Who can donate platelets?

By becoming a platelet donor you will join a community of active donors across England who save lives every day. 

You may be able to donate platelets if you have the right blood type, a high enough platelet count, and have given blood before.

Can you donate platelets?

 

We'd like to hear from you if you:

Check how much blood you have

You need to have enough blood to donate platelets safely.

Use this tool to check if you have enough blood to donate.

This calculation uses your gender, height and weight but is different to BMI (body mass index).

Results:
Estimate
Estimate

Who can't donate platelets?

There are some reasons why you can't donate platelets, even if you have given blood or platelets in the past. 


Blood type

We are looking for people with these blood types to switch to donating platelets:

  • A negative

  • AB negative

  • positive


Platelets from donors with these blood types are safe to give to almost everyone and are constantly needed by hospitals. 

Hospital demand may change in the future and we may need donors with other blood types to step forward.

If you have a different blood type you can still save and improve lives by giving blood or donating plasma.


 

You need to be, or have been, a blood donor before switching to platelet donation

What you should do next depends on whether you have donated before.

Once you make the switch to platelet donation, you cannot continue to give blood. If you want to return to giving blood at any point, you will need to stop donating platelets first.

Become a platelet donor

If you meet these criteria and would like to join us the next step is to arrange an assessment when you next give blood. 

Register your interest


Platelet donor, Natalie, giving a donation

Donating is so easy and pain free. In fact I enjoy the peace and quiet.

Natalie started giving platelets after a friend died from bowel cancer