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Blood Donor Center
Click here to schedule an appointment online to give blood.
The Edward J. Miller, Sr., Blood Donor Center, an independent collection facility at the hospital, was established in 1990 to support the growing need for blood and blood products at Children’s National Medical Center.
The Blood Donor Center team collects approximately 2,800 whole blood donations and 750 apheresis platelet donations per year. But as the number of patients treated at Children’s continues to grow, the need for blood donations is greater than ever.
Services
Therapeutic apheresis
Children’s Blood Donor Center team performs more than 100 therapeutic apharesis procedures annually.
- Therapeutic red blood cell exchanges account for more than half of the therapeutic apheresis procedures performed. Red blood cell exchanges are performed for patients with sickle cell disease, thalassemia and other congenital anemias. By removing the patient’s red blood cells and replacing them with healthy donor red blood cells, these children are able to able to maintain an active lifestyle.
- Therapeutic plasma exchange procedures treat neurological disorders, such as myasthenia gravis, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and for organ transplant rejection.
- Therapeutic white blood cell depletion procedures decrease tumor burden in leukemia.
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Peripheral blood stem cell collection. Stem cells are collected from patients for their own use or from healthy donors to support the bone and marrow transplantation program.
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Granulocyte collection. Granulocytes are collected from steroid or GCSF stimulated donors and are given to patients with low or poor functioning white blood cells to treat overwhelming infections.
Hematopoeitic peripheral blood stem cells are now used to replace in part bone marrow for transplantation. Stems cells maybe collected from patient for their own use or from specific donors to support the blood and marrow transplantation program.
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Blood donation needs
The need for blood and platelets affects everyone. The majority of people will need blood at some point in their lives. Many patients at Children’s National Medical Center require fresh blood or special rare types. Blood and platelets are in constant demand for victims of accidents, cancer treatments, blood diseases, and many types of surgery. Each pint donated may help three or more patients.
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Transfusion Buddy Program
The Blood Donor Center needs many donors, especially African-American, to participate in the Transfusion Buddy Program, which provides frequently transfused patients with blood that specifically matches their own. Children who receive frequent blood transfusions, such as sickle cell disease patients, require 1 to 10 units of blood every 4 weeks. These patients tend to develop antibodies more often, which can make it very difficult to find compatible blood for them. Closely matching a specific donor’s blood to the patient’s decreases the antibodies that frequently transfused children develop.
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Donating blood
Donating blood is simple and takes only 45 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the type of donation. Donors have the option of giving blood at the Blood Donor Center or on Children’s new Bloodmobile.
Blood Donor Center
Located on the second floor of the hospital in room 2302, the Blood Donor Center’s hours of operation are:
- Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 am to 4 pm
- Wednesdays from 7 am to 2:30 pm
- Fridays from 7 am to 3:30 pm
Hours are subject to change.
Schedule an appointment online or by calling 202-476-KIDS (5437).
Bloodmobile
Donors not able to travel to Children’s can now donate through the Bloodmobile, a 40-foot vehicle that travels throughout the greater Washington, DC area to places of employment, schools, organizations, and places of worship for sponsored blood drives.
The Bloodmobile is available every Tuesday and Thursday. Call 202-476-6524 to schedule a blood drive or for more information.
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