Questions and Answers About Blood Donation

• The waiting period is normally 48 hours following vaccination with vaccines that use inactivated pathogens or pieces of pathogens or an mRNA vaccine: influenza, human papillomavirus, poliomyelitis (injected vaccine), tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), cholera, Haemophilus influenzae type b, genital herpes, meningococcal disease, pneumococcal disease, anthrax, rabies, typhoid (injected vaccine), tick-borne encephalitis and COVID-19 (mRNA/vector vaccine). The vaccinations against hepatitis A and B are the exception here: the waiting period for these vaccinations is 2 weeks. This is because a recent vaccination could be mistaken for a fresh infection when the blood donation is tested in the lab.
• The waiting period is 1 month following vaccination with a live vaccine (containing a weakened version of the pathogen). Live vaccines are used for vaccinations against the following: measles, mumps and rubella (MMR vaccine); BCG (tuberculosis), poliomyelitis (oral vaccine), cholera, typhoid and paratyphoid (oral vaccine), yellow fever, herpes zoster, and varicella.
• Persons who receive a post-exposure vaccination cannot donate for 12 months after its administration; post-exposure vaccinations are those administered after a specific event (e.g. rabies vaccination after being bitten by a dog abroad).
• The online Vaccine Check tool can tell you the length of the waiting period after any vaccination.

As of 1 November 2023, uniform eligibility criteria apply throughout Switzerland. The request filed by Swiss Transfusion SRC was approved by Swissmedic in July 2023. This means that the eligibility criteria apply uniformly for everyone regardless of sexual orientation.

As of 1 February 2026, people who have received a blood transfusion are, in principle, eligible to donate, although they are required to wait four months after the blood transfusion before doing so. This is true regardless of the country in which the transfusion took place. 
Under the previous rules, transfusion recipients were indefinitely barred from donating due to the possibility of the transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob-disease through a blood transfusion. No case of vCJK in humans has ever been reported in Switzerland.

This restriction was lifted as of 1 February 2026, and people in this category can donate again; no waiting period applies. 

Under the previous rules, people in this category were indefinitely barred from donating due to the possibility of the transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob-disease through a blood transfusion. No case of vCJK in humans has ever been reported in Switzerland.

No, if you have a cold, you should wait until you have fully recovered. 

We recommend that people wait at least 2 weeks after the last of their flu symptoms have disappeared before donating blood.

Taking medication does not necessarily make someone ineligible to donate blood. To clarify your particular situation, please contact the responsible specialist at your regional blood transfusion service. Remember to list all medications you are taking (even those not prescribed by a doctor) in the questionnaire.

If your diabetes is managed with tablets, you can donate blood. If you receive insulin through injections, then you cannot donate blood.

In many countries, there is an elevated risk of contracting an infectious disease, such as malaria or the West Nile disease. Depending on the current situation, mandatory waiting periods (deferral periods) may apply in order to eliminate, as far as possible, the risk the transmission of a disease to blood transfusion recipients. Before your next donation, use the online Travel Check tool or ask at the blood transfusion service in your region to find out about the current situation. 

Donors should not engage in high performance sports or do any diving for two days following their donation. For other forms of athletic activity: listen to your body and adjust the length or intensity of activity accordingly.

MORE ON BLOOD DONATION AND SPORTS

Knowing the haemoglobin level (haemoglobin count) is important for ruling out anaemia. Haemoglobin is the pigment found in red blood cells, where it is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, and thus to the body’s cells, as well as for binding carbon dioxide and transporting it back to the lungs. Someone whose haemoglobin count is too low cannot donate blood.

The exact volume varies with age and gender. On average, the amount of blood in a person’s body is equivalent to about eight percent of their body weight, with women tending to have lower blood volumes than men. For example: a man who weighs about 70 kg has around 5 or 6 litres of blood.

The body compensates for the loss of the donated blood quickly. The white blood cells, which are important for resisting pathogens, and the blood fluid (plasma) are replaced within one day. Red cell counts in the blood return to the previous level within seven days; however, it takes several weeks to build up stores of them in the bone marrow.

Blood donation is limited to three or four donations per year because it takes several weeks for the body to produce new red blood cells in the bone marrow.

For the first 24 hours, donors should avoid strenuous physical activity and drink plenty of liquids. Your body will compensate the loss of fluid within 24 hours.

After a 30-minute rest, you can drive a car, assuming you feel fit and well. There is a mandatory rest period of at least 48 hours before piloting an aircraft and at least twelve hours before driving a locomotive or bus. Occupation-specific rules must also be followed.

Somewhere quite close by, and you’re sure to find a time convenient for you. The regional blood transfusion services operate donor centres at around 40 locations in Switzerland. In addition, mobile teams working with Samaritan associations hold blood drives regularly in many other towns and villages. See Where to donate, to find out about opportunities to donate and sign up to receive a reminder.

Blood is important to ensure the survival of many people – blood donors save lives! Every day, around 700 blood donations are needed in Switzerland alone. Due to the limited storage life of blood, regular donations are necessary to ensure a sufficient supply of blood at all times. The demand for different blood types can vary.

Who will be helped by my blood donation?
Blood donations primarily help cancer patients. But donated blood is also needed for operations, and by people with other illnesses or injuries. You can find out more about the uses of donated blood here.

Generally, any healthy person between the ages of 18 and 60 who weighs more than 50 kg can donate blood. The age limit for a first-time blood donor is 60.

Donation Check

Please bring your blood donor card or your ID card or passport as proof of identity with you every time you come to donate.

The donation itself (collection of blood) takes around 10 minutes. When that is completed, you should remain on the recliner and rest for a few minutes. You should plan approximately 45 minutes for the entire blood donation process, including the pre-donation questionnaire and interview, as well as some time for refreshments afterwards. If you are a first-time donor, you should expect it to take about an hour, as there will be more information to collect before the donation.

One of your fingers will be pricked for the test to check your haemoglobin count. To collect the actual donation, a needle is inserted into your arm. This can be unpleasant, but the blood donation is painless.

As a rule, 450 millilitres of blood are collected. This represents around 10 percent of your total blood volume.

Women can donate blood three times a year, men four times, at intervals of about 10 to 12 weeks. The intervals can be shorter in the case of plasma and thrombocyte donations. And for any blood donation: the donor must feel fit and well and must meet the eligibility criteria for blood donation set out in the questionnaire.

The questionnaire is used to determine the donor’s state of health at the time of the donation. It helps the staff determine whether a blood donation is possible. Its purpose is to help ensure the safety of both blood donors and patients.

If all the tests for infection are negative, you will receive a blood donor card two to six weeks after your first donation. The donor card also shows your blood group and Rhesus factor. Positive results for hepatitis, HIV or syphilis undergo additional testing to confirm the result. If this test is also positive, a doctor will contact the donor and refer them to their GP or a specialised institution.

International studies have shown this to be a key safety factor: people who do not receive any financial gain from donating blood have no reason to conceal any information. What’s more, encouraging people in financial distress to donate blood by offering them money is ethically questionable.

Every day, children and adults are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases like leukaemia. For many of them, a blood stem cell donation represents the only chance for a cure. There are many ways you can help: by registering as a blood stem cell donor, by making a monetary donation or by volunteering. Registration as a voluntary donor is founded on the idea of solidarity: it is an expression of a willingness to make oneself available as a donor for anyone suffering from disease anywhere in the world. For a blood stem cell donation to be possible, the donor’s tissue markers must match those of a patient. This is only very rarely the case.

You will find the most important information about blood stem cell donation here.