» Make sure you are fit to donate blood. Have a look at the Eligibility Requirements before you go to a blood donation Center to donate blood, even if you are an experienced blood donor familiar with the process.

» Make sure that you haven’t donated blood for the past 3-4 months before you go to donate blood again.

» Blood donors should not be fasting at the time of blood donation and should finish their last meal 3 hours before they actually donate blood.

See if you satisfy these blood donation eligibility requirements before you proceed to donate blood:

» Age: Not less than 15 and not more than 55 years

» Weight: Not less than 45 kilograms.

» Body Temperature: Below 37.5 °C (99.6 ° F)

» Pulse: 60 to 100 beats/minute

» Blood Pressure: Systlic: 110-140mm Hg

» Diastolic: 70-90mm Hg

» Skin Lesions: The skin at site of venepuncture should not have skin lesions (dam aged tissue on the skin) and needle pricks

» Donation Frequency: 12 weeks for males and 16 weeks for females

» Haemoglobin level: Not below 12.5 g/dl

» No acute respiratory illness

Additional donor requirements for plateletpheresis donation

» Weight: Less than 55 kgs

» Platelet Count:  Less than 150 x 10(to the power of 9)/l

» A minimum of 48 hrs should have passed after the last Apheresis procedure

» The donor should have had apheresis procedures in the past with a frequency of not more than twice a week and  24 times a year.

» Plasma proteins estimation: 6g/dl

» No aspirin or any aspirin related drugs to be taken three days before the apherisis procedure

Permanent deferral of donors happens when the donor suffers from:

Cancer, Heart Disease, Abnormal Bleeding Tendencies, Unexplained Weight Loss, Diabetes, Hepatitis B Infection, Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Polycythemia Vera, Severe Bronchial Asthma, Epilepsy, Endocrine Disorders, Liver Disease, Fainting Spells, Venereal Diseases, Psychiatric Disorders, Severe Allergy TO Drugs, Chronic Patients, Leprosy, Signs/Symptoms suggestive of AIDS and other chronic illnesses which require long term medication.

Temporary deferral of donors happens when the donor suffers from

» It takes a donor typically 10-15 minutes to recuperate after donating blood after which the donor will be able to resume normal activity. To help this, the donor is given refreshments.

» The total volume of blood in the body of the donor is restored within 48-72 hours. The haemoglobin content of the blood takes a little longer to get restored.

» While blood donation doesn’t have any negative side effects on most donors, some donors may feel a slight fainting spell. In such a case, the donor should lie down with his/her foot end raised. A few donors might also experience nausea and vomiting.