Two or three times a year, Elgin Community College hosts a blood drive through Heartland Blood Donation Center. It might seem annoying to get asked to donate every single time but it really is important; there can never be too much blood.

Some of you might be asking ‘where does my blood go and how does it help?’ Well, the blood donated is used in hospitals to help save lives during surgery, sent to natural disaster sites or to other nations to help those less fortunate.

There are four types of blood donations: whole blood (which contains red blood cells, platelets and plasma), double red blood cell (which is exactly like it sounds, taking extra red blood cells and leaving everything else), platelet, and plasma. Plasma donation is the rarest donation type since AB donors only make up 4% of the population and AB plasma is universal.

It’s not necessary to know your blood type prior to donation since the nurses will tell you in your pre-donation check. The most common blood types are O+, A+ and B+. O blood type is the most common in the United States and is always in short supply because it is so common and also because O- is the universal blood type for emergency transfusions.

If you were considering donating, there are a few things you need to know beforehand:

• A donor must be in good health
• A donor must provide photo ID
• A donor must be 17 years old or 16 with a guardian signed permission form
• A donor must weigh at least 110 pounds

There are a few other stipulations, such as travel restrictions (not traveling to the rain forest to avoid exposure to certain diseases), taking certain medications or having a persistent fever or cough. A common misconception is that if you have recently gotten a tattoo, then you are ineligible to donate but if it was from a licensed tattoo parlor in the state of Illinois, you are totally fine to donate.

It doesn’t take long to donate blood and the process is painless after the first pinch of the needle going in, and you can go back to living your life like normal almost immediately after. It is recommended that donors don’t drink or smoke for a day or two and avoid heavy exercise, as their body will be trying to catch up after losing blood.

Right now, all blood donation centers are in need of O- blood type as there is a huge shortage. So, next time you’re walking through building B, consider taking some time out of your day to help save lives.