How old do you need to be able to donate plasma?

Not legal advice: To donate plasma you must be at least 17 years old or 16 if your state allows it with parental consent. Donors cannot weigh less than 110 pounds and must possess a photo ID and a Social Security card, or an immigration card. You can only donate every 28 days, which is up to 13 times a year.

Anyone who has had tattoos, tattoo touch ups, or piercings within the last 12 months is not eligible. Pregnant women, insulin dependent diabetics, and people with cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, malignant tumors, or hepatitis should not donate plasma.

Just 5% of eligible donors in the U.S. donate blood, but the number of transfusions increases by 9% every year. One out of every 7 people requiring a hospital visit needs blood and approximately every 10 seconds, someone in the nation is receiving a transfusion.