Is blood donation safe?

Blood donation is safe and rarely causes any harm for a healthy person. The health questionnaire and interview aim to confirm that the donation is safe for the donor. The Blood Service is responsible for the donation being safe both for the donor and patient.

Blood donation may sometimes be related to some temporary symptoms or discomforts, mainly nausea or bruises. All blood donors are insured against adverse effects or accidents caused by blood donation.

Because needles and other equipment used for the blood collection are always disposable, you cannot be infected via blood donation.

The most important thing for the patient receiving the blood is that the blood donor is healthy. Because only a small portion of pathogens can be tested, the careful selection of donors is crucial for the safety of the patient. In addition to the measurement of haemoglobin and the determination of blood group, the blood samples taken in connection with donation are tested for the most important blood-borne infections (HIV, hepatitis A, B and C, syphilis).

However, if the donor has been infected very recently, this may not be visible in the laboratory tests and causes a small risk to the patient’s safety. The purpose of different-length waiting periods before donation is to prevent donation during this window period. However, the microbe safety of products can never be perfect.​