Donating: how, where and can I?

When making an appointment, you can search by location. Enter your location in our donor portal and you will immediately get an overview of the nearest options. Also tick whether you want to donate blood, plasma or platelets. The donor portal includes both the permanent collection sites (our donor centers in the cities) and the mobile collections that are held throughout Flanders. So you can quickly and easily find what suits you best.

You can give blood anywhere, plasma in all our donor centers and platelets only in the Bruges, Edegem, Genk, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen donor centers.

Yes, you can organize an on-site blood collection as a company, business park or organization if you have at least 750 employees or sympathizers. We provide you with all the necessary material to get everyone excited: flyers, banners, videos, standard emails, posters and an online registration module. Contact us at relatiebeheer@rodekruis.be for more info.

Fewer than 750 colleagues or members? Then trek with your company to Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. Plan a team outing to the nearest donor center. A looser atmosphere for consultation, informal discussions and doing a good deed as a team: only benefits!

Read all about it here!

Both donating blood, plasma and platelets save lives.

Read all about the different blood products here.

In addition, you can also be invaluable by registering as a stem cell donor.

Yes, because every blood type is really needed. As you may know, you can't just give blood to everyone or receive blood from everyone. It depends on your ABO blood type and rhesus factor. So your blood type determines who can receive your blood. But there is no doubt that with your blood type, you are helping people and saving lives! Your blood type is also important for plasma. Check here to see who you help and how your blood group supply is doing.

Waiting your turn to give blood or plasma because it's just a busy time? Having to stand in line to save lives? Tell me, you'd rather not. And we also like to make it as easy and accessible as possible for our donors. That's why we work with an appointment system.

So: are you coming to donate? Then we ask you to always make an appointment in advance. This is also possible on the day itself (by phone or online). That way we can welcome you quickly.

Thanks in advance!

Don't come to your donation hungry. Also avoid the opposite: a heavy, fatty meal just before with lots of cheese, fries, mayonnaise, eggs, bacon, butter or whipped cream, for example. Then you are more likely to become unwell during or after the donation. Eating a normal, easily digestible meal about 2 hours beforehand is ideal. A rest, cookie and otherwise normal diet is also sufficient to restore blood components quickly afterwards.

Drink more water than usual both before and after your donation for proper fluid balance. Other non-alcoholic beverages can, of course, also. At our blood collections and donor centers, you will be offered water and drinks before and after your donation. Be sure to take those. In the 24 hours afterwards, it is a good idea to avoid diuretic drinks such as alcohol and coffee.

Also avoid alcohol in the 24 hours before donation. Or compensate for alcohol consumption by drinking plenty of water. Those who arrive drunk will be turned away.

Read all the info and tips here

Read all the info and tips here

Here you will find all the info you need after your donation.

Yes, you get a thank-you gift. Check out your benefits here.

Depending on what you give, there will have to be a different time between your donations.

Blood

• You may donate blood up to 4 times a year. After each blood donation, you must wait at least 2 months before you can give blood again. (Only under strict conditions can a person with hemochromatosis donate blood up to 6 times a year).

Plasma

• You may donate every 2 weeks.

Platelets

• You may donate every 2 weeks and up to 24 times per year.

Combination

If you combine blood, plasma and/or platelets, you are allowed a maximum of 26 donations per year in total.

• After a blood donation, you must wait at least 4 weeks before you can give plasma or platelets again.
• After a blood donation, you must wait at least 2 months before you can give blood again.
• After a plasma or platelet donation, you must also wait 2 weeks before another blood donation.

The attending physician will determine how much blood, plasma or platelets you can donate based on the medical questionnaire and medical examination before the collection. If you are healthy, you may well lack some blood, plasma or platelets. After all, your body makes them all the time.

• On average, a healthy adult's body contains 4 to 6 liters of blood, depending on your weight. A rule of thumb is that a person has about 1/13th of their body weight in blood. Men generally have more blood in their bodies than women. A donation may take 450 or 470 ml of blood (depending on your height, weight and gender).
• For plasma, the maximum amount is 650 ml.
• For platelets, the maximum amount is 500 ml.

• Safety is a top priority for us. We want the donation to be safe for you as a donor. And also for the patient receiving your blood. Therefore, in certain cases, you may not donate blood, plasma or platelets - temporarily or permanently. We do donor selection before blood donation. We ask you questions and do a brief examination. Our selection criteria are scientifically based.
• We use only specially trained personnel to draw blood, plasma and platelets. Blood sampling (by venous or capillary puncture) is a nursing act B2 defined in the R.D. of June 18, 1990 as "Blood Collection". That R.D. also stipulates that the nurse may independently draw blood from the donor, provided that the physician has given permission. In the past, other professional categories (medical laboratory technologists, pharmacists) were issued the special certificate 'Blood collection by venous punctures'.
• Sterile material is used that is for your use only. After use, it is discarded.
• Your diet is more than sufficient to quickly restore the blood components given off. Female donors under 50 years of age are asked by the doctor to take an iron supplement for several days after blood donation.
• Good communication is also an important requirement for safety. Therefore, you must speak Dutch, French, English or German to give blood. Before giving blood, every donor must meet with the collection doctor. The physician conducts a brief medical examination, reviews your answers to the medical questionnaire and asks additional questions. The doctor can also answer any questions you may have about your donation. We ask that you speak Dutch, French, English or German to make this possible. After all, it is important that our donation doctor can ask questions and understand you. Conversely, you must be able to understand and answer his questions. Only in this way can we guarantee that the blood taken is safe. We make every effort to speak French, English and German fluently in addition to Dutch so that we can receive as many donors as possible. A translation of the medical questionnaire into French, English and German is available at each donor center.

Yes, for the safety of blood products, it is very important that donation is based on voluntariness. People who voluntarily donate blood do it for each other. Out of conviction. Because they want to help people around them.

Yes, at any time you can withdraw as a donor. Even if you are in the takedown seat, you can decide not to go through with it. You can also decide at any time that you no longer want to be a donor. Donating blood, plasma or platelets once does not imply any obligations for the future.

When you register, we use your electronic identity card for unambiguous and unquestionable identification of you as a donor. This is fundamental to be able to follow the path of your donation to the recipient at any time.

Through the chip we read the following data: the national register number, name, first name, date of birth, sex, address and photograph.

We are authorized by the National Register Sector Committee to use the National Register identification number.

We only use your personal data for the management of our administrative and medical data, and anonymous information about our blood transfusion activities. According to the legislation on privacy protection, you have the right to access and modify your personal data upon written request.

This means that you gave informed consent for the collection of your blood, plasma or platelets. Knowledgeable means that you read the educational materials, had the opportunity to ask questions and received satisfactory answers. It also means that you gave information in the medical questionnaire and during the medical examination that was truthful to the best of your knowledge. 

Consent is also requested for the use of residual samples for scientific and epidemiological research. If you do not wish this, you may opt-out on the medical questionnaire. 

Finally, you indicate that you have been informed that you must not perform any dangerous occupations, or physical or sporting activities with risk to yourself or others for 12 hours after the blood collection. If you have any questions about your donation, you can always discuss this with the collection doctor.