Donor Center

Find out all you need to know about donating blood, including the location and hours of the donor center, membership benefits, types of donation available, eligibility requirements and how to schedule an appointment.

Location and Hours

The donation center is located in the Blue Ridge Center II building at 2709 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 150, across the street from Rex Hospital.

Volunteer whole blood donations are accepted at this location

Hours:

• Monday and Wednesday - 10:30 am - 6:30 pm
• Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - 8:30 am - 4:30 pm  
• First, second & third Saturday of every month, 9:00 am - 1:00pm

Special procedures such as apheresis or platelet, autologous, directed and therapeutic donations are also performed at this location, by appointment only.

Making a Whole Blood Donation

Giving a whole blood donation is quick and virtually painless. Each donor is given a brief medical history interview and a mini-physical (including blood pressure, pulse, temperature and hemoglobin check) before a trained technician draws a pint of blood. The entire process takes about 30 - 45 minutes. A whole blood donor can give blood every eight weeks. A pint of donated blood is approximately one tenth of a donor's total blood volume which will return to normal within several hours after the donation. Donor's can resume normal activities immediately after donation.

Donating Apheresis Platelets

Apheresis is a special kind of blood donation that collects only a certain component of donors' blood, either their platelets or plasma. At Rex Donor Center volunteer apheresis donors give platelets to patients in need of this special gift.

Although platelets can be taken from a whole blood donation, one apheresis donation is equal to the platelets collected from six to eight whole blood donations. It is important to limit a patient's exposure to different donors. This helps to avoid the risk of patients becoming sensitized to foreign platelets, which can allow antibodies to build up faster.

The eligibility requirements for donating apheresis platelets are the same as those for whole blood donation with one major addition. Donors are asked to refrain from taking aspirin or aspirin containing products 48 hours prior to their donation.

Donating apheresis platelets is simple and safe. Blood is drawn from one arm and routed through a sterile, disposable tubing kit affixed to a special machine. The machine separates the platelets from the other components of the blood. The platelets are then collected in a separate bag and the rest of the blood is returned to the donor. All tubing, bags and needles are new, sterile and replaced after each donation. The donor's blood does not come in contact with any other part of the machine.

Apheresis donors can give platelets every three days. There is a time commitment as the donation can take between 1 and 2 hours to complete. Donors can make apheresis donations by appointment at Rex Donor Center. To learn more or to sign up to make an apheresis donation, call (919) 784-4750 or complete the form below.

Schedule an Appointment

To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call Rex Blood Services at (919) 784-4750 or complete the form below.