The donation process

Can I donate?

Questions being asked

When you donate blood, NZ Blood Service staff will ask you questions to check that giving blood will be safe for you and safe for the person receiving your blood.

If giving blood may be unsafe for either person, you may be deferred (i.e. not allowed to donate), either temporarily or permanently.

To ensure the safety of blood supplied, it is important that the donor is in a good health. This ensures the donor is protected against harm to his/her own health and that the recipient is protected against the transmission of disease, drugs or contaminated products that could harm the recipient.

On arrival to make a blood donation you will be asked to fill out a Donor Health Questionnaire called a Donor Session Record Form, All donors are required to complete their own Donor Health Questionnaire before you can give blood. As with all health and personal information provided to NZBS, all details you supply are strictly confidential.

You may be eligible to be a blood donor if you:

  • Are a new donor aged 16-65 years (but before 66th birthday)
  • Are a regular donor aged up to 70 years (but before 71st birthday)
  • Weigh at least 50kg. First time donors must also meet height and weight criteria. Find out if you meet the height and weight criteria by using our eligibility quiz.
  • Are not engaging in any high risk behaviour that may expose you to HIV (the AIDS virus) and other viruses
  • Are in good health

Please review the eligibility criteria and if you have recently travelled overseas, also check the Donating after Travelling tool to see when you can give blood.

Donating blood is safe, simple and worthwhile.

Although NZBS screens all donations for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C and syphilis it is not a testing centre. If you believe that you need a specific test please contact your own doctor.

Your Blood Donor Card

Within a few weeks of donating, you'll receive a blood donor card. This card is important as it provides a personal donor identification number that will help to identify you when you come back to donate. Your donor card is also available through the NZ Blood Service Donor App.

If you lose your donor card, please let us know next time you come to give blood.

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