It allows us to assess whether you are healthy enough to donate that day, and gives us a good indication of whether your blood is safe to give to another person. There may be lots of reasons that you may not think about that could make your blood unsafe, such as a recent tummy bug or travelling to a malaria area. The purpose of filling in the questionnaire each time you donate ensures that we pick up these risks.
It is a good idea to eat something before you donate, but more important to increase your fluid intake before and after donation. Your blood volume is typically replaced within 24 – 48 hours and the fluids you drink will assist with this.
Donors between the ages of 16 and 66 years can donate whole blood every 56 days (approximately every 2 months). Donors over the age of 66 years are restricted to donating whole blood 4 times a year, preferably with intervals of 3 months between donations. This is to protect our older donors from depleting their iron stores.
Plasma donors can donate every two weeks and platelet donors can donate every four weeks.
The entire whole blood donation process takes about 30 minutes, which includes the completion of the questionnaire, interview by the nurse and routine measurements (i.e. haemoglobin fingerprick test, pulse and blood pressure). The actual donation should take about 10 minutes and approximately 450ml of blood is removed.
Plasma donations take between 30-45 minutes and platelet donations range from 1.5-2 hours. About 600ml of plasma is removed in these donations, but your oxygen-carrying red cells are returned to your circulation before the end of the donation.
The human body replaces your blood volume within 24 hours. New red blood cells are made by the bone marrow within 3 to 4 days. The lost iron is replaced after about 6 to 8 weeks.
In order for you to donate whole blood, your haemoglobin (Hb) level needs to be between 12.5 – 20 g/dℓ if you are female and 13.5 – 20 g/dℓ if you are male. If your Hb levels are lower than this, you will not be able to donate that day as we do not want you to become anaemic. The reason that female blood donors have a lower Hb limit than males is because they are more accustomed to regular blood loss through menstruation.
Plasma donors must have a Hb level between 12 – 16 g/dℓ for females and 13 – 16 g/dℓ for males, and the range for platelet donors is 12.5 – 20 g/dℓ for both males and females. The reason that these donors can donate with slightly lower Hb limits compared to whole blood donors is that their red blood cells are returned to their circulation by the end of the donation.
Whole blood and platelet donors with Hb levels above 20 g/dℓ are not permitted to donate that day, but are given a letter to encourage the investigation of the cause of their elevated Hb level. Common reasons for this include smoking, testosterone use, dehydration or bone marrow disease. Plasma donors cannot have Hb levels above 16 g/dℓ as this results in the spill over of red blood cells into their plasma collections, which complicates the processing of this product.
The finger-prick test and the needle insertion may cause temporary discomfort, but the donation process should not be painful.
Each person reacts differently to the donation process. Most people will not experience any adverse effects, especially if they drink enough fluids before and after their donation. If you feel slightly light-headed or unwell, we will stop the donation procedure immediately and assist you.
Our clinic teams are well trained to make sure your experience is as safe and comfortable as possible, but like with any procedure, there is a small chance of something going wrong.
- Common complications (1 in 10 to 1 in 100 chance) are minor bruising around the place on the arm where the needle was inserted or feeling slightly light-headed after your donation.
- Uncommon complications (1 in 100 to 1 in 1000 chance) would be to faint during or after your donation, develop a large bruise on the arm you donated with, or to have pain in that arm for while after your donation. Platelet donors can sometimes experience a drop in their calcium levels due to the anticoagulant (called citrate) that is used in the machines – this can result in tingling around the lips and finger tips, muscle twitching or spasms, seizures (fits) or disturbance to the rhythm of your heart. This complication is easily managed by giving calcium in a drip to the donor.
- Very rare complications (1 in 10 000 to 1 in 1000 000 chance) could be piercing of an artery by the donation needle, inflammation of a vein in the arm, or injury to a nerve or tendon.
This information is not meant to scare you and please remember that the vast majority of blood donors have trouble-free experiences. It is our responsibility to inform you of potential risks associated with blood donation so that you can decide whether you want to go ahead.
If you feel light-headed, lie down or sit with your head on your knees. In the unlikely event that you feel faint, be sure to lie down on your back with your legs elevated. This usually resolves any feeling of light-headedness and should prevent fainting.
To reduce the risk of fainting and possibly injuring yourself, please rest on the chair for a few minutes after your donation, perform the leg and buttock exercises we advise, and enjoy some refreshments before you leave the clinic. Eating a salty snack before your donation also decreases your chance of fainting, so please help yourself to a packet of pretzels while you are waiting to donate.
In the case of bleeding, raise your arm up and apply pressure to the site until the bleeding stops. You can ease the pain with an ice pack, taking pain tablets or using Arnica gel that is available at our clinics. The bruising or discomfort should resolve with time, but if you are concerned, please visit one of our clinics to be assessed by a professional nurse, or call our Medical Department (083 266 8750 or 083 953 3679).
It is extremely rare for the donation procedure to injure a nerve, tendon or blood vessel in the arm, but complications can occur. Please urgently contact our Medical Department if you experience the following:
- Your pain becomes severe.
- You cannot use your arm.
- There is discoloration in your arm or hand.
- You experience severe or worsening numbness or ‘pins and needles’ in the arm, hand or fingers.
- Your arm is very swollen or the swelling is increasing.
- Your arm is painful, swollen and red, and you have a fever.
You can carry on with normal activities immediately after donating, but please avoid intense exercise or heavy lifting with the arm you donated with (e.g. carrying heavy shopping bags, lifting weights in the gym) for up to 48 hours. It is best to drink plenty of fluids during the first few hours after you’ve donated.
Yes, if you are feeling well and your haemoglobin level measures 12.5 g/dℓ or more.
Pregnant or nursing mothers should not give blood until 3 months after birth (normal delivery or caesarean section) or 1 month after stopping exclusive breastfeeding. We do not want to compromise the blood volume of pregnant or breastfeeding mothers as this could affect their babies.
Your blood undergoes testing for certain infections that could be transmitted to a patient (HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C), your blood group, and to check your iron stores (called ferritin).
Yes, we will contact you with strict confidentiality if any of your results are abnormal. Please ensure your contact details are up to date so that we can reach you easily.
After your first donation, you can register your donor profile on the WCBS app, where you can see your donation details, including your blood group. It can take up to 48 hours for your updated details to appear on the app.
It is really important for blood donors to understand that they lose iron from their bodies every time they donate. We offer iron tablets to all blood donors to replace the iron lost in their donation. Low iron levels can make you feel tired, irritable, have difficulty concentrating and exercising, or experience cravings to chew ice or chalk. Iron deficiency can eventually lead to low haemoglobin levels, which is called anaemia. This may cause you to feel breathless or dizzy as you have to work harder to get the oxygen to different parts of your body.
We check your iron stores (called ferritin) at regular intervals to make sure you have enough iron to spare, and notify you when your ferritin value is too low.
You should not use iron tablets if you are allergic to iron or any of the other ingredients in the tablets, or if you have an iron-overload condition like hereditary haemochromatosis.
Ferritin is a protein that binds and stores iron in the body, and releases it when needed. WCBS regularly checks the ferritin levels of blood donors using a machine in our laboratory, and informs donors via SMS if their level is too high or too low. Normal ferritin stores range from 30 – 150 ug/l in women and 30 – 300 ug/l in men. If your ferritin level is normal, you will not be contacted with the result as there is nothing for you to worry about.
You will be notified by SMS after your donation if your iron stores are above 500 ug/l. Common causes of high ferritin values are conditions like hereditary haemochromatosis, infection or inflammation in the body. Please show the ferritin result to your doctor so that they can investigate the cause. You are advised not to donate blood until it is better understood why your ferritin levels are raised.
You will be notified by SMS after your donation if your iron stores are above 500 ug/l. Common causes of high ferritin values are conditions like hereditary haemochromatosis, infection or inflammation in the body. Please show the ferritin result to your doctor so that they can investigate the cause. You are advised not to donate blood until it is better understood why your ferritin levels are raised.
There are two reasons why this information is important. Firstly, we need to make sure that we use the correct haemoglobin cut-offs for you when we perform the fingerprick screening test. People assigned as male at birth should use a minimum value of 13.5 g/dl and people assigned as female at birth should use a 12.5 g/dl value. This protects you from the risk of anaemia, as haemoglobin levels are different in men and women.
The second reason is that a certain product called fresh frozen plasma can only be produced from people who are assigned as male at birth. This due to the higher risk of plasma from donors who are assigned female at birth containing specific types of antibodies (called HLA antibodies) that we do not test for.
WCBS welcomes all blood donors, no matter their race, gender identity or religion. It is sometimes helpful to know the race of our donors when blood needs to be matched very closely for patients with complicated red cell antibodies (for example, people with sickle cell disease). People of the same race tend to have similar proteins on the surface of their red blood cells, which makes this process easier. It is also helpful to keep statistics about our blood donors to encourage representation from all race groups.
Although we do receive blood from volunteer donors, the transportation, testing, storage, and processing of blood products is very expensive. This, added to the administrative costs of providing a blood service, is what we charge for. In short, we charge for the service of ensuring a safe and adequate blood supply, and not for the blood itself.
All recipients of blood products must submit their accounts to their medical aid. However, if you are a regular donor with no medical aid, please contact WCBS and we will enter into negotiation about the account.
If you have visited a malaria area, you will only be able to donate whole blood 4 weeks after leaving that area, but you would be more than welcome to donate plasma! If you are diagnosed with malaria, you will not be able to donate blood for 3 years from the time of complete treatment and recovery.
If you grew up in a malaria-endemic area or country, you will not be allowed to donate blood at WCBS for 3 years after leaving your home country. Also, if you travel back to your home country or visit any other malaria–endemic area, you will be deferred for another 3 years from the time of leaving that area. The reason for this is that people who have grown up in malaria–endemic areas may acquire a partial resistance to malaria infection, which can mask the symptoms of the disease. They may appear well but carry a low number of malaria parasites, which could be transmitted via their donated blood. Research has also shown that people who have lived for long periods in malaria–endemic areas lose their immunity very quickly when they leave that area and become more susceptible to contracting malaria if they return to their home country or another malaria–endemic area.
No, this is not required unless you have recently been ill with COVID infection. We would require you have recovered and be feeling well for three days after COVID or any flu-like illness before you donate. You will also need to wait one week after completing antibiotics before donating blood, if you had these prescribed for you.
We do not ask whether you have had a COVID vaccination in the past as this is not perceived to be a risk to the person receiving your blood.
No, this information is not printed on the blood product label so the hospital staff will not know this. We do not ask donors to disclose whether they have received a COVID vaccination or not.
Please note that you are entitled to refuse transfusions through the informed consent procedure if you ever require a blood product and have concerns about the use of blood from vaccinated donors. There are other patient groups who decline transfusions (eg. Jehovah’s Witness followers) and receive a high standard of medical care.