Blood Donation – FAQ’s & Forms
Who can donate blood?
- A Blood donor must
- Be in good general health
- Be aged 18 years or older but less than 60 years
- Weight at least 45 Kg
- Have a Hemoglobin (Hb) level of 12.5 g/dl
- Not have donated blood in the last 3 months
Who cannot donate blood?
- Do not donate blood if you have any of these conditions
- Cold/fever in the past 1 week.
- Under treatment with antibiotics or any other medication.
- Cardiac problems, hypertension, epilepsy, diabetes (on insulin therapy), history of cancer, chronic kidney or liver disease, bleeding tendencies, venereal disease etc.,
- Major surgery in the last 6 months or minor surgery in the past 3 months
- Had jaundice or hepatitis or been positive for hepatitis B or C virus
- Had tooth extraction 3 days back or dental surgery 1 month back
- Had fainting attacks during last donation.
- Have regularly received treatment with blood products.
- Shared a needle to inject drugs/ have history of drug addiction.
- Had sexual relations with different partners or with a high risk individual or if male had sex with another male.
- Been tested positive for antibodies to HIV.
- Had any endocrinal problem
- Females should not donate blood during pregnancy.
- They can donate after 6 months following delivery and when they are not breast feeding.
- Have regularly received treatment with blood products.
- Females should not donate blood if they are having heavy menstrual flow or menstrual cramps
- Had a miscarriage in the last 6 months
- Health of the blood is ensured before and after collecting it. The donor is expected to be honest about his or her health history and current condition. The collected blood is tested for HIV, HBV, HCV, Syphilis and Malaria. A donor has to be healthy to give ‘Safe and Quality Blood’
Is there any danger in donating blood?
- There is virtually no danger.
- Only sterile and disposable needles are used to collect blood.
- There is absolutely no chance of catching any infectious disease by donating blood.
How often can I donate blood?
- It is safe to donate blood once in every three months.
Why do I have to wait 3 months before donating again?
- Since blood contains iron (which is essential for making new red blood cells), donating blood more often than every 3 months causes the body to lose iron faster than it can be made up from iron-containing foods in our diet.
- As a result the donor could develop iron deficiency anemia, causing him/her to feel weak and tired.
Why is it important to donate blood?
- One unit of blood can save 4 lives (Through components).
What if I faint?
- The likelihood of this happening is minimal.
- You should eat before donating and drink extra fluids, especially after your donation.
Will it hurt?
- Giving blood is not painful.
- You may feel a pinch in the beginning lasting only a couple of seconds.
Will I become weak if I donate frequently?
- No! It is perfectly healthy to donate blood once in every 3 months for an individual.
Will I get AIDS?
- Absolutely not! All equipments used to collect blood are sterile.
- These items are used once and discarded.
- Blood collections are performed by professionally trained blood bank personnel whose primary concern is your safety and the safety of the blood to be transfused.
What are the components of blood and how are they used?
- There are four components in blood: Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells, Platelets and Plasma.
- Red Blood Cells supply oxygen to various parts of the body.
- White Blood Cells fight against disease or infections.
- Platelets help clot the blood to prevent excessive bleeding.
- Plasma carries nutrients, clotting factors and enzymes.
- Today, doctors transfuse individual blood components based upon the patient’s needs. Major categories of patient needs include: cancer therapy, organ transplants, accident victims and people undergoing elective surgical procedures.
How long can blood be stored?
- Product Shelf-life
- Red Cells – 35 days
- Platelets – 5 days
- Fresh Frozen Plasma – 1 year
What if you want to organize a voluntary blood donation camp?
- To organize a blood donation camp, please contact the Head, Department of Transfusion Medicine, The Tamilnadu Dr.M.G.R.Medical University with an official letter requesting for organization of camp.
What is Apheresis?
- Blood has several components, including Red Blood Cells, Platelets and Plasma.
- Donor Apheresis is a special type of blood donation in which a specific component, viz. Platelets, Granulocytes (White Cells) Plasma or Plasma is withdrawn from the donor using a special equipment called as cell separator
- The remaining components are returned to the donor’s blood circulation.
- This procedure takes about 90 minutes during which time the donor is constantly monitored by trained medical personnel.
What is the advantage of Apheresis?
- Platelet concentrate prepared from one unit of whole blood contains very few platelets.
- Six to Ten such whole-blood derived platelets would be required to supply enough platelets for one patient.
- However, Platelets donated during one apheresis session by one donor are sufficient for one transfusion, thus reducing the chance of transfusion transmitted infections.
- Patients with cancer or leukemia or patients with blood disorders benefit immensely from such plateletpheresis.
- The donor benefits too since there are no loss of Red Cells.
- One can donate apheresis components more frequently than whole blood donation.
How Can I Become An Apheresis Donor?
- Any healthy person who meets the criteria for whole blood donation is eligible for apheresis donation.