How do I donate blood?

If your doctor has asked you to give blood to bring your haematocrit down, NHS blood donation is the best place to start. It is free, and your donation goes on to help someone else.

How to arrange it

Check for sessions near you at NHS Blood Donation, or at NIBTS if you are in Northern Ireland. You book directly with them. We can recommend donating, but we are not able to refer you.

You do not need a letter from us

Almost everyone donates without one, and the donation service does not require it, so we do not provide letters for blood donation.

If your haematocrit is currently in the normal range

You can still donate safely. The donation service checks your haemoglobin on the day and will not proceed if the level is too low, so there is no risk of your level being brought down to somewhere unsafe. For men that threshold is typically 135 g/L. The donation team assess your suitability at the appointment.

If you are prescribed HCG

You can still donate. All the HCG we prescribe is safe under NHS blood donation guidelines and is not a barrier in itself.

If there is nothing available near you

There is a private option, which we have set out in I'm not able to donate blood.