For families & donors
How getting blood works
For families of patients, and for donors, in Cambodia
In Cambodia, most blood for patients comes from relatives and friends who donate. Here is what families and donors need to know.
Any blood type can help
- Relatives and friends can donate at the hospital's blood bank or at the National Blood Transfusion Center, whatever their blood type.
- Their blood goes into the tested stock, and the blood bank gives the patient the type they need.
- Ask the hospital's blood bank how many donors they need from your family.
Blood is free
- By national policy, blood is free to the patient. The hospital may charge a fee for testing and processing. Ask the hospital how much.
- Never pay anyone for blood or for a donor. If someone offers to sell you blood, tell the hospital.
- LifeLink never asks for money, from families or from donors.
Blood from close relatives
- Do not arrange for a parent's, child's or sibling's blood to go straight to the patient. Let them donate to the blood bank. The hospital decides how blood from relatives is used.
Before you donate
- You need to weigh at least 45 kg and usually be 18 to 60 years old.
- Have a meal or snack in the 4 hours before, and drink plenty of water.
- A standard donation in Cambodia is 350 ml. The whole visit is usually under an hour.
Wait before donating if you…
- had a fever or felt ill in the last 2 weeks
- took antibiotics in the last 2 weeks
- had dengue or malaria in the last 6 months
- got a tattoo, piercing or acupuncture in the last 12 months
- are pregnant or breastfeeding, or gave birth in the last 6 months
- had surgery or received blood in the last 12 months
- Staff at the centre make the final check. If you are not sure, ask them before you donate.
Where to donate
- National Blood Transfusion Center (NBTC): St 271, next to Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, Phnom Penh. Walk-ins welcome.
- Hospital blood banks and mobile blood drives also collect blood. Watch the Cambodia Blood Service page for dates.
- After a donation, wait 3 months (men) or 4 months (women) before the next one. LifeLink counts this for you; the centre makes the final check.
Based on Cambodia's national blood policy and WHO guidance. The hospital's blood bank and the NBTC have the final word on their own rules.