Blood Donor Program

Your time is valuable. Please call 314-251-4483 and make an appointment or sign up online to minimize waiting time. Recent travel to sure locals may cause deferral, so please call ahead and discuss your travel history. If you come without an appointment, please:
 

• Know that we will do our best to serve you as quickly as we can
• Be at our collection site at least 1 hour before closing time for blood donation and at least 2 hours before closing time for platelet donation.

Routine blood donor screening measures are already in place designed to prevent individuals with clinical respiratory infections from donating blood. Donors must be well. We screen all donors about their current and past medical history and are taking additional precautions for COVID-19 following recent guidance from the FDA. To ensure the safety of our donors and the patients who will receive the lifesaving blood product, Mercy Blood Donor Services is implementing the following policies:
 

1) Donors are asked not to donate if:
 

• You have received a vaccination for Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) other than Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson in the past 14 days.
• You have tested positive or had symptoms of Covid-19 infection in the past ten days.
• You have been within six feet of someone for greater than 15 minutes who has tested positive or has symptoms of the Covid-19 virus in the past ten days.
• You have received monoclonal antibody treatment or antiviral medication for the Covid-19 virus in the past 12 months.

2) Donors will have their temperature taken upon arrival.

All donors will be required to bring a state-issued form of ID. Your safety is our priority. We ask that donors come alone with no visitors, and masks must be worn at all times by everyone entering the building.

We maintain clean donation areas using accepted environmental cleaning standards. We are increasing the frequency of our cleaning and disinfection measures. Our donors must know that blood donation is safe and that patients with severe medical illnesses or undergoing urgent surgical procedures have an ongoing need for blood products that don’t go away during the pandemic. We appreciate the organizations and communities that have scheduled blood drives with Mercy Blood Donor Services.

Why should I donate blood at Mercy?

Your blood donation directly helps the people who need it most. It costs you nothing to give, and your gift makes a positive difference in another person's life.

Am I able to donate blood at Mercy?

To donate blood, you must be over 16*, weigh at least 115 pounds, and be healthy..

*16-year-old donors must bring a parental consent form, completed in ink, to donate.

Who will my blood donation help?

Your donation will help trauma patients, cancer patients, new moms, or other patients fighting any number of illnesses.

Can I donate blood to a specific family member or friend?

Donors may also request their blood donation be directed to a specific patient. Read our Directed Donations Fact Sheet for more information. The donor will also need to complete the Directed Donation Request Form.

How can I host a blood drive?

Mercy makes scheduling a blood drive for your school, business, church, or group easy. We'll help with the tools to organize and bring our mobile technicians to you. Saving lives has never been more convenient. To learn more, call us at 314-251-4483.

How long does it usually take to donate blood?

It takes about 10 minutes for your actual blood donation. The start-to-finish time, signing in, screening, gift, and snack takes about an hour.

How much blood does one patient need?

• Heart patients:  2 - 8 units of packed red cells
• Car accident trauma patients:  4 - 12 units of packed red cells
• Cancer patients on chemotherapy:  6 - 12 units
  
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) babies:  5 - 10 transfusions of packed red cells

What are some common facts about blood?

• One out of three people need donated blood in their life.
• One out of 10 hospital patients needs a blood transfusion.
• Blood is always needed to treat accident victims, cancer patients, hemophiliacs, and surgery patients.
• There is no substitute for human blood.
• You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.