Blood donation process

When donating blood, the standard donation is approximately 450 mL, slightly less than half a litre or two cups. This represents a small portion of the blood in a person’s body, as the average adult has about 5 litres. The entire process takes just over an hour.

We are constantly making efforts to improve our donor experience. Keep visiting our website for the most the up-to-date information. For a quick overview of our donation process, watch our video.

Improving your donation experience

To help protect everyone who enters our doors:

Face masks have become a mandatory requirement while within our donor centres. We kindly ask that you do not remove your mask at any time during the donation process. You will still be provided with post-donation drinks and snacks and ask that you consume them outside the donor centres.
We’ve suspended pre-donation salty snacks. We encourage you to eat something salty prior to your appointment and drink 500 mL of water. This helps your blood volume and improves your donation experience.
You will be asked to clean or sanitize your hands and maintain a two-metre distance from one another.

Before you donate

Looking after your health is important. On the day of your donation, there are a few extra things to do. 

Make sure you drink lots of water; eat a healthy meal and get a good night’s sleep.
Have a salty snack and 500 mL of water just before you donate.
Make sure to bring valid ID
- Donated before? Please bring your blood donor card.
- First-time donating or can’t find your card? Bring ID that is government-issued with your full name and date-of-birth. We’ll then order you a blood donor card for next time.
And you might want to do a quick eligibility check before coming in. Take our quiz!

On the day of your donation

Arrive at our donor centre to a friendly welcome from our staff. They'll greet you, do a quick identification check and direct you to the first station in the process.

You will start to see the new check-in kiosk when you come in to donate. 

Don’t forget to have your water and salty snack.

Questionnaire

You’ll complete our donor questionnaire on a touchscreen, answering the donation questions on a tablet! It's completely confidential and there to protect you and the person who receives your blood.

You’ll be able to skip this step if you have a blood donor ID number, an appointment booked and your email address on file – then we can send the online questionnaire in advance. 

Interview

Please ensure that you read the appropriate pamphlet as they contain important information about the donation process:

A trained staff member will go over your questionnaire answers with you and ask some additional questions to confirm that you are good to donate.

They'll give you a 'finger prick' test to check your level of hemoglobin (a protein which contains iron).

Donate

Sit back and relax in a comfy chair while you donate. You can read, chat with our team members or other donors, or just relax knowing you are saving lives.
And don’t worry, we always use a new, sterile needle for every donation and safely dispose of used needles.
We'll keep a close eye on you while you're donating to make sure you're OK. Talk to a staff member if you feel uncomfortable or worried. 
Ever wonder what happens to your blood donation? Learn more about What happens to your donation.

Relax and refresh

To limit the risk of spreading COVID-19, donors will be asked to sit for five minutes in the refreshment area with their masks on after their donation to rest and to allow collections staff to monitor their wellbeing.

After their rest period, they will be encouraged to grab a snack and refreshment to consume after they leave the donor centre.

If a donor chooses not to spend time in the recovery area they would be offered a snack and refreshment to go.

This is the perfect time to book your next appointment using our GiveBlood app or online at blood.ca.

A donation in your honour

Let a loved-one, friend or colleague know that you’ve donated to Canadian Blood Services in their honour. Click on the image to download and personalize your card.