Anyone how and where donate blood in taipei?
There is permanently parked a blood donation bus here behind Sogo in one of the most popular areas in Taipei. Itâs so permanent, that is has itâs own tag on Google Maps.
I went there once, but forgot the how part. Take some ID, see what happens. Theyâll do some blood tests⌠whatever.
If you go early, hit the fake news named âStarbucks Reserveâ, which tries to convince people that itâs special, but isnât. Stop into Toasteria in the afternoon. In the evening, head over to East End Bar for a cocktail or wine and nice dinner and then later KOR for some dancing. Maybe head over to Fifi and hang out with the rich and famous that donât want to be seen. Or one of the KTVs in the area. There are so many things within 5 minutes of this blood donation center, that youâll probably want to go back and get your blood back after doing even a few things.
1 Like
A list of blood donation centres, including the schedule for the mobile units can be found at:
http://www.tp.blood.org.tw/Internet/taipei/LocationMap.aspx?spotID=68
What kind of regulations are there on giving blood here? I half-remember being unable to donate blood either because Iâd eaten beef in Britain in the 90s (and hence was at risk of mad-cow disease), and/or had taken malaria medication in the past few years. But thereâs a high chance I was either totally wrong about that, and even if I was right, perhaps these were the rules in Canada, or they no longer apply.
They definitely still apply in the E.U
Big blood drive today in Tzu Chi.
Iâll be donating soon. In taiwan and Asia there seems to be a lack of blood donation from what I understand and also has health benefits.
Yep but the restrictions towards foreigners are draconian compared to the laxity with locals.
Went to the one by sogo. Iâm not sure but they did ask if I had gay sex. Not sure if they would have rejected me if I did.
Went to donate today in Nangang, hereâs how it went down âŚ
Approached the volunteers to donate and was welcomed with a bottle of water and asked for photo ID. I handed over my NHI card, [Taiwanese] drivers license and ARC - the staff were happy enough with the first two and gave back the ARC. The IDs were sent into the van to be verified.
After confirming I hadnât donated before, I was given the registration form and seated outside to fill it out (and offered a second bottle of water!). The double sided form has slots for your regular details, and about 30 questions ranging from your travel history to an entire section on HIV. Most of the questions are Yes/No tickboxes. There are both English language and Chinese versions of the form.
It was then time to enter the air-conditioned van for the interview. Most of mine focused on travel history - going through the responses to âcountries you have visited in the last 12 monthsâ. Thereâs a clear focus on tropical diseases (probably Zika and Malaria). Going to Korea in the past month, not a problem. Germany, Italy, Netherlands - donât care. Malaysia, Singapore in March - also fine. In the end I was rejected due to last yearâs trip to Guadalajara, Mexico.
Overall, a good experience. Highly similar to the process in Australia, and no evil conspiracy to keep foreign residents away was apparent 
Will be trying again once Iâm out of the 12 month quarantine period.
2 Likes
Following up, I successfully donated blood in the permanent center in Banqiao (near FuZhong MRT). Process was straightforward and welcoming like the unsuccessful attempt in Nangang.
On entry, you take a ticket from the queue machine (there was only one other person in the queue at the time), and sit opposite a reception desk. The reception staff call you over, take your NHI card and give you the standard forms to fill out in English or Chinese. Theyâll also take your weight and height on the machine next to the desk.
Fill out the form, hand it in, and youâll probably be briefed that theyâll only take 250mL since itâs your first donation. In the future, you can choose to give 500mL.
Next, wait to be called into the office for your interview. Most of the interview is just going deeper on questions from the form - âriskyâ sexual behaviour or travel history. Pass the interview and youâll be offered the choice of a gift (socks, stationary) or to save your points to get a better gift after donating a few times.
Outside to wait for a bit again, and then youâre taken into the blood donation room. At banqiao there are about dozen chairs. Cushioned recliners with the usual tube trappings. Free Wi-Fi, of course.
Post donation, itâs time for the refreshments room. Juices, tea, coffee, sports drinks and a range of sweet and savoury snacks. Recommend to sit there for at least 15mins, but some obviously stay a lot longer. Youâll also be given a bit of paper with a donation number and a phone number to call if you experience any issues post donation.
Following the donation, youâre sent a thank-you email with a receipt number. Following this, a reminder sms after two months have passed and you can donate again (you get to fill out the same form again next time too!). Youâll also get a birthday message sms 
Hope that helps demystify the process!
3 Likes
Itâs also a good why to find out your blood type if you donât know. They send it in a email after.
1 Like
What country are you from?
I was a regular blood donor (every 3 months) in my home country and in Taiwan, until âMadâ cow disease (BSE) appeared, then they barred almost every European from donating blood, approx. since early 2000.
Straya
Never heard of that.
Australia?
can you provide the address? would want to donate also. thanks in advance.
The full/official list of locations is at: ĺ°ĺćčĄä¸ĺż
(if you donât read Chinese, and google translate isnât working: click through the pink menu items on the right hand side until the map changes to somewhere you recognise. To switch between Taipei and New Taipei choose the 1st or 2nd item in the dropdown box on the right above the pink menu items)
I went to the Banqiao/FuZhong location:
ć°ĺĺ¸ćżćŠĺä¸ĺąąčˇŻä¸ćŽľ50塡36č2ć¨äš4
2F-4, No 36, Lane 50, Sec 1, ZhongShan Rd, Banqiao District
ProTip: youâre going to level 2 in what seems like a pretty residential-looking building. To find the right entrance, look out for the large white-on-red sign with their phone number (2952-4117) pointing in the gate. Then go up the stairs past the guard desk (on your left as you walk into the first covered area).
1 Like
really big help. thanks a lot.
