Am I eligible?

Am I eligible to give blood?

Age:
First Time Donors -16th birthday up to 66th birthday.
Existing Donors - Up to 71st  birthday.
Regular donors from 71st to their 76th birthday may be accepted subject to authorisation by a NZBS Medical Officer.

Weight:
You must be 50 kg or over (if you are a first time donor under 25 years of age, you must also meet the height and weight criteria – Find out if you meet the height and weight criteria by using our eligibility quiz.

Health:      

  • You must be in good health at the time you donate.
  • You cannot donate if you have a cold, flu, sore throat, cold sore, stomach bug or any other infection.
  • If you have recently had a tattoo or body piercing you cannot donate for 4 months from the date of the procedure.  If the body piercing was performed by a registered health professional (e.g. a Pharmacist, GP etc.) and any inflammation has settled completely, you can donate blood after 12 hours.
  • If you have visited the dentist for a minor procedure you must wait 24 hours before donating; for major work wait a month.


Travel:
You must not have lived in the United Kingdom, France or the Republic of Ireland between 1980 and 1996 for a cumulative 6 months or more. Find out why here.
Travel to areas where mosquito-borne infections are endemic, e.g. malaria, dengue and Zika virus infections, may result in a temporary deferral but this will depend on a number of factors, please check the Donating after Travelling tool to find out when you can donate.

Behaviour Criteria:

You must not give blood for 12 months

  • Following oral or anal sex with or without a condom with another man (if you are male).
  • After engaging in sex work (prostitution) or accepting payment in exchange for sex.
  • After leaving a country in which you have lived and which is considered to be high risk of HIV infection (includes sub Saharan Africa and parts of Asia). Full list available at blood donation collection sessions and www.nzblood.co.nz(external link).

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding:

  • Following pregnancy, the deferral period should last as many months as the duration of the pregnancy.
  • It is not advisable to donate blood while breast-feeding. Following childbirth, the deferral period is at least 9 months (as for pregnancy) and until 3 months after your baby is significantly weaned (i.e. getting most of his/her nutrition from solids or bottle feeding).

Personal Identification:

More information on eligibility to donate:

You may need to download Adobe Reader to view the PDF files. It is available free from the Adobe site(external link).

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