What is Blood donation?
:''[[Bloodletting]] was the name for a medical practice which affected the health of the person.'' [[File: Blood donation at Fleet Week USA.jpg|thumb|A member of the [[US Navy]] donates blood.]] [[File:Blutspende Piktogramm.GIF|thumb|The [[pictogram]] for blood donation]] '''Blood donation''' is when a person voluntarily gives blood, which can be used for [[blood transfusion]]s or to make certain [[drug]]s. [[Blood bank]]s store this blood. The blood can be used to help the victims of [[accident]]s, for example. Usually, the blood donor and the donated blood are tested for [[disease]]s which spread through the blood. These include various forms of [[Hepatitis]], [[HIV]], [[Haemophilia]] and [[Syphilis]]. Usually, a series of questions also need to be answered to make sure that there is no risk to the person donating. A special case occurs before some medical operations. People donate their own blood, which can be used if they lose a lot of blood during surgery. == Conditions == There are certain conditions on the people who can donate blood. Some of them vary by country, others are the same in most countries === Temporary exclusions === * People who had a [[tattoo]] or [[piercing]] made need to wait for some time. * People who had more than one sexual partner in the last few months need to wait for some time * People who had certain [[vaccine]]s in the last few months need to wait for some time. * Women who are [[Pregnancy|pregnant]], or who are [[breastfeeding]] need to wait for some time * People who have been to certain countries (and don't live there) need to wait for some time. Most of these countries are in the tropics. === Total exclusions === * [[Drug addiction|Drug addicts]] are excluded from donating blood * [[Sex work]]ers are excluded from donating blood * People with certain [[disease]]s cannot donate blood (some of these are AIDS, Hepatitis, and Malaria). * People who need to take certain [[drug]]s cannot donate blood * In most countries, [[children]] cannot donate blood (without the consent