How blood donations work

On average 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 people will need some sort of blood product in their life yet only 1 in 10 people donate. This is a consequence of illness, time considerations and altruism where it is not a simple aversion to pain.

This video goes through the process of giving a whole blood donation and how it is handled after you leave.

The general steps are:

ID check

Interview

Haeme measurement

Blood donation

Blood typing and pathology testing

Division into plasma, red cell and platelet products

Storage for 1 year, 42 days or 6 days

Shipping to hospitals or care facilities

Relevant links:

List of blood donation agencies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blood_donation_agencies

Infectious Disease Testing
https://www.redcrossblood.org/biomedical-services/blood-diagnostic-testing/blood-testing.html

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE BLOOD
https://www.donateblood.com.au/learn/what-happens

BEFORE AND AFTER YOU DONATE BLOOD
https://www.donateblood.com.au/learn/before-and-after-you-donate

What Happens to Donated Blood
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/what-happens-to-donated-blood.html

HOW YOUR BLOOD IS USED
https://www.donateblood.com.au/learn#how-your-blood-is-used

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

5 Must-Have Tools to Measure Your Blood Sugar
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/type-2-diabetes-tools#1

Types of Specimen Collection Containers
https://www.parkwaylab.com.sg/service-information/specimen-collection-handling/types-of-specimen-collection-containers/

Processing of donated blood
https://www.who.int/bloodsafety/testing_processing/components/en/