How to Get and Fill Out the Red Cross Parental Consent Form

The Red Cross parental consent form is a one-page PDF a parent or legal guardian signs to let a 16- or 17-year-old donate blood. You download it from the Red Cross student donors page at redcrossblood.org, fill in four short fields in black pen, and send it with your child to the blood drive.¹ Without the signed form at check-in, your child will be turned away.

Where to Get the Form

The form is available as a downloadable PDF on the Red Cross website under the student donors section. A Spanish-language version is on the same page.¹

Schools that host blood drives usually hand copies to students ahead of the event, and the school keeps a copy on file. If you have questions before signing, you can call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).²

Does Your Teen Actually Need It

The Red Cross requires donors to be at least 17, with one exception: 16-year-olds can donate in states that allow it, and only with a signed parental consent form.³ Most states permit 16-year-old donation on that basis.¹

In most states, 17-year-olds can donate on their own. Six states still require a signed consent form for 17-year-old donors.¹ The Red Cross does not publish the list of those six states on its national page, so if your 17-year-old is planning to donate, check with your local Red Cross chapter or the school drive coordinator before assuming the form isn’t needed.

How to Fill Out the Form

The form has four fields:

Donor name, identified as your son, daughter, or ward.
Your full printed name as the parent or guardian.
Your handwritten signature.
A phone number where you can be reached on donation day. This field is optional.²

Use a medium-point black pen for the whole form. The instruction is printed on the document itself.² Write legibly, since staff review the form at check-in. The phone number is optional, but filling it in gives the drive a way to reach you if a question comes up during screening.

Read the information on the form before you sign. Your signature means you understand the donation process and the possibility of minor side effects such as bruising, lightheadedness, or fainting.

What Your Teen Brings to the Drive

Your child needs the signed form at check-in before anything else happens. They also need identification. The Red Cross accepts one primary photo ID (driver’s license, state ID, passport, student ID, or military ID) or two secondary forms such as a birth certificate, Social Security card, or library card with the donor’s name. At high school drives, school officials can verify a student’s identity and date of birth from an eligible donor list if the student has no ID at all.¹

Eligibility Rules the Form Doesn’t Cover

The consent form clears the paperwork hurdle. It doesn’t guarantee your child can donate. Teen donors face stricter physical requirements than adults.

Every donor must weigh at least 110 pounds. For donors 18 and younger, the minimum weight also depends on height, and shorter teens need to weigh more relative to their height than adults do. The Red Cross publishes separate height-and-weight charts for male and female teen donors on its student donors page.¹ Look at the chart before donation day so a deferral at the drive doesn’t catch your teen off guard.

Staff also test hemoglobin at every donation with a finger-stick. Female donors need at least 12.5 g/dL and male donors at least 13.0 g/dL.⁴ Eating iron-rich foods like red meat, spinach, and fortified cereals in the days before donating helps teens stay above the threshold. A solid meal and plenty of water in the hours before the appointment also matter. Arriving hungry or dehydrated is the most common reason teens feel faint during or after the draw.

1
American Red Cross Blood Services. Information for Young Blood Donors
2
American Red Cross. Parental Consent for Blood Donation
3
American Red Cross Blood Services. Blood Donor Eligibility Criteria Alphabetical
4
American Red Cross Blood Services. Iron Info For Blood Donations