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Donate blood? This is what you need to know

Donate blood? This is what you need to know

You can also help other people with healthy blood. Men are allowed to donate blood five times a year, women three times. In the Netherlands, this happens a total of 724,000 times a year, saving an average of 20,000 lives.

Ruud Delwel, molecular biologist, professor and who works in the Hematology department at the Eruasmus MC:“You can lose about fourteen percent of your blood without anything really wrong. If it becomes more, then a precarious situation arises. If you are lying on the street after an accident, a blood transfusion can save your life. But we also often only use platelets from donated blood, because of their positive effect on people after heavy treatment.”

Read also: 'How does donating blood work?'

Become a blood donor?

Blood donors are desperately needed. However, giving blood is subject to a few important conditions. For example, you should:

  • Be at least eighteen years old
  • Weigh at least fifty kilos
  • and you must not have had a blood transfusion since 1980.

Am I suitable as a donor?

Do you want to know if you are suitable as a donor? Take the test on Sanquin.nl. Here you will also find the answer to all your questions, and you can register directly.