Become a donor
4 easy steps to becoming a donor at Canventa
1 Schedule your donor screening appointment
Use our online calendar booking tool to find an available time.
2 Complete the donor questionnaire
At your first appointment, you’ll be asked to complete a short questionnaire to determine if you’re eligible to donate which includes questions about basic medical history and medications you may take. Once a staff member reviews your completed questionnaire, you may be asked to participate in an Infectious Disease Screening (IDS) test during that same visit.
3 Infectious Disease Screening
An Infectious Disease Screening (IDS) is required every time you donate. A small volume of blood equivalent to a tablespoon is drawn and used to test for diseases including HIV-1, HIV-2, and Hepatitis B and C.
4 Schedule your donation
Please contact us by phone or email one week after completion of your IDS appointment to confirm your donation eligibility and set up an appointment for your first donation.
What is a donor screening appointment?
Your first appointment at Canventa will be part of the donor screening process. You will complete a confidential donor questionnaire which helps to determine if you are eligible to donate and includes questions about your basic medical history or medications you may be taking. Once a staff member reviews your completed donor questionnaire you will then be asked to participate in an infectious disease screening (IDS) test. During the IDS, a small volume of blood will be drawn (10–20 mL, approximately 1 tablespoon). This routine screening tests for diseases including HIV-1, HIV-2, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and may include human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and syphilis. Negative test results reduce the risk to researchers when using human biological samples and help to ensure their safety. Your test results are valid for 90 days and all donors are re-tested within 90 days. IDS appointments typically take 30 minutes in total. Following the results of your IDS appointment, our Donor Center staff will contact you via phone or email to confirm your donation eligibility and schedule your first donation appointment, typically within a week.
All donors must be in excellent health, age 18-55, weigh at least 120 pounds and be a United States citizen.
How to prepare for your donation
There are a few steps you can take to help ensure a successful donation and maintain your well-being before and after collection. We recommend you:
- Drink plenty of water in the days leading up to your donation. We recommend drinking at least 500 mL or 2 cups of water on the day of your appointment.
- Eat a healthy meal or a salty snack on the day of your donation. We recommend avoiding high fat or high cholesterol foods prior to donation such as fried food.
- Get a good night’s sleep the night before and arrive at your appointment well-rested.
- Bring your ID and reading material if you would like (iPads will be provided for use during your appointment).
What happens at my donation?
Learn more about what happens during your donation at Canventa.
1 General health check
Our registered nurses will perform a general assessment of your health.
2 Donate
Eligible donors are then invited to complete documentation and a 10 minute to 3.5 hour donation depending on the donation type (whole blood, leukapheresis, or bone marrow).
3 During your donation
During your donation, simply relax and listen to the directions from the nursing and medical staff who will explain the collection process. During your leukapheresis donation, you can enjoy one of our iPads to watch a movie, show, or browse the internet with our free wifi.
4 After your donation
Replenish your glucose levels with a complimentary snack and juice following your appointment. Continue to drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activity for the remainder of the day.
5 Compensation
Upon completion of your donation, head to our front desk, where we’ll set up the details of your compensation for your time and effort in giving life to research. You will receive compensation for your time and effort in the form of a check immediately after your successful donation!
6 Become a repeat donor
Repeat donors are highly requested by researchers as they provide a reliablem consistent sample source for long-term research projects or large-scale experiments. You may be eligible to donated again, repeatedly at set frequencies depending on the donation type.
What happens to my donation?
Donations of blood and bone marrow are prepared and processed into ready-to-use samples for researchers.
1 Donate
Your whole blood, leukapheresis, and bone marrow donations provide important starting materials for researchers.
2 Sample preparation
Your donated sample is prepared for distribution in our Manufacturing Lab.
3 Cell isolation
In some cases, researchers prefer to have specific cells isolated from the blood prior to their experiments.
4 Delivery of cells
Fresh or frozen cells are shipped to researchers around the world through our distribution network.
5 Research and development
Providing researchers with samples enables them to focus on their next breakthrough.
6 An approved therapy
As a donor, you are helping to reduce the amount of time it takes for research to become a therapy.
