Give Blood England and Wales

Component donation is a specialised way of donating using a cell separator machine. These machines separate the blood into all its various components: platelets, red cells, plasma & white cells. We take out just what we need and put back into your body what we don’t. Because the large majority of blood components are returned, the donor can safely donate more frequently than every 16 weeks. In some cases, this can be every two weeks.

A component donation is very important as this allows us to collect individual parts of the blood as and when we need them most. If there is a need for platelets we can quickly ask platelet donors to come into one of our blood donation suites to donate. There we can collect platelets to meet the required demand. In fact, sometimes a donor will donate for a specific patient’s planned treatment.

> Platelets website

Aspirin and blood donation

Will aspirin affect my platelet donation?

The chemical composition of aspirin impairs the ability of platelets, a component of blood that helps to prevent bleeding, to function properly. Platelet donors must refrain from donating for five days if they have taken any products containing aspirin.

Will aspirin affect my blood donation?

Blood donors can donate after taking aspirin and preparations containing aspirin, as long as they are well. The chemical composition of aspirin impairs the ability of platelets, a component of blood that helps to prevent bleeding, to function properly. Therefore, it's important that we know if you've taken aspirin, so that the platelets from the blood donation are not used.

Should I stop taking aspirin so I can donate platelets?

We recommend you consult your GP before stopping or starting any medication.