Top Reasons to Donate Blood and Plasma

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If you've ever watched any fictional medical show, you will know just how many pints of blood they go through in the space of a drama-packed 45 minutes. In reality, however, emergency surgery is just one very important, yet small reason, why someone may need donated red blood cells, coming in at 2% of all transfusions. On the other end of the scale, cancer and blood diseases make up the most at 34%.

According to Lifeblood , an Australian-Government funded organisation collecting and providing blood and plasma donations, three blood donations are needed every minute. That equates to over 1.7 million donations! Plus, any given plasma donation can help in 18 different ways, including treating cancer patients and serious burns. Males who have donated in the last 12 months can also donate platelets.

Unfortunately, not everyone can give blood if they have pre-existing medical conditions, while some people cite a lack of time to commit and others may have formed misconceptions about who is eligible and who is not (spoiler alert - you're likely eligible). If you are thinking about giving blood but are currently sitting on the sidelines, here are some valid reasons to donate your red blood cells or plasma.



First and foremost - people need your blood and plasma

Did you know one single blood donation can save up to three lives? People around Australia rely on blood and plasma donations for various reasons, including cancer and blood diseases, anemia, emergency surgery, and pregnant women and young children. It's something we can reproduce outside the body or head down to the shops to buy more of. Hopefully, you will never need to be the recipient of life-saving blood or plasma, but you might have a family member, a friend, or a work colleague who does.

Eligibility to donate is broader than you think

To be eligible to give blood, you must be aged 18-75 years and weigh over 50kg. There are many misconceptions floating around, such as being ineligible to donate because you have a piercing or tattoo or are taking regular medication . If that were the case, very few Australians would be eligible to donate!

You are typically eligible to donate plasma straight away if your tattoo was completed at a licensed, Australian parlour, and four months after your tattoo to donate blood and platelets. If you have a new ear piercing, you can donate plasma in the 24 hours after your piercing, and blood and platelets after 24 hours have passed. Any other body piercings mean you will have to wait four months to donate blood and platelets, but you can donate plasma at any time after your piercing.

Medication usage and ineligibility to donate is other huge misconception. Most regular medications will not rule you ineligible to donate blood, plasma, or platelets, but you can read more about that here .

Also, anyone who lived in the UK for over six months between 1980 and 1996 is now eligible to donate and we are no longer classed as Mad Cows (yes that included me!)

You can read the full list of Lifeblood's FAQs surrounding eligibility to donate here .



It's easy to book online

Booking your spot is so simple. Head over tohttps://www.lifeblood.com.au Lifeblood, select 'Book now' and create an account. Answer a few eligibility questions and pick your date and time. You will receive an email confirming your appointment and will receive reminder text messages so you don't forget.

Donating blood and plasma itself is quick and easy too

Donation is super easy too. Turn up at your booked date and time, check into the reception, answer a few questions on an iPad to make sure everything is still the same as the day you booked, and then wait for your name to be called. You will then have a finger prick test to check your haemoglobin and answer any questions flagged from your iPad questions - these might relate to returning from overseas or a new medication, for example.

Then, it's time for the magic to happen. You will be taken to a blood or plasma donation chair, be hooked up to a machine and that's the hard part done. All you have to do is sit back and relax for around 10-15 minutes for blood donations and 45-60 minutes for plasma. I only donate plasma as my iron levels are typically low, and the longest time I've spent at the centre is around 90 minutes. It's not a lot of time to commit to every 12 weeks for blood or 2 weeks for plasma - and that's just the minimum waiting time between donations. You might only have time to commit to donating plasma every few months, which is ok too.

It's NOT a Thankless Task

Cleaning toilet? Thankless task. Cooking a half-eaten dinner? A generally thankless task. Giving blood or plasma? Gratitude is galore! You will be thanked in person by the staff at the donor centre, over the phone, or via text message, plus you will be told which hospital your blood or plasma has gone to, so you KNOW it is actually going to good use. Now, if that doesn't make you feel good about yourself, you Sir, have a heart of stone.



You get FREE tasty snacks and hot drinks after

Once you have donated blood, plasma or platelets, help yourself to some tasty hot snacks, hot or cold drinks, sweet treats or even just good old water. After your donation you are encouraged to chill out for 15 minutes with something to eat and drink - some centres even have volunteers who will bring your food to you!

You can donate as a workplace

Why not organise a workplace donation drive? At the top of the Western Australian list, for example, is the staff of Curtin University, with a whopping 561 donations between January and December 2022. That's a massive effort, and if you want to rival this, you can get in contact with Lifeblood to set your workplace up for donation success.

Did I mention it makes you feel good about yourself?

The feeling you get from giving life-saving blood or plasma is second to none. You know it will actually go to helping someone through the most difficult time in their life and it makes you feel so proud of your generous self, as it should!

If you're thinking of donating blood, plasma or platelets for the first time, or have been MIA from your local donation centre for some time, there is no time like the present to get started or get back into it the chair. Check out the Lifeblood website for your nearest centre here .

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