Women give plasma more often than men
Women gave plasma more often than men last year. That's according to figures from Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. There were a total of 180,000 blood and plasma donors in 2024, including 140,000 blood donors and just over 40,000 plasma donors. Interestingly, women donate plasma more often than men. "Women donate plasma more often than men. We saw about equal numbers of women and men for blood donation, but for plasma donations, 60% of donors were women. Also in the total number of plasma donations, there were more female than male donations." says Nathalie Bergs, Head of Donor Management at Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. You can donate plasma every two weeks and donate blood four times a year.
For Belgian Red Cross-Flanders , 2024 was a record year for plasma collection. Plasma is the yellow liquid in the blood that contains proteins, sugars, fats and vitamins. Although plasma donation is less known to the general public, it is life-saving. Like blood, plasma can save lives. It is used in patients with severe burns, for plasma exchanges for babies with jaundice. In addition, plasma is an indispensable ingredient for the production of life-saving medication, for example, for people with immune deficiencies.
Women donate plasma more often than men
In 2024, there were 24,400 female plasma donors and 17,300 male plasma donors. "A remarkable difference," notes Nathalie Bergs, Head of Donor Management at Belgian Red Cross-Flanders . "Among blood donors, we see about the same number of men and women, both around 70,000. With plasma donors, however, we see a striking difference."
Looking at the total number of donations per year, we see that plasma donors, regardless of gender, donate an average of 4 times per year. For blood donations, the average is 2 times per year for men and 1.7 times per year for women.
"There are several explanations why women are more likely to donate plasma," Bergs said. "We see that women are generally more willing to donate blood or plasma. For blood donations, however, the requirements are more stringent: the total blood volume in your body must be high enough, and you must have a sufficiently high hemoglobin level. Women, on average, have less blood than men, and they are also more susceptible to iron deficiency (iron is needed to make hemoglobin). Because of this, some women can sometimes give only plasma and not blood.
Most donors give either blood or plasma. Not both.
The majority of donors gave either blood or plasma in 2024. 10% of donors gave both. That is, they give blood at one time and plasma at another. However, you may give both blood and plasma. Plasma you may donate every two weeks, if you give blood you must wait four weeks before your next plasma donation.
"Belgian Red Cross-Flanders actively encourages donors to give both blood and plasma. "We are incredibly grateful to our donors," Bergs concludes. "Thanks to them, we can literally save lives. For blood we are completely self-sufficient today, but for plasma we are not yet. So all donors are more than welcome."