5000 Hennessy Boulevard
Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4398
Phone 225-765-8843
Hours 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday-Thursday
8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Friday
10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Saturday

Location and Parking

The OLOL Blood Donor Center is located on the first floor of the hospital in St. Mary's Tower. OLOL is located off I-10 at Essen Lane at 5000 Hennessy Boulevard. Free parking in the main garage is available for all donors on the day of donation.

Contact us
To get more information about blood donation or to speak to a Blood Donor Recruiter to set up your mobile blood drive, please call (225) 765-8843.

Visit other OLOL Blood Donor Centers at:

St. Elizabeth Hospital
1212 Riverview Blvd., Suite 1070
Gonzales (Located behind St. Elizabeth Hospital in the Healthparc)

Hours: Mon. - Thurs., 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: (225) 743-2405

Our Lady of Lourdes
611 St. Landry St.
Lafayette (Located inside Lourdes next to the Emergency Room)

Hours: Mon. - Thurs., 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: (337) 289-2176

Our Goals
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center's (OLOL) Blood Donor Center is committed to providing a safe and adequate supply of blood in a prudent and cost effective manner.

We are dedicated to making blood donation a convenient and pleasant experience. Since active participation by volunteer donors is critical to the availability of blood, we urge all eligible blood donors to donate blood, the Gift of Life, on a regular basis.

Every three seconds someone is in need of blood.

About Us
The OLOL Blood Donor Center was established in the 1950s to serve the community by providing a safe and adequate supply of blood. More than 60 percent of the blood transfused in the entire local community is recruited, collected, tested and distributed by OLOL.

OLOL relies on volunteer donors for its blood supply. These donors do more than 'give blood'- they play a key role in the healthcare process, giving the physicians and nurses in our area a tool that saves or prolongs the lives of those in need.

Our Community
The OLOL Blood Donor Center provides life-saving blood products for patients at our hospital as well as numerous facilities throughout the 12 parish Capital City area and Lafayette Parish.

Other facilities relying on blood from the OLOL Blood Donor Center include:

• St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales
• Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical  Center in Lafayette
• Woman's Hospital
• St. Jude Children's Clinic in Baton Rouge
• HealthSouth Hospitals
• Surgical Specialty Centre
• Our Lady of the Lake Assumption
• Community Hospital
• Several Rehabilitation Hospitals
• 20 area kidney dialysis centers

Blood Gives Life

• Car accident victims and those who have suffered massive blood loss can often need transfusions of 50 pints or more of red blood cells.
• Cancer, transplant and trauma patients and people undergoing certain operations require platelet transfusions to survive.
• Children being treated for cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types.
• Blood carries oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide and other waste products back to the lungs, kidneys and liver for disposal.
• Blood fights against infection and helps heal wounds, keeping you healthy.
• An average adult body contains about 10 to 12 pints of blood.
• One pint of whole blood can be separated into several components (red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate).

A single, whole blood donation
can save the lives of three patients.

Celebrate life, give blood.
With all the advances in medicine over the past century, there still is no substitute for human blood. What better way to celebrate life and good health than to help preserve the life of another by being a blood donor?

Who Can Donate?
To be a blood donor you must:

• Be between 17 and 80 years old
• Weigh 110 pounds or more
• Be free of infection
• Know the names of any medications you are currently taking

You may give even if you:

• Take medication for high blood pressure
• Take hormones
• Have diabetes that is controlled

What to Expect
Before you donate, please eat normally; you should not be fasting. When you arrive at the OLOL Blood Donor Center our staff will make every effort to accommodate you as soon as possible. You will also be asked to complete the donor registration/ medical history form.

When making a whole blood donation, the process takes approximately 30 minutes from the time you check in to the time you leave after you have had a light refreshment. The actual blood collection takes only about 10 minutes.

For other donation types the process (from arrival to departure) takes approximately:

• 45 minutes to collect two units of red blood cells on Alyx
• 90 minutes to collect apheresis platelets

You may donate every eight weeks and up to six times a year at the OLOL Blood Donor Center or a mobile drive without making an appointment.

During a typical month the OLOL Blood Donor Center
must draw blood from at least 2,500 donors to meet the blood needs
of patients in our community.

Benefits of Donating Blood
Health
Before donating, you will be given a mini physical exam during which your blood pressure, temperature, pulse and iron level will be checked. We also offer free cholesterol screens and liver enzyme tests for all donors as well as free PSAs (prostate cancer screening) for all male donors. These tests have helped many with the early detection of various health risks and increased the opportunity for treatment and full recovery.

Financial
As an incentive program for our groups, we offer a $15 credit per unit of blood donated to be given towards a patient's outstanding bill (not just for blood) at OLOL. No other organization offers this benefit. We also replace blood credits used in any hospital in the U.S. within the National Blood Exchange. 

Assurance Plans
Blood assurance plans are designed for families, businesses, organizations, churches and other groups. Through these plans, blood donors are rewarded by providing a supplement to existing insurance that helps to cover the charges for blood if needed. The plans include unlimited replacement coverage for specific individuals on a yearly time frame and coverage for blood used at any hospital in the country.

Helping the Community
Many people donate blood to ensure an adequate blood supply for the community. You never know when you or someone you love will need blood. Donors make a difference.

Types of Blood Donors
Volunteer donors give blood and expect nothing in return, only to aid those in need. These donors not only help give life to a patient, but also help in the battle to keep healthcare costs down. Please consider being a regular donor and giving at least once.

Autologous donors give blood so that it may be transfused back to him or her during an upcoming surgery. Patients who receive their own blood get the safest transfusion.

A directed donor is one who donates blood to be transfused to a particular patient. Directed donors can give whole blood, two units of red blood cells or apheresis platelets.

A replacement donor gives blood to replace the blood used by a patient and is a special way for family and friends to show their love and support. Replacement donors play a key role in replenishing the blood supply for the next patient in need of a transfusion.

An apheresis donor, or donating platelets, may also be done in addition to donating blood. The 90 minute process is safe, simple and involves separating platelets from the blood, using a blood cell separator.

Mobile Blood Drives
Each year Our Lady of the Lake Blood Donor Center travels to more than 200 locations to collect blood at mobile blood drives. These drives contribute over 12,000 units of blood annually and represent more than half the blood collected each year. We are available to set up at your business or church in either a room you designate or with one of our buses. Mobile blood drives make donating convenient because we come to you and hosting a blood drive couldn't be easier.

To Host a Mobile Blood Drive:
Mobile blood drives contribute over 12,000 units of blood annually and represent more than half the blood collected each year.

• Contact a Blood Donor Recruiter at (225) 765-8843 to discuss a date and the materials available to help promote your drive.
• Consider forming a committee to help recruit donors and organize the drive.
• Set a goal to draw at least 25 or more donors.

'The recruiters and technicians at the Lake are professional,
punctual and run a mobile blood drive that is as good as it gets.
There is always more than enough staff available,
allowing us to get in and out in a reasonable amount of time.'
Liz Sinitiere, Director of Community Services,
St. Theresa of Avila Catholic Church, Gonzales