The Rhode Island Blood Center will begin accepting 16-year-old donors as of Feb. 1.

The change in policy has been something the center has hoped would happen for some time now and the state legislature has just made it possible.

The Rhode Island Blood Center must collect 240 to 280 pints of blood daily to meet the needs of the community.

Legislation was approved in the House during the last regular session and passed the Senate during the special session last summer and signed by the governor.

Lowering the donation age by one year is expected to make a huge difference in the number of donations.

“Our expectations are 1,000 extra donations over the course of the year,” said center spokesperson Frank Prosnitz.

The largest increase in donations will come during high school blood drives. Getting students involved in community service is extremely important to school officials and they feel that donating blood is a great way for students to do that.

“What is a better community service than saving a life,” said Prosnitz.

The Blood Center is the only source of blood and blood products for the hospitals of Rhode Island while also serving customers in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Sixteen-year-olds will be required to have a special permission slip from the Center that can be downloaded off of their Web site. Also, the weight requirement will be 130 pounds; up from the 110 for 17-year-old donors.

“We want to get students in the habit of donating blood and become life-long donors,” said Prosnitz.

Rhode Island joins more than 30 other states that have lowered blood donation eligibility to 16-year-olds.

“There is no physical reason that a 16-year-old who meets eligibility requirements cannot donate blood,” said Scott Asadorian, the Center’s chief operating officer.

The Rhode Island Blood Center is a nationally acclaimed full service blood center headquartered in Providence. It provides a complete menu of blood products, laboratory and testing services to hospitals throughout Southern New England.

The Warwick Center is located at 400 Bald Hill Road.