Information sheet for blood donors
Risks for the donor
Blood donation involves venipuncture on the inner side of the elbow
and the withdrawal of about 500 ml of blood in about 10 minutes. This
rapid blood loss is generally well tolerated by a person in good health.
That is why it is important for you to be in good health. If the results
of our examinations (arterial pressure and haemoglobin test) or your
answers to the medical questionnaire show that donating your blood
may involve an important risk for your health, we will not accept your
blood donation. Nevertheless, in spite of all precautionary measures,
certain undesirable events may not be completely avoided during or
after blood donation:
• a transitory blood pressure drop,
• local complications at the puncture site (haematoma, blood vessel
extension, lesion of the underlying nerve).
Most of these events are harmless and of short duration. Nevertheless
exceptional or severe complications (e.g. a reduced mobility of the arm
of longer persistence) cannot be totally excluded. Your Regional Blood
Transfusion Service will give you useful advice on the best way to avoid
or to treat them. In case of hazardous occupations or hobbies a minimal
interval of 12 hours must be respected.
Precautionary measures to reduce the risk of your
blood donation for the recipient:
1. Risk situations
There is a risk whenever infectious agents in your blood are transmitted
to a patient even if you are not sick or do not feel sick. Your answers to
the medical questionnaire help us to evaluate this risk. The T-CH SRC
has established clear guidance to determine your ability to donate
blood. Consequently you may be excluded from blood donation, either
for a transitory period or in a permanent way.
The following risk situations represent a permanent
contraindication for blood donation
1. Positive test for the biological markers of AIDS (HIV), syphilis,
hepatitis C and persisting/active hepatitis B
2. Male sexual intercourse* with one or morel men since 1977
3. Sexual intercourse for money, drugs or medication since 1977
4. Drug injection (at present or in the past)
5. Coagulation diseases treated with blood components (plasma or
fractions)
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The following risk situations represent a temporary
contraindication for blood donation
6. Stay during the past 6 months in a region where malaria is en-
demic, without any health problem (in case of illness with fever,
tell the doctor in charge).
7. Gonorrhoea or other sexually transmitted disease during the past
12 months
8. Change of sexual partner* during the past 4 months
9. Sexual intercourse* with multiple partners during the past 12
months
10. Stay of 6 months or longer in the past 12 months in countries
where AIDS is epidemic
11. Sexual intercourse* during the past 12 months with partners ex-
posed to one of the risk situations mentioned under 1 to 5 or 7
to 10, however deferral after sexual contact with partners with
hepatitis B or C is 6 months.
*whether protected or not
2. Biological tests
The systematic screening of AIDS virus, hepatitis virus (B and C), the
syphilis agent, if necessary Parvo B19 and HAV virus takes place at
each blood donation. Should one of the tests give a reactive result, you
will immediately be informed and the blood you donated will not be
transfused. However there is always a certain lapse of time between
the moment of infection and the moment when biological tests start
being reactive. It is thus possible that an infectious agent is transmitted
to the recipient without the transfusion center knowing and preventing
it. Therefore a truthful answer to the questionnaire is of utter impor-
tance. In the same way, blood group ABO, Rhesus D and possibly oth-
er important blood groups in transfusion medicine are determined for
each donor (if necessary by genetic methods).
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 Donors may be from 18 to 75 years of age
3. Please inform your blood donation centre as soon as
possible, if:
• you or one of your close contacts fall sick in the course of the next
days,
• you realize that you did not answer correctly one of the questions of
the medical questionnaire,
• your blood donation is followed by complications. Proved harm may
be covered by a civil liability insurance.
Information given in connection with a blood donation is subject to
medical secrecy. It can only be used by the Swiss Transfusion SRC and
the Regional Blood Transfusion Service.
4. Further medical reasons that rule out a blood donation
for safety reasons:
Temporary:
• After examinations and treatment by a dentist and dental hygienists
(3-30 days)
• After illnesses and fever over 38 °C (2 weeks after healing)
• After taking certain medication: e.g. antibiotics, tablets against my-
coses (2 weeks)
• Before a scheduled or after an operation (decision to be taken by
our donor doctor)
• After having a tattoo done or a gastro-coloscopy (4 months)
• During pregnancies and 1 year after the birth
• As long as cold sores persist
• After inoculations: diphtheria, tetanus, flu, ticks (TBE), hepatitis A
2 days; hepatitis B 2 weeks;
• Measles, mumps and German measles 4 weeks
• After foreign travel 4 weeks to 6 months
Definitive:
• If certain medication is taken: cancer drugs (chemotherapy prepara-
tions), cardiac drugs (digitalis, nitroglycerine)
• After the transplantation of foreign tissue
• With angina pectoris, after a heart attack and cardiac operations
• With cancer (even if this has been operated), with some very few
exceptions (please ask the blood transfusion service)
• Trip to England (between 1980–1996 for a total of 6 months) or a
blood transfusion since 1980
This list is not complete. For further details ask your Regional Blood
Transfusion Service.
You may withdraw at any time before, during and after giving blood without needing to give any reason and you may refuse
the use of any blood you have donated, unless it has already been used for a transfusion (Tel. 031 384 23 33)
5. Recommendations before and after the blood donation:
Before donating blood
• Prepare for the blood donation by drinking at least 1 to 1.5 litres and
eating a light meal beforehand
• Bring you personal ID card with photo with you and plan around 45
minutes for the blood donation.
After the blood donation:
• Take time for a light snack.
• If you feel fit enough, you can drive a car again after an at least 30
minute rest.
6. Using parts of the blood for other purposes
Blood and blood components are not only needed for transfusions:
they are also used in making and developing medicines, tests, and de-
vices, or for quality control, laboratory, research and teaching purposes.
Your blood may have particular properties that make it valuable and use-
ful for such purposes and in this way it can help a larger number of pa-
tients. In such cases we only use either parts of your blood that are not
used for a transfusion and would otherwise be destroyed (e.g. white
blood cells, plasma, residues from test tubes), or extra test tubes of
blood that are collected at the same time as the donation. Depending
on the way they are to be used, other tests may also be performed that
include genetic analyses.
Interregional Blood Transfusion SRC LTD sometimes works together
with other companies or institutes when using this blood or supplies
them with the necessary blood components. We then charge for our
work processing and delivering the sample material. All proceeds are
used in projects to improve the quality and safety of blood units and
blood transfusions.
Your data and parts of your donation will only be used or passed on if
anonymized or encoded. They will be handled at all times in compli-
ance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection. Any anonymized
parts of your donation can no longer be recalled.
Should Interregional Blood Transfusion SRC LTD discover anything im-
portant to your health or your activity as a blood donor from its own
tests or tests carried out by third parties, our doctors will inform you.
When you agree to give blood, you also consent to having your blood
used as described above. Thank you!