Blood Donation

A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn to be used for transfusions or made into blood products and biopharmaceutical medications through a process called fractionation, the separation of whole blood components; a donation may be of whole blood or of specific components directly through apheresis, with blood banks often participating in both the collection and the procedures that follow it. In the developed world most blood donors are unpaid volunteers donating for a community supply, though in some countries established supplies are limited and donors typically give blood when family or friends need a transfusion, called directed donation, and in countries that allow paid donation some donors receive money or other incentives such as paid time off work. Potential donors are evaluated for anything that might make their blood unsafe to use, including screening for diseases transmissible by transfusion such as HIV and viral hepatitis, a review of medical history, and a short physical examination, and how often a donor may give varies from days to months depending on the component donated and the laws of the country, for example fifty six days between whole blood donations but only seven days between platelet apheresis donations in the United States. Most blood components used for transfusion have a short shelf life, making a constant supply a persistent problem, which has led to increased interest in autotransfusion, in which a patient own blood is salvaged during surgery for reinfusion or self donated ahead of when it will be needed.