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Blood Banks Directory
If you would like to make a blood donation, this nationwide directory of blood banks will help you locate one in your area. Blood banks are storage facilities where blood and blood components, gathered from blood donations, are stored and preserved to be used later in blood transfusiions.
About 5 million people receive blood tranfusions each year in the US. Transfusions save lives and allow surgery to be performed. Transfusions may be whole blood, or blood parts such as red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Transmission of disease through giving or receiving blood is extremely rare, because the FDA, Red Cross and other organizations conduct rigorous testing procedures to make sure blood is safe. All blood donations are tested individually for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, syphilis and many other blood-borne diseases. If a patients know in advance that blood will be needed during surgery, they may donate their own blood in complete safety.
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