JPAC Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee

3.6: Frequency of donation

3.6.1: Whole blood

An interval of 16 weeks between donations of whole blood is reasonable. The minimum interval is 12 weeks. Normally, no more than three donations should be collected from a female donor and four from a male donor during any 12-month period.

3.6.2: Plasmapheresis and plateletpheresis

A donor should not undergo a total of more than 26 plasma- and/or plateletpheresis procedures per 12-month period. There should normally be a minimum of 2 weeks between plasma- and/or plateletpheresis procedures. 
After a whole blood donation, or the loss of an equivalent number of red cells during an apheresis procedure, a donor should not normally donate plasma or platelets for a period of 4 weeks. Further information is given in the ‘Frequency of Donation’ entry in the JPAC Donor Selection Guidelines1.

3.6.3: Double red cell donations

The interdonation interval for donation of double red cells by apheresis should not be less than 26 weeks (6 months) in the absence of iron supplementation. A shorter interval may be acceptable only if confirmation of iron-replete body stores can be accurately demonstrated and monitored.

Last updated 06/07/2021