Necessary requirements to donate blood

General recommendations

  • Fasting is not recommended (better drink water before donating).
    • In the morning: Light breakfast (water, fruit) no dairy food or fat.
    • In the afternoon: 4 hours after having lunch (not much fat).
  • You must show your ID (Peru’s National ID Card, Passport, Alien Card).
  • Male donors must not have donated blood within the last 3 months and female donors within the last 4 months.
  • Weight at least 50Kg and 1.50mts tall.
  • For platelet donation, you must weigh at least 60Kg.
  • Age between 18 and 60 years old.

You should not:

  • Take any drugs or use illegal injectables.
  • Have had sexual relations considered risky (with the possibility of contracting an infection or sexually transmitted disease) during the last year.
  • Have hemophilia, bleeding, or bruising appearing without any reason.
  • Have or have had hepatitis B or C or be in direct contact with people who have hepatitis.
  • Have received vaccinations within the last month except for:
    • Diphtheria vaccine.
    • Flu vaccine.
    • Hepatitis B vaccine.
    • Pneumococcal vaccine.
  • Be taking antibiotics or antifungals, and you must also have finished the course at least one week before giving blood.
  • Be taking aspirin, anti-inflammatories, or anticoagulants for platelet donation.
  • Have venereal or sexually transmitted diseases.
  • Get a tattoo, piercing, needle or scalpel punctures with biological fluids within the last year.
  • Have a cold, fever, infection, or inflammation of the respiratory tract within the last week.
  • Have ongoing diarrhea or significant weight loss within the last months without a diagnosis.
  • Have swollen glands (armpit area, groin, back of ears) for more than a month.
  • Have consumed alcohol the day before the donation.
  • Be suffering from heart disease, cancer, seizures, insulin-dependent or uncontrolled diabetes.
  • Have undergone surgery within the last six months.
  • Have received transfusions within the last year.
  • Have received organ or tissue transplants.
  • Have traveled within the last six months to areas at risk for malaria, yellow fever, dengue, or Zika.
  • For women: The same requirements mentioned above in addition to:
    • Not having heavy menstrual bleeding that causes general discomfort at the time of donating.
    • Not being pregnant or breastfeeding.

Information about the donation process

  1. You will receive a form that must be filled out with your data. Some questions will be asked, which are necessary to determine if you are eligible for the blood donation procedure. Likewise, you will receive a fact sheet so that, if you agree, you can give your consent for the donation. These forms must be filled out with your complete data, signed and fingerprinted. All data of this interview is confidential.
  1. If you give your consent, the following evaluations will be carried out:
    1. It will be verified if you have the appropriate weight to donate.
    2. Blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate will be monitored.
    3. It will be evaluated if your veins are acceptable for drawing blood.
  1. If everything is correct until the previous step, a blood sample should be taken to verify your blood group. Also, your hemoglobin level will be tested.
    1. To be a blood donor, you must have at least a hemoglobin level of:
      • Males       : 13.50 gr/dl
      • Females    : 12.50 gr/dl

    These values may vary if the applicant comes from a region of altitude.

  1. If the applicant has complied with all of the aforementioned, a blood sample will be drawn or, if applicable, the corresponding blood unit will be drawn in a sterile collection bag, to carry out the tests regulated by the Ministry of Health and rule out possible infections that can be transmitted through transfusion.
  1. The tests regulated by the Ministry of Health are:
    • HIV ½
    • Hepatitis B (surface antigen)
    • Hepatitis B (anticore)
    • Hepatitis C
    • HTLV I/II
    • Syphilis
    • Chagas

It’s important that:

  • Even after the donation process is completed, you can request to speak with the staff in charge to mention that it would be preferable not to use the blood that you have donated. It will always be confidential.
  • If you only want to obtain a result for HIV, syphilis, or hepatitis tests, we can guide you to go to the corresponding specialty. Blood Banks do not diagnose diseases, their function is to qualify if an applicant is suitable or not to donate blood.
  • For the blood to be as safe as possible, we need people willing to answer the interview with absolute truthfulness.
  • We must always collaborate by spreading the need to have voluntary donors to meet transfusion requirements, which are permanent in health institutions.
  • People who offer to donate in exchange for money may have some type of infection or disease and they may lie during the interview. There is a risk of not being able to detect the infection when they donate. Worldwide, there are no reagents to detect infection from the first days after it is contracted (“window period”). Patients are at risk with these types of donors.

Blood donation and COVID-19

You will not be eligible to donate for a month if within the last 14 days:

  • You have had fever, chills, fatigue, severe general malaise, and/or respiratory symptoms such as cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, and/or shortness of breath.
  • You have traveled or lived in areas affected by COVID-19.
  • You have had direct contact with a person with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • You have had a positive COVID-19 test.

 

Skip to content