Donor Recovery
Blood Donors are usually rested at the blood doantion site for at least 15-20 minutes. They are encouraged to lie down. Any complication that may develop from donating blood takes place during the donation or immediately afterwards. The rest period may help to monitor this.
After 15 minutes of rest, Blood donation centers usually provide light refreshments such as tea, coffee, milk or fruit juice and biscuits to refresh the donor. The site of needle puncture is covered with a bandage and the donor is recommended to keep it that way for a while.
After the initial rest, the donor may resume daily routine. Rigorous physical work is discouraged for a few hours after donation. No special diet is recommended for a donor. A balanced, nutritious daily diet will suffice. The donated blood is replaced within the donor’s body within a matter of a day or two.
The frequency by which a donor could donate blood varied from country to country. By general consenses a patient who is donating plasma alone can donate more frequently compared to a donor giving whole blood. This is because RBCs take longer( 36 days) to replace compared to plasma(2-3 days).
