After donating blood should one wash hands 3 times? Is this considered bloodletting?
Answer:
This question is a dispute between authorities, and one does not have to be stringent.
Sources:
Concerning blood tests, both Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and (lehavdil bein chayim le-chayim) Rav Elyashiv agreed that there is no requirement to wash after performing the test.
Rav Shlomo Zalman explained that we do not know the medical procedure of bloodletting, and because washing is a ‘spiritual’ idea, it follows that we cannot compare other cases to the specific instance of letting blood, which do not involve healing (cited in Nishmas Avraham 1; Ishei Yisrael Chap. 2, note 149; Halichos Shlomo, Tefillah Chap. 20, note 31).
Rav Elyashiv (cited in He’aros to Shabbos 112) reasoned that in blood tests only a small amount of blood is taken, and this cannot be compared to the large amounts of blood removed in the process of letting blood.
The practical difference between the two opinions emerges in the question of donating blood. According to the rationale presented by Rav Shlomo Zalman, it follows that there is no obligation to wash hands after donating blood, because this is not the medical process of letting blood. However, according to Rav Elyashiv there is an obligation of washing, because a large amount of blood is taken.
