Blood Drive

UA Little Rock Staff Senate is partnering with the Our Blood Institute, a nonprofit blood center whose volunteer donors provide blood to patients in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Upcoming Drive April 12 from a.m. to 3 p.m:

All donors will receive a Stand Tall T-shirt. For more information, contact Donald O’Donnell, chair of the Blood Drive Committee, at dxodonnell@ualr.edu.

Stand Tall and Donate Blood Drive Image

Schedule Your Appointment

All students, employees, and members of the public are welcome to donate. Those who would like to donate can make an appointment by visiting this link or calling 877-340-8777. Walk-in appointments are also welcome.

In order to reduce waiting time by up to 15 minutes, donors can answer the pre-appointment questions online by visiting the Donor Express website on the day of their appointment.

Issues and Answers

Answers to common issues:

  • Donors cannot be on antibiotics, blood thinners or had hepatitis.
  • If a donor has an elevated heart rate (We will give you a few minutes and a bottle of water to see if it lessens).
  • Promote and educate acceptable iron levels (#1 reason people cannot donate blood). Tea consumption can lower your iron levels which could prevent donation.
  • It is okay to donate blood with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes even while taking meds
  • It is okay to donate blood after receiving the flu vaccine
  • It is okay to donate blood taking most anti-depressants, ADHD medications
  • Cancer survivors can donate if they have been cancer free for a minimum of 1 year
  • Tattoos are ok if they were done at a licensed facility in Arkansas and a few other select states. If a potential donor received a tattoo outside of approved states, it must be a year old to be eligible to donate. No self-made tattoos allowed

Additional information can be found Arkansas Blood Institute’s website.

Nutrition

Here are some tips about your nutrition related to blood donation:

  • (Before donating start eating beef, lamb, liver, pork, chicken, fish and shell fish, dried fruit, green, leafy vegetables, beans, peas, nuts &, whole/multi-grains…)
  • Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Consume several glasses/bottles of water to open up veins and promote good blood flow during the donation.
  • Avoid drinking tea a few days before the blood drive (tannic acid can interfere with iron absorption)