Changing to plasma donation

If you already donate blood, you could help us in a different way and try plasma donation.

We need more people with A positive, O positive and B positive blood types to donate plasma.

Plasma can be made into medicine which saves and improves the lives of over 17,000 people in England each year.

You can donate plasma more often than blood. Most plasma donors give several times a year, but you can donate as often as every 2 weeks.

How does plasma donation work?

Your first appointment takes up to 90 minutes because we need to complete extra checks before your first donation.

After this, regular appointments take around 60 minutes, with the donation itself lasting around 35 to 45 minutes.

Ashwin donates plasma

Ashwin recently changed to plasma donation. In this video he takes you through the donation process.

Video transcript

Hello, my name is Ashwin. I was a blood donor, but one day I got a phone call asking to be a plasma donor, so here I am.

Plasma donation is just like blood donation, but with a few small differences.

I work really close by, and I want to do more good, so I decided to donate plasma, which you can do more often.

Let me take you through the process, so come with me.

Before donating plasma, there are some important ways to prepare which are similar to preparing for blood donation.

Get hydrated by drinking plenty of water and avoiding caffeine and alcohol.

Eat healthy, low fat meals 1 to 2 days before donating because this actually improves the quality of your plasma.

Try to relax and avoid strenuous exercise before your donation.

Wear loose, comfortable clothing with sleeves that can be rolled up easily, and know your height and weight, you’ll be asked this as part of the screening process.

Because it’s my first time donating plasma, my veins are checked to make sure I have one that’s suitable. This is because plasma donation needs bigger veins than blood donation.

Next, it’s time for me to complete the donor safety check. This is to make sure that there are no reasons that it could be unsafe for me to donate plasma today.

I answer yes or no to some of the questions about my lifestyle, medical history and recent travel. The next time I donate I’ll only be asked about what’s happened since my last donation, so it’ll actually be much quicker.

I read the consent booklet to make sure I know what’s involved in plasma donation so that I can give informed consent.

We talked through my questionnaire in a private screening area. I also have my pulse checked and a test to see how much iron I have in my blood. This is to make sure I won’t be too low after I donate.

It’s now time for me to make my life-saving plasma donation.

Plasma donation uses a different specialist machine to blood donation. During the plasma donation, the machine draws a small amount of blood from a vein through a needle, exactly like a blood donation.

The next bit is a little bit different. The machine separates out the plasma and then returns the rest of my blood to my vein through the same needle. This process happens repeatedly in cycles during my donation.

Staff check in on me regularly and are nearby in case I need anything. Needless to say, they look after me really well.

This part of the process takes a bit longer than giving blood, roughly 35 to 45 minutes. So I just lay back, relax, and listen to calming music, and I enjoy some quiet time.

If I want to, I can log on to the donor centre’s Wi-Fi as well.

After donation, I’m given drinks and snacks to refuel, including my favourite drink, hot chocolate.

I can leave as soon as I feel ready to, but more snacks and drinks are always available to me to stay longer if I want or need to.

Now I carry on with the rest of my day, remembering to take it easy and avoid strenuous exercise until tomorrow.

As for my plasma donation, that will now be heading off to the labs for testing, and then it will be turned into unique medicines that could actually save someone’s life.

All blood types can give plasma. You can give more often because your body replaces plasma really quickly, and the rest of your blood is returned to your body.

Most plasma donors give several times a year, but you can donate as often as every 2 weeks if you wish to.

Booking your next appointment is very easy. Just use the NHS Give Blood app.

Now I can enjoy the rest of the day knowing I just saved lives.

Can I change to plasma donation?

Plasma donor in donation chair before donating plasma

You may be able to change to plasma donation if you:

are able to travel to a donor centre in Birmingham, Reading or Twickenham
Have enough blood to donate safely. Check how much blood you have
have suitable veins and a normal pulse (we will check these before you donate)

Check how much blood you have

We ask you your height and weight before every plasma donation, to make sure it is safe for you to donate plasma. The machine we use to collect plasma uses this information to work out how much blood you have, and how much plasma you can safely donate.

You can use this tool to check if you have enough blood to donate plasma.

Please note that this tool is a guide only, and we will ask your height and weight again at your first appointment.

Results:

Estimate

How do I change to plasma donation?

It's easy to change to plasma donation in your online account.

You just need to:

log in to your account using this link
scroll down and click on 'find your first plasma appointment'
book yourself in for a plasma appointment

If you are an O negative or Ro donor and are interested in changing to plasma, give us a call and we can discuss it with you. Call the donor helpline on 0300 123 23 23.