Who Can Donate?
One blood donation can save up to three lives. The collected blood is separated into red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. Red blood cells treat blood disorders, plasma helps burn victims, hemophiliacs, and those with severe immune conditions, while platelets support chemotherapy and radiotherapy patients.
Donate at hospitals or community blood drives. After a quick health questionnaire and a simple needle prick, the process takes about 10 minutes and collects roughly half a liter—out of the five liters circulating in your body. You'll receive a snack afterward to help you recover.
These apheresis donations occur at hospitals by appointment. A doctor conducts a pre-donation interview. Enjoy complimentary refreshments like coffee, tea, croissants, biscuits, or sandwiches before and after. Plasma collection takes about 1 hour; platelets, 1.5 hours.
Register on a donor registry. You'll only be contacted if you're a match for a patient—a 1-in-1-million chance. Provide a sample then. It's a long-term commitment: you might be called in a month, 10 years, or never.
Women who have had a child and are under 37 may qualify through approved fertility centers. If eligible, receive hormone injections to stimulate ovaries, followed by a day procedure for vaginal egg retrieval under sedation.
Agathe Mayeret
