Giving Blood: Our quick guide to becoming a donor

Advice and Information - 18 June 2025

Giving blood saves lives. The blood you give is a lifeline in an emergency and for people who need long-term treatments.

Why give blood?

Blood donors are needed from all backgrounds to ensure there is the right blood available for everyone who need it.

The Give Blood website indicates that they need:

  • Nearly 400 new donors a day to meet demand
  • Around 140,000 new donors a year to replace those who can no longer donate
  • 40,000 more black donors to meet growing demand for better-matched blood
  • 30,000 new donors with priority blood types such as O negative every year
  • More young people to start giving blood so we can make sure we have enough blood in the future

 

How is donated blood used? 

Donated blood or components are given to a patient in a blood transfusion. Blood transfusions are given via a line into a vein.

  • Around two thirds of the blood donated in England is used to treat medical conditions including anaemia, cancer and blood disorders
  • Nearly a third is used in surgery and emergencies including childbirth

Usage varies between hospitals depending on their particular specialties. 

 

Restrictions on who can give blood

Sometimes, certain conditions or illnesses mean a person cannot donate blood. You cannot donate if you:

  • Have had most types of cancer
  • Have some heart conditions
  • Have received blood, platelets, plasma or any other blood products after 1st January 1980
  • Have tested positive for HIV
  • Have had an organ transplant
  • Are a hepatitis B carrier
  • Are a hepatitis C carrier
  • Have injected non prescribed drugs including body building and injectable tanning agents. You may be able to give if a doctor prescribed the drugs.

You will need to wait before you can donate if you:

 

How often can I give blood?

Men can give blood every 12 weeks and women can give blood every 16 weeks.

This is because men generally have higher iron levels than women.  A brief video explaining the blood donation process is available here. 

 

I want to donate blood – where can I sign up?

To be able to donate blood, you must:

  • Be generally fit and well
  • Be aged between 17 and 65
  • Weigh between 7 stone 12 lbs (50kg) and 25 stone (158kg)
  • Have suitable veins
  • Meet all donor eligibility criteria

To register as a blood donor, you can visit the NHS Blood and Transplant website.

 

More information

Further information is available from the NHS ‘Give Blood’ website, including:

  • Why give blood?
  • Who can give blood, and how to sign up
  • The donation process
  • Where to donate? 

If you’ve used a health or care service recently, please share your experience on our Feedback Centre.  We want to hear what’s working well and where services may improve. 

Contact Us

If you would like help to navigate health and care services, or you wish to share your experiences of health or social care with us, you can contact our Information and Signposting service on:

Telephone:  0333 101 4007

Email:  enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk                

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Organ Donation: You could save someone’s life

Organ donation is when you decide to give an organ to save or transform the life of someone else. You can donate some organs while you are alive, and this is called living organ donation.

However, most organ and tissue donations come from people who have died.

By registering to become an organ donor you have the option to donate organs such as your heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and small bowel.  All these forms of donation can greatly enhance or even save the life of someone in need.
Advice and Information