No. To protect our donors' health and minimize risk of donating more often than is permitted, donors are not allowed to donate at more than one center. All plasma donation centers communicate regularly with one another to verify that donors are complying with this policy.

Those living within the donor recruitment area that includes Mexico or Canada are eligible to donate at that Grifols plasma donor center, as long as the residents meet the donation criteria and provide the required identification and documentation.

Although medical emergencies are rare at Grifols, on-site medical specialists are well trained to handle them when they arise. Donors' vital signs and blood are checked before every donation to confirm that blood levels are acceptable for donating and that donating will not cause adverse health effects.

Grifols' best recruiting tool is word of mouth. We provide a clean, comfortable and welcoming environment to our donors so they have a pleasant experience that they can tell others about. Grifols also places professional advertisements in local newspapers and on TV, radio and websites to inform prospective donors about the benefits of donation.

Plasma donated at Grifols plasma donation centers is used to produce medicines to treat or prevent serious diseases and conditions in multiple therapeutic areas: pulmonology, hematology, immunology, neurology, infectious diseases and shock and trauma. Grifols plasma medicines are administered by a provider via infusion, or individually through a subcutaneous injection. Many of these conditions require regular and lifelong treatment with plasma-derived medicines.

Donating plasma takes longer than donating blood due to thorough health screening requirements. The first plasma donation can take up to three hours and includes a physician examination, comprehensive medical screening and testing, and verification of donor identification and local address. Return donations typically take between one-and-a-half to two hours and also include a donor health screening, donor verification and testing.

A lot. About 130 plasma donations are needed to treat an adult with immune deficiency for one year, 900 are needed to treat an adult with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency for one year and approximately 1,300 donations are needed to treat an adult with hemophilia for one year.

Federal regulations allow individuals to donate plasma as frequently as two times within a seven-day period with at least 48 hours between each donation.

Yes. Thousands of people safely and painlessly donate plasma every day. Plasma donation is performed in a highly controlled, sterile environment by professionally trained medical team members following strict safety guidelines for each donor's comfort and well-being. Grifols uses sterile, one-time-use materials that are disposed of immediately. Each donation yields approximately 660 to 800 milliliters of plasma.

Within 30 minutes of the plasma donation, samples are drawn and frozen in an on-site freezer. Once test results come in, all approved plasma units are transported to a Grifols warehousing facility, where they are held for a minimum of 60 days to confirm the donor's health and the safety of the plasma. After the final checks and testing are performed, plasma donations are sent to Grifols production facilities in Los Angeles, California; Clayton, North Carolina; or Barcelona, Spain, where the process of producing life-saving plasma medicines begins. It takes up to 12 months from the donation to the time the product is available to a patient.

An applicant donor is a donor who has donated one time and whose test results have not been received. That donor's plasma is never used in the production of any Grifols medicine and is destroyed if the donor does not return for a second donation or has a positive test result. A qualified donor has donated two times without positive test results and has continued to donate with less than a six-month period between donations.

Plasma donors represent a cross-section of society. The thorough selection process yields donors who are healthy members of the local community who are seeking to help patients with life-threatening illnesses while supplementing their incomes.

Plasma donors must weigh at least 110 pounds (50kg), be in generally good health, and meet the age requirements of 18-69 years old.

Potential donors must undergo a thorough screening and selection process that begins with a medical exam. At every donation, donors must complete a comprehensive health history questionnaire to rule out individuals who engage in high-risk behaviors or live unhealthy lifestyles. Vital signs are checked at each donation, and blood samples are taken for screening tests to rule out transmissible diseases such as hepatitis and HIV and to check for proper liver function. Donors always come in contact with a minimum of four trained team members who assess their suitability to donate.

To be eligible to donate, you must have a valid photo ID, proof of residence and proof of Social Security number or Border Crossing Card (B1/B2 VISA/BBC). To find out which documents you need to bring, check out our First-Time Donor Checklist.