It's Plasma Donation Week
24 April 2023
This week we are celebrating our amazing plasma donors and the people they help.
Plasma is the liquid in your blood that carries platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells around the body. It makes up approximately 55% of your blood, and contains antibodies, which fight infection.
Donated plasma is used to make a lifesaving medicine called immunoglobulin. This medicine is used to treat more than 50 diseases by strengthening or stabilising the immune system.
This Plasma Donation Week (24-30 April) we are celebrating how proud we are of our plasma donors and the amazing impact their donations have on people’s lives.
We will be hosting thank you events at our plasma donor centres in Birmingham, Reading and Twickenham, and sharing patient and donor stories across the week on social media.
Get involved
Whether you're new to plasma donation, or you've donated plasma with us before, you can support us this Plasma Donation Week.
New to plasma donation?
Donating plasma is safe and easy. A donation takes about 35 minutes, and the whole visit – including pre-donation checks and snacks after donation – takes just over an hour.
The demand for plasma is growing and we need more plasma donors to donate at our centres in Birmingham, Reading and Twickenham.
Register today and join the 12,000 life-saving plasma donors who help people relying on medicines made from plasma to stay alive.
Not sure if you can donate plasma? Check eligibility
Already a plasma donor?
If you are booked in to donate this week, share a picture of yourself with your donation on your social channels.
Remember to tag us on Facebook (@NHSBloodDonation), Instagram (@givebloodnhs), and Twitter (@GiveBloodNHS), and let us know in your post where you gave your donation, so we can re-share and celebrate with you.
If you haven’t got a donation booked in this week, you can still support us by booking your next donation online or using the NHS Give Blood app.
Book your next appointment
If you don't already have an online account, you can sign up for one today.
Plasma donation saves lives
Aurora Flaherty needed immunoglobulin aged eight months old for the life-threatening condition Kawasaki disease.
Her immune system was overreacting, causing inflammation through her blood vessels – including around her heart.
Aurora's dad, Simon said: “Within eight hours she went from not looking her best to not being able to wake up.
“In hospital, she was still progressively getting worse. The nurse said the life was draining out of her face.”
Aurora received medicine made from plasma, which helped her own immune system to calm down.
Simon said: “Within 24 hours of receiving it she could sit up. Maybe three days after that she started playing with things on her lap. It was just a massive, massive sense of relief.”
He has since become a plasma donor in Birmingham.
“It was a lovely process with a lovely bunch of people.
“The machine that takes the donations is really cool. What’s a bit crazy is that the machines are also called Aurora! Everyone was having a giggle about that. The staff loved hearing about our daughter Aurora.”
He said of plasma donation: “It is kind of like a magical fluid that can literally bring somebody back from almost death.”
Random strangers saved Aurora’s life. It felt really good to know my plasma will go to another stranger who needs it.
Simon, Aurora's dad
