Svenska Blodgivarförbundet Give blood – save lives

Blood donation

From donor to patient

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.

Register as a donor

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.

Donors and donation

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.