Society and healthcare depend on voluntary blood donors. Blood is used every day in cancer care, for blood diseases, during childbirth, in surgery and after serious accidents.
Three ways to give
Besides whole blood, you can also donate plasma or platelets only. Which form suits you is decided together with the blood centre.
The most common form of donation. About 450 ml of blood is collected in a bag, which takes 5–10 minutes. The whole visit usually takes around half an hour.
The bag is then separated into red cells, plasma and platelets, so that each patient receives only the component they need. A single donation can therefore help several patients.
The body needs time to rebuild its iron stores, so women can give whole blood about three times a year and men about four times a year.
In plasma donation, also called plasmapheresis, the blood passes through a machine that separates out the plasma. Red cells and platelets are returned to the body at the same time. The donation takes longer than whole blood, roughly 30–45 minutes.
Plasma is used for major bleeding and burns, for certain clotting disorders, and as a raw material for medicines for patients with haemophilia and weakened immune systems. Plasma can be frozen and stored for a long time, which makes it important for national preparedness.
Because the red cells are returned, the body recovers more quickly. Plasma can therefore be donated considerably more often than whole blood – how often is decided by the blood centre.
In platelet donation, or plateletpheresis, the platelets are separated out while the rest of the blood is returned. The donation takes longer, often one to one and a half hours.
Platelets make the blood clot and are needed above all in cancer care, in leukaemia and after bone marrow transplantation. They are also needed in major surgery and after serious accidents.
Platelets last only five to seven days and cannot be frozen. A steady flow of donors is therefore needed all year round, and platelet donors are often called in at short notice.
The donor completes a written health declaration, which forms the basis for assessing whether a donation can be made and whether the donated blood is safe for the recipient. Samples are then taken for blood group, blood values and known blood-borne infections. This check is repeated at every donation.
The blood is collected in a bag containing about 60 ml of anticoagulant solution, which prevents coagulation from being activated.
Blood components
The bag is centrifuged and placed in a blood press that automatically separates the components into different bags. The result is one bag of red cells, one buffy coat used to produce platelet concentrate, and one bag of plasma. After extensive quality control the components are quarantined and released to the blood bank about two to three days after donation.
Compatibility and safety
Mixing blood from two people with different blood groups causes the red cells to agglutinate, which can damage the cell membranes and cause haemolysis. Giving incompatible blood can lead to circulatory shock and acute, life-threatening kidney damage. Careful blood typing, control typing and compatibility testing are therefore performed before every transfusion, governed by detailed legislation based on EU directives.
Blood-borne infections
All donated blood is tested for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Together with the health declaration and interview, this makes the risk of infection very low.
Current situation
Sweden has 26 blood establishments across six healthcare regions.
On average one bag of blood is needed every minute, and around 100,000 people receive blood every year.
Only about 2–3 % of the population are active donors, and there are large regional differences.
The blood supply is part of Sweden’s total defence; more donors mean greater national resilience.
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