What's in your blood

When you donate blood you could save up to 3 lives in 1 hour.

That's because your blood is made up of different parts that can each save lives in different ways.

Here's how each part of your blood donation could help.

Red cells

Blood contains red cells which carry oxygen around the body and carbon dioxide to your lungs to breathe out.

The red cells in your blood could help someone in an emergency, help save the lives of mothers and babies during childbirth, or help to fight sickle cell.

Plasma

Plasma is the part of your blood that carries red cells, platelets and white cells around the body. It contains antibodies which fight infection.

The plasma in your blood could be made into lifesaving medicines that can treat over 50 diseases.

Platelets

Platelets are tiny gold-coloured cells in your blood which help it clot and stop bleeding.

The platelets in your blood could help someone combat cancer or recover from losing a lot of blood after an accident, organ transplant or surgery.

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Other types of donation

You could help us even more by donating differently.

Find out more about the different ways you could donate.