It allows us to assess whether you are healthy enough to donate on that day and provides a good indication of whether your blood is safe to give to another person. There may be many reasons you haven’t considered that could make your blood unsafe, such as a recent stomach bug or travelling to a malaria area. The purpose of completing the questionnaire each time you donate is to ensure that we identify and address these risks.
It is a good idea to eat something before donating, but more important is to increase your fluid intake before and after donation. Your blood volume is typically replenished within 24 to 48 hours after your donation, and the fluids you drink will aid in this process.
You can donate whole blood every 56 days (around every 2 months), plasma every two weeks, and platelets once a month. The difference in donation frequency depends on whether your red blood cells are returned to you during the donation procedure or not, as the loss of red blood cells depletes your iron stores, and we aim to prevent donors from becoming iron deficient.
The entire whole blood donation process takes about 30 minutes, which includes completing the questionnaire, an interview with the nurse, and routine measurements (i.e., a 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 and 45 minutes, while platelet donations last from 1.5 to 2 hours. During both types of donation, plasma is removed, but your oxygen-carrying red blood cells are returned to your circulation before the procedure ends, which helps to preserve some of your iron stores.
The human body replaces its blood volume within 24 hours. The bone marrow makes new red blood cells within 3 to 4 days, while the lost iron is replaced after about 6 to 8 weeks. You can speed up this process by taking the iron replacement tablets offered by our staff after donating.
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 that 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 allowed to donate that day. However, they are given a letter to encourage investigating the cause of their elevated Hb level. Common reasons include smoking, testosterone use, dehydration, or bone marrow disease. Plasma donors cannot have Hb levels above 16 g/dL, as this can lead to red blood cells spilling into their plasma collections, complicating 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 immediately stop the donation procedure and assist.
Our clinic teams are well-trained to ensure your experience is as safe and comfortable as possible, but, like with any procedure, there is a slight 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 have pain in that arm for a while after your donation. Platelet donors can sometimes experience a drop in their calcium levels due to the anticoagulant (called citrate) used in the machines – this can result in tingling around the lips and fingertips, muscle twitching or spasms, seizures (fits), or disturbance to the rhythm of the heart. This complication is easily managed by giving calcium in a drip to the donor.
- Infrequent 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 the potential risks associated with blood donation, so that you can decide whether to proceed.
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 raised. This usually resolves any feeling of light-headedness and should prevent fainting.
To minimise the risk of fainting and potential injury, please sit in the chair for a few minutes after donating, perform the recommended leg and buttock exercises, and enjoy some refreshments before leaving the clinic. Eating a salty snack before donating also lowers the chance of fainting, so feel free to help yourself to a packet of pretzels while you wait to donate.
In case of bleeding, raise your arm and apply pressure to the site until the bleeding stops. You can alleviate the pain with an ice pack, pain tablets, or Arnica gel available at our clinics. The bruising or discomfort should improve over time, but if you are concerned, please visit one of our clinics for a professional assessment or call our Medical Department (083 266 8750 or 083 953 3679).
It is very rare for the donation procedure to damage a nerve, tendon, or blood vessel in the arm, but complications can happen. Be sure to get in touch with our Medical Department immediately if you experience the following:
- Your pain becomes severe.
- You cannot use your arm.
- There is discolouration 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 resume normal activities immediately after donating, but please avoid strenuous exercise or heavy lifting with the arm from which you donated (e.g., carrying heavy shopping bags, lifting weights at the gym) for up to 48 hours. It is advisable to drink plenty of fluids during the first few hours after donating.
Yes, if you are feeling well and your haemoglobin level measures 12.5 g/dℓ or more.
You should not donate blood until 3 months after giving birth, whether by natural delivery or caesarean section, or for one 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. If you are breastfeeding, you may donate blood 1 month after your baby has started on solid foods and is no longer entirely dependent on your breast milk for nutrition.
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 (also 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 making your first donation, you can register your donor profile on the WCBS app, where you can view your donation details, including your blood type. 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 regularly check your iron stores (known as ferritin) to ensure you have sufficient iron reserves, and inform you when your ferritin level is too low.
You should not take iron tablets if you are allergic to iron or any of the other ingredients in them, or if you have an iron overload condition such as hereditary haemochromatosis.
Ferritin is a protein that binds and stores iron in the body, releasing 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 15 to 150 µg/l in women and 30 to 300 µg/l in men (according to the Roche analyser used in our laboratory). If your ferritin level is within the normal range, 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 below 15ug/l. This indicates that your iron stores are too low, and you should take a break from donating blood since you do not have enough iron to spare. It is also advisable to show this result to your doctor for further assessment and to discuss whether iron supplementation is necessary. Several factors can cause low iron stores, including an inadequate diet, poor iron absorption in the digestive system, regular blood donation, or internal bleeding. If your ferritin level is below 5ug/l, you will not be allowed to donate blood for at least 6 months, as it is unsafe for your health.
You will be notified by SMS after your donation if your iron stores are above 500 ug/l. Common causes of high ferritin levels include conditions such as hereditary haemochromatosis, infection, or inflammation in the body. It is recommended to share your ferritin result with your doctor so they can investigate the cause. You can continue to donate blood every two months, unless the cause of your raised ferritin is a contraindication to donating blood. If you need to donate blood more regularly to reduce your iron levels, you will need to enrol as a therapeutic donor.
There are two reasons why this information is important to us. Firstly, we need to ensure that we use the correct haemoglobin cut-offs for you when performing the fingerprick screening test. People assigned male at birth should have a minimum value of 13.5 g/dl, and those assigned female at birth should have a minimum of 12.5 g/dl. This helps protect you from the risk of anaemia, as haemoglobin levels differ between men and women (as a result of menstruation).
The second reason is that a particular product, called fresh frozen plasma, can only be produced from donors assigned male at birth. This is 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. These antibodies can cause a potentially life-threatening reaction in patients called transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), which we aim to prevent.
WCBS welcomes all blood donors, regardless of their race, gender identity, or religion. Sometimes, knowing the race of donors can be helpful 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 promote representation from all racial groups. Read more.
Although we do receive blood from volunteer donors, the transportation, testing, storage, and processing of blood products are 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 assistance, please contact WCBS, and we will negotiate the account.
If you have visited a malaria area, you will only be able to donate whole blood four weeks after leaving that area, but you are 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 you leave that area. The reason for this is that people who have grown up in malaria–endemic areas may develop 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. We ask that you have recovered and been feeling well for three days after COVID or any flu-like illness before donating. 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 considered a risk to the person receiving your blood.
No, this information is not printed on the blood product label, so hospital staff will not be aware of it. 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. Other patient groups decline transfusions (e.g. Jehovah’s Witness followers) and receive a high standard of medical care.