You can donate blood 4 months after your tattoo or piercing.
If you are being treated for cancer, you cannot donate blood. If you are clear from cancer, it depends what type of cancer you had.
If you received blood before 1980 you can donate blood. If you received blood after 1980 you cannot donate blood.
Yes, you will receive a text telling you which hospital your blood has gone to.
Fortunately, anyone with the same blood type can receive your blood. If you have the RO sub-type, it will most likely go to a sickle cell warrior.
There is a 1 in 800 chance of someone being asked to donate. You will only ask you to donate if you have a similar tissue type to someone in desperate need of a transplant.
There are two ways you might be asked to donate: 90% of people donate via their bloodstream in a straightforward process called peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection. 10% have their stem cells collected via their bone marrow while under general anaesthetic.
You’ll probably feel tired and have a little bruising after, but this generally passes within a week or so. You’ll receive lots of information and support for how to deal with them.
