Donation nutrition is not complicated. Eat a full meal before, hydrate like it is your job, eat well after. The detailed Indian version:
The week before (gentle iron-loading)
- Green leafy vegetables, dal, chana, rajma, jaggery, dates, sesame — daily
- Eggs, chicken, fish, meat — if they are on your plate anyway
- Lemon or amla with meals (vitamin C pulls plant iron in)
- Tea and coffee an hour away from food, not with it
The day of donation
- 2-3 hours before: a proper meal — the usual thali is perfect. Empty stomach + 450 mL = the fainting donor every centre fears
- Water: 2-3 glasses before you arrive; centres insist, and they are right
- Skip: alcohol for 24 hours before; cigarettes for an hour before and after; a heavy fried feast right before donation (it can affect some screening samples)
After donating (the first day)
- The centre’s tea and biscuits — take them, they are medical, not courtesy
- Keep the pressure bandage on for a few hours; no heavy lifting with that arm
- Water through the day — a couple of extra glasses beyond your normal
- A full lunch or dinner; add a fruit
- Skip the gym and the beer for the day
The two weeks after (rebuilding)
Back to the week-before list — the iron-rich rotation — and your haemoglobin is back at the gate for the next donation. That is the entire nutrition science of donation, on one page. Eat, register, repeat.