There are five simple stages to being a donor : 
- making the commitment
- completing the paperwork
- giving a blood sample
- keeping us up to date with your contact details
- saying yes to donating
Making the commitment
Currently, around 40% of the donors on our register become unavailable – through ill health, personal reasons, death, or they have changed their contact details without informing us.
Clearly, there is a huge cost to this.
There is the immense, unspeakable cost to a patient, if a ‘match’ cannot be found or is unable (or unwilling) to donate.
There is the not insignificant cost to the charity to convert each donor’s blood sample into a workable, searchable analysis of his or her tissue type.
There may be the additional cost of tracing a donor who has moved without letting us know, and the further laboratory time required to provide molecular analysis of a donor’s blood if she or he appears as a potential match.
So, to avoid all of this, we want to you to be clear about the commitment in your own mind.
You need to be :
- a committed and caring person who will stay in contact with us
- ready to undergo a minor medical procedure and some short-term discomfort, and probably taking some time off work (although loss of earnings can be reimbursed)
- happy to be matched against the needs of patients anywhere in the world
- prepared to remain on our Register until you are 60
- Aware of the eligibility criteria to join the register
