Understanding The Different Types Of Blood Donation

Health Care

- Dr Lalit Dhantole

Blood is essential for survival, especially when patients undergo surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries, including accidents. This life-saving care begins when one person makes the selfless decision to donate their blood to a hospital or blood bank. Although the need for blood is constant, there is only a tiny part of the population regularly donates blood. This is especially true in India, where the concept of blood donation has always been demand-led, as there is a belief that blood donation is an emergency service.

What are the various types of blood donation?

A blood donation is a process wherein a donor volunteers to donate his blood, either as whole blood or by apheresis, which is used to treat patients who need it based on the requirement.

There are multiple ways to donate blood and its components.

The first is called whole blood donation, which is the most traditional and most common type of donation. Here a unit of blood is drawn that contains red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. It gets separated into different components following the donation process. The entire process takes 10-15 minutes, and the donor’s whole blood is directly collected in a blood bag. After this, the blood bag is processed into different components based on the patient’s needs. A person who donates blood in this manner can do so every three to four months.