Blood Donation
By becoming a blood donor you could help save many lives. Each blood donation takes about 60 minutes and can save up to 3 lives.
You never know when you or a loved one might need a blood transfusion and we want to make sure that everyone has well-matched lifesaving blood when they need it.
We provide education targeted at young people from a diverse range of backgrounds – so that they can make an informed decision about becoming a blood donor
We organise group blood donation events with NHS Blood and Transplant at donor centres close to our university centres
We work with NHS Blood and Transplant, Welsh Blood System, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Servise, and ScotBlood to organise student blood donor recruitment drives
How does blood donation work?
Book an appointment at your nearest donor centre
After booking your appointment you will receive confirmation and more information about the process via email
If you need to cancel or change your appointment you can do this online or by ringing the blood helpline (0300 123 23 23).
On the day of your appointment
Complete the donor health check posted to your home address and bring it with you to the donor centre
Health check
Time to donate
After your donation
Who can donate?
- You cannot donate blood if you’ve had a tattoo or a piercing in the last 4 months
- You cannot donate blood if you’ve ever received a blood transfusion yourself
- You cannot donate blood if you’ve had anal sex with a new partner in the last 3 months
- You must be aged 17-65 to donate blood for the first time
- You must weigh over 50kg (7st 12lb) to donate blood
- If you have any health conditions, are on any medications, or have travelled in the last 4 months, you can check your eligibility
What is donated blood used for?
Donated blood is separated into 3 different components which are each used to save or improve peoples lives.
Blood components:
Red blood cells
Red blood cells carry oxygen in the blood from the lungs to all the organs and tissues in the body that need it. A red blood cell transfusion is needed in an emergency when someone looses a lot of blood or in a non emergency setting when the body isn’t making enough red blood cells or when the body is destroying its red blood cells due to an underlying disease.
Platelets
Platelets are small cells in the blood which enable to the blood to clot to prevent bleeding. In patients undergoing some cancer treatments or in people with sever bleeding platelets are lifesaving.
Plamsa
Plasma is the Liquid part of the blood it carries the blood cells and also contains lots if important proteins and molecules. This includes factors that enable blood clotting and also antibodies produced by the immune system. Plasma is used to make lifesaving medications for people with immune disorders.
There are many different situations where people need life saving blood products these include:
- In emergencies where someone has lost a large amount of blood such as trauma or childbirth
- In genetic conditions where the body is unable to produce enough healthy blood cells such as sickle cell anaemia
- In patients undergoing certain cancer treatments the body is unable to make new blood cells
- To replace blood lost during surgery
There are many other reasons besides these that someone can need a life saving blood donation. Donated blood is treated as a very precious resource by the health service and so you can be sure that who ever receives your blood donation it will make a huge difference to their life!
Why we need more diverse donors
While we need more blood donors generally, we need more Black blood donors in particular. 40,000 to be exact!
This is because people of Black heritage are more likely to have:
- Rare subtypes of blood such as Ro
- Blood conditions such as sickle cell anaemia, which requires managing with regular blood transfusions
The existence of rare blood subtypes mean that matching donated blood with a recipient is difficult. Receiving blood that’s closely matched to your own is important so that your immune system doesn’t reject it.
If you have multiple blood transfusions the risk of these immune reactions increase. So we want to make sure that patients receiving multiple transfusions, such as those with sickle cell anaemia, can have the best matched blood available.
