Blood donation and safety

A minimum body weight requirement and age restrictions are in place to protect blood donors. What’s more, women should not donate blood more than three times per year, and men no more than four times. Additional medical examinations at the donor centre/blood drive and a questionnaire ensure that collecting the blood poses no risk to the donor.

In addition, there are exclusion criteria intended to protect patients. These are circumstances that temporarily or permanently bar an individual from donating. They include, for example, the use of certain medications, medical procedures and new piercings or tattoos, as well as feeling unwell in the recent past (fever, a cold, stomach or intestinal upsets).