What are they used for?

Red cells contain haemoglobin that carries oxygen through the body. They are transfused to patients who are very anaemic or have lost a large amount of blood following an accident or during surgery.

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I have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis –

See arthritis - If your diagnosis is Rheumatoid Arthritis and it is being treated only with medicines called “Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent” or aspirin you will be able to give blood donations. If you are being treated with steroids and other medicines you will not be able to give blood donations again.

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I have recently had rubella. When can I donate?

We will ask you to wait 4 weeks from full recovery from this infection as a clearance of the virus is known to be delayed.

If you have had had contact with a person with rubella and have had rubella previously there is no waiting period before giving blood.

If you have had contact with rubella but have not had previously had this infection, we will ask you to wait 4 weeks until the infection incubation period has elapsed.

If you have had rubella vaccination you must wait 8 weeks from the date of vaccination before donating to ensure the vaccine virus has been fully cleared.

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