All About Blood Donation

Each year, the Western Cape Blood Service collects more than 165 000 units of blood to improve the lives of over 495 000 individuals. In addition to collecting blood, we also test and process all donated blood within accepted standards of practice.

What happens after the blood has been collected?

After you’ve given blood, all donations are delivered to our head office and laboratories in Pinelands for testing and processing. We need to do this as soon as possible after donation to ensure that none of the components are lost.

Once the blood arrives at the laboratory, each unit is weighed, labelled and sorted according to the method of processing it will undergo. Great care is taken to ensure that the labelling on blood packs correlates to all other documentation.

Screening, Grouping and Separation

The three blood specimens taken from each donor before donation are sent for testing in our laboratories. They are tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and Syphilis. The blood group of the donor is then established and in the case of a new donor, the grouping is verified by a second test.