Frequently Asked Questions

When you can donate again depends on the operation you have had and the results. 

• Major surgery: After a major operation (such as a hip operation) you can donate blood or plasma again after four months. During the operation you may lose blood and it can take some time for the body to fully recover. (A different recommendation applies after a gastric bypass – see maagverkleining [in Dutch]) 

• Minor surgery: After a minor operation, you can donate blood or plasma again after seven days. Examples of a minor operation are cataract surgery, eyelid correction, removal of a lipoma, or circumcision. 

In addition, it is important that all of the following conditions are met: 

• The wound has healed and the stitches have been removed. 

• If you have had a biopsy, the results are known and all clear. 

• You have fully recovered and you feel fit. 

PLEASE NOTE! If you have had a laparoscopy either for diagnosis or surgery (‘keyhole surgery’), or an endoscopy, you may not be allowed to donate blood or plasma for the following four months. 

If you are due to undergo surgery soon, always consult the doctor at the donor centre before you donate blood or plasma. If you have questions regarding upcoming surgery, contact the blood bank at 088-730 8686. 

There are two main forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The disease develops differently in each variant. 

Classic form 
The classic form can be contracted in different ways. Firstly, and most commonly, it can develop spontaneously. It can also occur in families, so it can be hereditary. Another possibility is transmission by transplantation of the meninx (cerebral membrane) or the cornea from the eye. Finally, classic CJD could be transmitted by treatment with human growth hormones from the brain. The use of human growth hormone has now been discontinued in the Netherlands. 

Variant form 
The variant form can be contracted by eating meat from cattle with BSE, a disease that was particularly common in cows in the United Kingdom during the BSE epidemic of the 1990s. 

It is very likely that the proteins that cause CJD can be transmitted via blood or plasma. This means that both the classic form and the variant form can be transmitted by transfusion or transplantation, or via contaminated medical instruments. 

The disease is very rare, so the chance of contracting it is extremely small. 

Read more 

• What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and donating blood

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, incurable brain disease. The first signs are symptoms such as memory problems and stiffness. This starts gradually and becomes increasingly severe. At a later stage, sufferers show behavioural changes and experience dementia. They may become blind, and lose the ability to speak. Their movement becomes jerky and uncontrolled. Eventually, the person becomes completely dependent on help and dies of the disease. 

CJD is caused by a protein that occurs naturally in the body. The disease occurs on average in one in a million people per year. 

In 1996, it was discovered that the protein that causes BSE (or ‘mad cow disease’) in cattle can also be transmitted to humans. Because this disease resembles CJD, it was given the name variant CJD. The disease as it was already known has since been called classic CJD. 

Read more  

• How can a person get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease? 
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and donating blood

You may donate blood if you have been symptom-free for at least 2 weeks and have not used antiviral medication for at least 2 weeks. If you have been in contact with a person who has the flu, you may donate blood so long as you do not have any symptoms. Should you develop symptoms within 1 week of donating blood, please contact the Blood Bank as quickly as possible (088-730 8686).

The Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV) is a virus that can cause a rare form of leukaemia.

Have you come into contact with an HTLV patient in a professional capacity? This is not a problem for blood donation, so long as you have not been involved in a needle stick or biting accident. If you have been involved in such an incident, you may only donate blood again after 4 months.

Does or did your partner have HTLV? Please contact the Blood Bank (088-730 8686).

If you have (had) an HTLV infection: contact the Blood Bank (088-730 8686).

Please contact the Blood Bank at 088-730 8686.

Red blood cells are a portion of the cells you donate during blood donation. This lowers your haemoglobin(Hb) level temporarily. Because we want to ensure you have enough Hb in your blood, we assess your Hb level before donating.

To donate blood your Hb level must be at least 8.4 mmol/l for men and 7.8 mmol/l for women. Since your red blood cells are returned to you during plasma donation, the required Hb levels for this type of donation are different. To donate plasma the Hb level in men must be at least 8.1 mmol/l and 7.5 mmol/l for women. 

If you have been diagnosed with haemochromatosis, there are possibilities for donating blood at Sanquin.
If the disease is not yet in a stable phase or if you have a secondary form of haemochromatosis (this is haemochromatosis due to another disease), your doctor may ask us to perform a therapeutic blood collection (phlebotomy). This blood is not used to treat patients.
If you have the primary (hereditary) form of the disease, and it is in a stable phase, your blood can be donated to patients if you meet the following requirements:
Your ferritin levels in the blood must be lower than 100 microgram per litre.
You are otherwise healthy and meet the requirements set for all other donors. You can check our registration form to see if you qualify.
Your doctor must submit a request including a recent ferritin level in the blood. Your doctor must reconfirm that the disease is still stable annually, using a form (including a recent ferritin blood test).
After registration, you will meet with a donation doctor and the standard blood tests will be performed to determine whether you can become a donor.
Donation frequency is no more than 3 times per year for women and 5 times per year for men. There must be at least 8 weeks between donations.
Please contact the Blood Bank if you have any questions (088-730 8686).

You may not donate blood. If you are a carrier or haemophilia runs in your family, this is not a problem for donation. If your partner has haemophilia, you may not donate blood if your partner was treated with clotting factors before 1987. If you have had sexual contact with someone who was treated with clotting factors before 1987 because of haemophilia, you can donate after 4 months.

If you ever had Hepatitis A (jaundice) and you recovered from it, please contact the Blood Bank (088-730 8686). We would like to test the amount of antibodies against it present in your blood. If the levels are high enough, we will ask you to donate plasma. The antibodies in the plasma can be used to make medicines for people with reduced immunity against contagious diseases, for example because they have leukaemia. Even if you do not want to become a plasma donor, but do want to participate in the test, we would appreciate it if you contacted us.

Recently had jaundice (Hepatitis A)? Then you may not donate any blood or plasma for 3 months.

Contact with patient: If you have had close contact with a patient with Hepatitis A, you may donate blood again 3 months after the last contact (close contact means people sharing the same cutlery, shaving razor or toilet). It does not matter if you have been vaccinated against Hepatitis A or not.

Vaccination: If you have had a Hepatitis A vaccination before travelling you can donate blood. If you have been vaccinated because you were at risk of contracting Hepatitis A, you may donate 3 months after the vaccination.