What is the process of donating blood ?

You fill in a questionnaire about your recent health and whether or not you are able to donate blood. You then go to a nurse and they put a drop of your blood into copper sulphate solution to make sure you're not anaemic. You then go to a bed and they get you to lie down while they put an IV line into your arm at the inside of your elbow. You then lie there for about 10 minutes until 500ml of blood has been taken and then you sit down and have something ot eat and drink before you leave... Hope this helps

1) You will have to fill out a questionair that asks you about your past sicknesses etc.

2) If you are suitable to donate blood, you lie down, and a needle is inserted into your elbow bend.

3) About 500 ml are normally extracted (Depending on your body size).

4) Depending on what you want to donate (Red blood cells, platelets) the blood is centrifuged to isolate the specific cells.

5) The blood is then frozen

6) When needed, its warmed up and treated with radioactivity to kill cells that have not been filtered out during centrifugation (could cause inflammatory responses)

Thats abou it. Hope that helps,