Most common questions used to investigate
Are you anemic?
Are you suffering from any serious condition or disease?
Are your periods heavy?
Are you pregnant or nursing?
Are you underweight?
Have you taken any medical tests?
Common conclusions
If you are anemic, it means you don't have enough red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the different parts of your body. This can make you feel tired and weak, so it is not a good idea to donate blood when you're anemic. This is because you already don't have enough blood cells, so when you give, it can worsen your situation. In most cases, you'll be unfit to donate blood if a medical examination is done before the donation process.
When you have a serious condition, your body is already fighting hard to come back to normalcy. During this time, giving blood can further exacerbate your condition, hence you should not give blood. Further, your blood may contain medications that you've been taking for your condition and this can be harmful to the receiver who accepts your blood. So, more than the periods, it is these conditions that should deter you from giving blood.
If your periods are heavy, wait until it subsides before you donate blood. This is because there's already a form of blood loss happening in your body and this is making you tired and anemic. Another blood discharge can weaken you further and make you more prone to sickness. Though it may not be life-threatening, still you can avoid these complications by waiting until your periods' end to donate blood.
You should not donate blood if you're pregnant or nursing, regardless of whether you're on periods or not. This is, in fact, one of the basic questions that you're asked before you go for a blood donation. It is best you take a test for pregnancy if you're in doubt as this can have serious consequences for your health and that of your child.
People who are underweight should not give blood as it puts more stress on your body to handle infections. Check your BMI and if you're below a threshold of 18.5, you're underweight and need to take steps to increase your weight before you can donate blood. In fact, you may want to increase your weight for good health too as being underweight can be detrimental for your health.
When you go for a blood donation, you'll be asked to go through a pre-assessment to ensure that you are fit enough to give blood on that day. Depending on the assessment, the nurse may require you to take additional tests or answer a few more questions before determining whether you're fit for donation or not.
Based on the test results, you can decide if you're healthy enough to donate blood or not. Even if you have the slightest doubt about your health, hold it off until you recover.
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