The doctor told about the proper preparation for donation

One of the main mistakes newbies make in blood donation is trying to come to the procedure on an empty stomach, as if it were a routine test. Irina Maltseva, a specialist at the Moscow Regional Blood Center, told about this on Monday, April 20.

She stressed that you should never come for a donation on an empty stomach, as this is not an ordinary blood donation. For breakfast, you can eat oatmeal porridge, pasta in water without butter, and bread with jam.

"But it is necessary to exclude bananas, tomatoes, nuts, mushrooms, as well as dairy products — such blood will be unsuitable for transfusion. You can also not eat fatty, fried, or dairy products in 24 hours. It is forbidden to drink alcohol and smoke for 48 hours," Maltseva warned in an interview with Radio 1.

The expert added that the donor needs to get 8-10 hours of sleep before donating blood and go to bed better before 22:00.

"Lack of sleep can impair the immune system. You should not come for donation after night duty or a sleepless night," Maltseva shared.

At the same time, the absolute contraindications for donation are: weight less than 50 kg, hepatitis, tuberculosis, bronchial asthma, blood diseases and stomach ulcers.

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Earlier in the day, Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko announced that the number of blood donors in Russia increased by 1.2% in 2025 and reached 1.4 million people, RT reports.

The Minister stressed that donated blood is now used not only for direct transfusions, but also for the production of medicines. One of them is antiresus immunoglobulin, used to prevent rhesus conflict in pregnant women.

Since the beginning of 2026, 234 people have received the title of "Honorary Donor of Russia" in the Moscow region, and there are more than 28,000 honorary donors in the region, writes RIAMO.

Internist Anna Kuznetsova told Pravda on April 17. It is known that heme iron from red meat and offal is the main building material for the donor. Vegetable iron from apples is absorbed worse. A simple mechanic works: steak or liver provides hemoglobin synthesis, and citrus fruits rich in vitamin C accelerate this process, she explained.