Age - Blood Donor
- Donors can donate once they have reached their 17th birthday.
- 1st time donors can donate up to their sixty-sixth birthday.
- Regular donors (i.e. those who give at least one donation in a two year period) can continue to donate beyond 70 years, provided they remain otherwise fit and well.
Weight - Blood Donor
- Donors should weigh at least 50kg (7 stone 12 pounds).
- If you are a female & aged less than 20 years old additional height and weight criteria apply. We need to estimate your blood volume before deciding if you can donate.
- There is no upper weight limit. However, our donation beds will safely accommodate a donor weighing up to 25 stone (158kg).
Blood Count - Blood Donor
- Donors need to have an adequate haemoglobin (blood count) to donate.
- Haemoglobin levels have been set at 125 g/l for females and 135 g/l for males.
- Donors will have their blood count checked each time they come to donate. We do this by taking a tiny drop of blood from the fingertip.
How often can I donate blood?
- Female donors can give blood every 16 weeks (every 4 months or 3 times in a 12 month period).
- Male donors can now give blood every 12 weeks (every 3 months or 4 times in a 12 month period).
- NIBTS will however continue to send out invitations to both male and female donors approximately every 16 weeks.
- The difference in donation frequency relates specifically to lower iron levels in women. Whilst a donor's blood volume is restored within a few hours, it can take eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating. Replacing this iron through diet alone can take a long time, especially with other concurrent losses, for example, menstruation in women.