Process to Donate Blood Products

Donating blood and blood products to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is easy, safe, and rewarding. Your donation helps us treat children with certain life-threatening diseases. All blood products collected in our donor center go directly to St. Jude patients. We accept 2 types of donations: whole blood and platelets.

Get pre-screened

If you have traveled outside the United States, lived in another country, or take medicine, call the Blood Donor Center before making an appointment.

Our staff can answer questions about your health, medicines, and travel. They can also tell you if you may be able to donate.

Make an appointment

If you live in the Memphis area or visit our hospital, you can schedule your appointment by calling 901-595-2024 or submit an online request form.

The Blood Donor Center accepts donors Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

Prepare for your donation

Before you donate:

• Eat a healthy meal.
• Drink plenty of water and other fluids.
• Get a good night’s sleep.

If you are not feeling well, do not donate blood or platelets. You can schedule your donation for another day.

Getting to the Blood Donor Center

Enter the St. Jude campus at 332 North Lauderdale Street. Tell the guard that you are here to donate blood.  

We recommend that you use our valet services at the front of the Patient Care Center (PCC). Valet service hours are Monday–Friday, 5:30 a.m.–11p.m. Please enter the hospital through the door marked “Blood Donor,” located just to the right of the main entrance. 

See our parking and construction page for more information about valet services and campus parking.

What to expect

When you arrive, you will read information about blood donation and safety. 

You will sign a form saying that:

• You read the information.
• You understand the information.
• You had a chance to ask questions.
• The information you filled in is correct.

You can choose to stop the donation process at any time.

You cannot get an infection from donating blood. We use new, sterile equipment for every donor.

Health check

Before you donate, we will ask about your health and check your: 

• Blood pressure 
• Pulse 
• Temperature 
• Iron level 

We will take a small drop of blood from your finger to check your iron level. 

You may be asked not to donate (defer) if: 

• Your health history shows any risk to you or the person getting your blood product. 
• Your physical exam results are outside safe limits.

See Eligibility to Donate to learn more. 

Donor history

If you have passed the physical exam, we will ask you about: 

• Your health and travel outside of the United States: please bring a list of countries you visited, dates of travel, and the length of your stay there. Travel also includes living in countries other than the United States. For your convenience, you can call the Blood Donor Center about your travel before making an appointment to donate. 
• Possible exposure to diseases that could be transmitted by a transfusion, such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), hepatitis, or malaria. If you have been exposed, you will be evaluated further and may not be able to donate. 
• Any infection you may have. 
• Information that will help us decide if donating your blood could cause health problems for you. 

We ask these questions to protect the health of both you and the person who may get your blood product.  

If donating blood products may not be safe for you or the patient receiving them, you may not be able to donate. 

See Eligibility to Donate for common reasons for donor deferral. 

Blood testing

To make sure that you do not have an infectious disease that could be transmitted to a patient, we will do tests on your blood product to check for: 

• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS 
• HTLV-1, a virus that can cause blood or nerve disease 
• Hepatitis, a liver disease caused by a virus 
• Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease (STD) 

If there is a concern about your test results, we will contact you by certified mail and we may ask that you return in 8 weeks for repeat testing to confirm the results. We will also advise you to see your physician. 

Blood donation should not be used as a way to get a free blood test. If you only want a blood test, please contact your physician. 

During the donation

Sit back and relax during your donation. Some people prefer to read a book, work, or watch a movie. You may bring your own book or movie. 

• A whole-blood donation takes about 30 minutes. 
• A platelet donation takes about 2 hours. 

After the donation