< Blood Service News - 12.10.2009

First-time blood donors wonder about the stages of blood donation

Some 160,000 individuals donate blood in Finland every year. Almost 20,000 of these are first timers, who often wonder about the stages involved in donating blood.

Many blood donors find it surprising that it takes only 5 to 10 minutes to fill a bag of blood. However, donors should allow at least half an hour for the entire donating process, because completing the health questionnaire, the pre-donation interview by a nurse and an unrushed cup of coffee all take time.

Who Can Donate?

Blood donors must be in good health, 18 to 65 years of age and weigh at least 50 kg. New donors must be under the age of 60. Men can donate blood at two and women at three-month intervals. The blood haemoglobin level is always measured prior to donating and must be at least 135 g/l for men and 125 g/l for women. Blood donors must identify themselves using a Finnish personal identity code shown on an identity document provided by a Finnish authority.

In the autumn, during the season for colds and flu, you should remember that if you’ve just had a cold but no fever, you can donate blood once the symptoms have passed and you feel healthy. However, if you have influenza or some other respiratory infection and a temperature of over 38°C, you cannot donate blood until a minimum of two weeks have passed since your recovery.

Over 1,000 blood donors are needed in Finland every weekday, to make a constant supply of blood components available for patient treatment. Blood components are required for a range of purposes, including surgical and cancer patients and accident victims.

The five stages of donating blood

You should reserve over half an hour for donating blood. The stages of blood donation are explained step-by-step below.

1) Registration
You can donate blood at any of Finland’s 16 Blood Service donor centres or at donor sessions arranged by mobile blood collection units nationwide. The Blood Service donor centres are listed at www.veripalvelu.fi. Anyone offering to donate blood must present an official identity document bearing the holder’s photo. No advance appointment is necessary.

2) Health questionnaire
Prior to each blood donation, the donor candidate familiarises him/herself with the blood donor's info kit and fills in a health questionnaire. Your answers to the questionnaire will help us ensure that donating blood is safe both for you and the person receiving your blood. Bearing this in mind, it is vital that you answer all of the questions carefully and truthfully.

3) Interview by nurse
If necessary, a blood service nurse will ask additional questions in order to supplement the health questionnaire with extra details, and perform a final assessment of the donor’s suitability. Answering ’yes’ to certain questions will not automatically disqualify you from donating blood. In the case of every tenth or so donor candidate, for some reason or other blood donation is postponed for e.g. a few weeks or months.

During the interview, the nurse will draw a drop of blood from the candidate’s fingertip, in order to measure the blood haemoglobin concentration. This must be at least 125 g/l for women and 135 g/l for men.

4) Blood collection
Blood collection is performed with the patient lying down or semi-reclined. The nurse disinfects the skin at the crook of the arm and takes samples, in order to determine the blood group and conduct certain viral tests. After this, the bag will fill up in approximately 10 minutes. A total of 450ml of blood is collected, around a tenth of an adult’s blood volume. After donating blood you should rest on the bed for a while, even if you feel good.

5) Afterwards
After donation, donors are offered tea, coffee, juice and snacks. You should take the time to have a sit down during the drink and snack. On the day of donation, drink more fluids than usual in order to replace the loss of fluid and refrain from heavy physical exercise and taking a sauna. Otherwise, you can go about your business as usual.

One bag of blood can help as many as three patients, which makes every blood donor a life-saver.