Typically right after the holidays, blood banks are in more need for donations.

And according to the Blood Center of Northcentral Wisconsin in Wausau, that's also the case this year.

NewsChannel 7's Liz Hayes donated her time and her blood to bring this story to light.

It was relatively quick, taking about 40 minutes for the whole process, and about eight minutes of actual donating. And definitely not as painful as you might think.

And that's what those working in the field want people in the community to know.

The blood center's administrative director, Diane Carlson, says the need for blood donations is consistent all year round, but even more so after the holidays.

There are less donations because of cancellations of mobile blood drives during bad weather, and because a lot of people are sick with colds and the flu, and therefore not eligible.

Fortunately since Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill which lowered the eligibility of donation to 16 last March, more people than ever are able to donate.

"It is mainly people 40 and above that are a large group of our donors. We've been trying to make great strides in the past couple years working in high schools," said Carlson.

Recently after a mobile blood drive at an area high school, participation there rose 40 percent thanks to the newly eligible.

Aside from being of age, if you're in good health and weigh at least 110 lbs, you more than likely will be able to give blood. You can donate every eight weeks.

Randy Graveen, of Merrill, has been making steady donations for the past 20 years.

He says he's given 98 units of blood, which is over 12 gallons.

"It's not that bad. It's easy. It's a piece of cake. It's less than an hour of your time every two months....it's all it takes," he said.

But aside from blood donation, the blood center also is in need of platelet donations.

Platelets are specialized blood cells that help control clotting. According to Carlson, they're very useful for cancer patients, many of whom need daily platelet transfusions.

Donors can give this way every two weeks.

All donations at the blood center are divided between four area hospitals in Wausau, Antigo, Medford and Shawano.