What is a directed blood donation?

• A directed blood donation is when a patient, or patient’s guardian, chooses someone they know to donate blood products for the patient’s transfusion.

Who can provide a directed blood donation?

• Directed donors must have a blood type that is compatible with the patient’s blood.
  • Your/your child’s doctor may request lab tests on the donor and the recipient to make sure the blood types are a safe match for transfusion.
• Directed donors must be healthy and feeling well to give blood.
• Donations from a biological parent to a pregnant person carrying their child are not allowed due to the risk to future pregnancies.
• Donations from a future organ or stem cell donor to the intended recipient are not advised.

How can I become a directed donor?

• The patient’s doctor must submit a request to the American Red Cross for a special collection at least 10 working days before the blood is needed.
• Find out your blood type. (This may require you to get a blood test.)
• Red Cross staff will contact you and review your medical history to determine if donation is safe for you.
  • The Red Cross determines the requirements to donate based on federal guidelines.
• If approved to donate, you will be scheduled for a donation appointment where your blood will be collected.
• Appointments must be made at least 3 days before the collection date.

What happens after the directed donation?

• Directed donor blood undergoes the same testing as blood from regular volunteer donors, including infectious disease tests such as HIV and Hepatitis C virus.
• The directed donation will be tagged by Red Cross staff with the intended recipient’s name and will be shipped to the CHOP Blood Bank where it will be stored until transfusion is needed.

What is an autologous blood donation?

• An autologous donation is when a patient donates their own blood to be stored and given back to them later.
• Autologous donations must be ordered by the patient’s doctor several weeks before the anticipated need.
• The patient’s doctor must determine that the patient is healthy enough to donate.
• Autologous blood donations cannot be used for other patients.
• Autologous donations are collected by the Red Cross and its officials make the final decision about autologous donor eligibility, based on federal guidelines.
• The autologous donation will be tagged with the donor’s name and shipped to the CHOP Blood Bank where it will be stored until transfusion is needed.

The shelf-life of a directed or autologous donation varies depending on the type of blood product collected.

For more information about directed and autologous blood donations, visit the American Red Cross website.