A FREE SERVICE THROUGH TBC
SERVICE AVAILABILITY
8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Monday–Thursday*
*Subject to Center hours.
Appointments are required. No walk-ins.
The Blood Connection provides medically prescribed phlebotomy as a community service at no charge. If you would like to receive this free service, a valid electronic physician’s order is required. Please ask your physician’s office to submit an electronic physician’s order form, as we no longer accept hard copy order forms by fax, scan or delivery by the patient.
PHYSICIAN ORDER FORMPHYSICIAN INSTRUCTIONS
- Use our online form to submit your order. Once the form is submitted, you will not be able to make any changes to your submission.
- After submission, your order will be placed into a queue for our Medical Director to review.
- Please allow 2–3 business days for the order to be processed and the patient to be contacted for scheduling.
- The Blood Connection only accepts orders from offices in SC, NC, GA and VA. We cannot process orders from out-of-state physicians' offices. Should you submit an order from a state other than SC, NC, GA and VA, you may receive initial approval based on diagnosis, health and medication history, and HGB target. However, during the processing phase the order will be rejected.
If you have any questions, feel free to call 864-751-1168 and talk with one of our medically prescribed phlebotomy appointment specialists.
COMPLETE PHYSICIAN ORDERPATIENT INFORMATION
Just a photo ID. Your doctor will send your order to us. Once your physician's order is received, it will be reviewed and approved by our medical director before you are contacted by an appointment specialist to schedule your appointment.
Your doctor will prescribe the frequency of your phlebotomy draws depending on your current hemoglobin level and your target level. This frequency may be every few months, monthly, weekly, every few days or maybe only once.
Most cannot, but some people with hereditary hemochromatosis may—provided the patient meets all screening and testing requirements.
The three most common reasons for phlebotomy are:
Hemochromatosis
Typically defined as a disorder of the way the body uses iron, this occurs when the body absorbs too much of the iron found in the foods we eat. This extra iron is stored in the body, mainly in the liver, pancreas and skin, which leads to cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, enlarged heart with congestive heart failure, irregular heartbeat and increased skin pigmentation.
Polycythemia
This is an increase in the number of circulating red blood cells and total blood volume.
Porphyries
This would include metabolic disorders associated with hepatosplenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen and liver), photosensitivity (sensitivity to light), pigmentation and a distinct red color in the urine.