Donating Blood

You need to increase your fluid intake for 24 to 48 hours after donation. Avoid strenuous physical exercise and activities or heavy lifting until the following day. There must also be no smoking or intake of alcohol for at least…

The blood donation process can be broken down into three steps: Registration When you arrive at the National Blood Collecting Centre, a blood-collecting technician will ask you some confidential questions about your health and lifestyle. The information obtained will be…

You must have a meal (a sandwich or a cooked meal) and plenty of fluids within an hour prior to donation. Do not consume alcoholic beverages. Never attempt to donate blood on an empty stomach.

Red blood cells contain chemical compounds which combine in different ways to determine a person’s blood group. There are four major groups: O, A, B and AB of which 88% are Rh positive and 12% are Rh negative.

All blood collected is tested for HIV, Hepatitis B&C, HTLV and Syphilis. Another test is also done to determine your blood group and type. In the event there is a positive result, you are notified of your test results.

You can donate every 3 months. That equates to approximately 4 times each year. Platelets can also be donated more often than a whole unit of blood.

Your blood volume is restored within several minutes to a few hours; plasma proteins are fully restored following a meal or hot or cold beverage. Your red blood cells replace themselves more slowly; however, the red cell volume is restored…

The entire process from screening through recovery takes approximately 1 hour. The actual donation takes between 5 and 12 minutes.

Under normal circumstances you should feel fine after your donation.

The amount of blood taken is four hundred and fifty millilitres (450 mls), which is slightly less than one pint.