shirts, sideline visit during the game, radio recognition during the Pre-Game broadcast and be entered to win the GRAND PRIZE drawing for (4) tickets, airfare and hotel accommodations to the 2012-2013 Penn State Bowl Game!

If you're selected Donor of the Game, you will receive:

  • Two tickets to the Penn State football game
  • Two pre-game hospitality passes
  • Two Penn State t-shirts
  • A sideline visit during the game
  • Radio recognition during the Pre-Game Show portion of the statewide game broadcast
  • Beaver Stadium video board recognition
  • After the game, the Donor of the Game photo will be posted on the Penn State Athletics web site, www.GoPSUsports.com.
  • You will also be entered in a drawing for trip the Penn State's 2012 Season Bowl Game, including four game tickets, airfare and accommodations.