Health and nutrition advice

Haema only uses plasma from healthy donors to produce medicines that help save lives and improve the quality of life. Adequate health and nutrition can help make plasma donation faster and easier. Here are some things you can do to stay healthy before and after your donation.

Before plasma donation

It is recommended to drink 2.5-3 liters of fluid the day before the plasma donation and at least 1.5-2 liters before the plasma donation

Eat healthy food at least two hours before donating plasma

Avoid foods rich in fat and cholesterol

Do not smoke within an hour before the plasma donation

Do not drink alcohol at least 12-24 hours before the plasma donation

Avoid strenuous exercise one hour before plasma donation

Sleep through the night, arrive rested

After plasma donation

Drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids

Eat a healthy meal within two hours of your visit

Do not smoke for at least half an hour after donating Plama

Avoid lifting heavy objects and strenuous activity for at least 24 hours

A guide to healthy eating

A diet containing iron provides an
optimal hemoglobin value

Before each donation, we check the hemoglobin (Hb) value of your blood. The Hb value must be at least 8.4 mmol/l for men, at least 7.8 mmol/l (for blood donation) and 7.5 mmol/l (for plasma donation) for women so that the donation does not cause anemia. You can contribute to stabilizing the Hb value with a healthy diet. Your body is not capable of producing iron on its own, and you only absorb 10-15% of the iron from food. Therefore, a diet rich in iron is essential for successful blood donation. For this, meat products serve as a very good source of iron: our body absorbs more than 20% of the iron content of meat, in contrast to only about 5% of the iron content of plants.

Iron absorption is hindered by coffee, black tea and dairy products. If you want to supply your body with iron in a short period of time, you can achieve this by taking iron tablets used as food supplements. One tablet should be taken once a day on an empty stomach (that is, one hour before a meal or two hours after a meal) with plenty of liquid. Iron can be delivered to the body in larger doses with tablets than with food. The time required to prove effectiveness can vary. The optimal solution is a combination of a diet rich in iron and the occasional intake of an iron tablet.

Food		Useful advice
Meat	veal liver, black pudding and liver pudding	herbal blood from the drugstore, iron always combined with vitamin C, (fruit juices, paprika stb.)
Cereal products	soy flour, Aztec sage, oatmeal
Fish	salmon, perch, cod
Vegetable stews	legumes, chanterelle mushroom

Protein-rich nutrition with optimal total
protein content

Every fifth donation, we also check your blood for total protein content. The total protein content before plasma donation must not be less than 60 g/l. The immunoglobulin (IgG) content of the blood is checked at the same time. The IgG level can fluctuate greatly even without plasma donation, and can fall below the 6.0 g/l limit in case of frequent plasma donation. This limit value determined for the donor ensures that a shortage cannot occur at the donor. The IgG level can only be slightly influenced by nutrition. With each plasma donation, you lose up to 50 grams of the protein content of your plasma. In the case of regular plasma donation, it is recommended to ensure that your diet contains protein and is balanced before each plasma donation.

Food	Protein in 100g	Food	Protein in 100g	Food	Protein in 100g
Cottage cheese	5 g/ 100 g	Soy product	20 g/ 100 g	Poultry	20 g/ 100 g
Yoghurt	2,5 g/ 100 g	Fish	15 g/ 100 g	Lean meat	20 g/ 100g
Milk	2 g/ 100 g	Cheese	10 g/ 100 g	Egg noodles	20 g/ 100 g

Low-fat diet

It is especially important to avoid fatty foods before plasma donation. If the plasma appears cloudy or milky, it contains too much fat. In this case, the plasma cannot be tested, nor can it be further processed.

If, despite our nutritional advice, we repeatedly find plasma with a high lipid level, take the opportunity to investigate the cause of the high lipid level in your blood.

Food rich in iron and protein is not always low in fat. Thus, for example, walnuts and hazelnuts contain a lot of iron, but they also have a high fat content, so they should be avoided in the 24 hours before the plasma donation. As a donor, be sure to combine different nutritional advice.

	Favorable	Unfavorable
Meat	Pork liver, Beef liver, Turkey breast	salami, fried sausage, duck, goose
Dairy product	Low-fat milk, yogurt, butter milk	cream, ice cream, creamy yoghurt, cottage cheese
Cereal products	whole wheat bread, wheat bran, corn, millet	brioche, cake, fatty cake
Fish	salmon, common cod, haddock	carp, eel, fried fish, smoked fish
Vegetable stews	spinach, lentils, white beans, parsley	avocado, olives, dried soybeans

The blood plasma

Blood plasma is the source of life-saving proteins from which special, irreplaceable medicines are produced. Since these proteins cannot be reproduced artificially, plasma donations are essential for people who suffer from this disease. Become an everyday hero yourself, donate plasma!