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Updated Donor Eligibility Criteria Based on FDA Recommendations
On July 31, 2020, a revised donor history questionnaire and accompanying materials recognized in guidance by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be in place. A donor’s eligibility to donate blood and blood components is determined in part by a physical assessment and the donor’s answers to questions concerning medical history and risk factors associated with exposure to, or clinical evidence of a relevant transfusion-transmitted infection, and other conditions that may adversely affect the heatlh of the donor or the safety, purity, or potency of the blood or blood components or any product manufactured from the blood or blood components.
If you were permanently deferred in the past, you will be asked a few additional questions during your donation process so we can remove the deferral from your record. We are excited to have more people join our lifesaving family!
Changes include:
Medications:
ADDED (donors will not be able to donate if they have taken any of the following in the past 3 months):
1. Medications to prevent or to treat HIV infection
- PrEP- Pre-exposure prophylaxis
- PEP- Post-exposure prophylaxis
- ART- antiretroviral therapy
2. Rinvoq – for Rheumatoid arthritis
REMOVED
1. hGH
2. Bovine Insulin
Deferrals:
- Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD or Mad Cow) related deferrals: (UPDATED: July 2022—Click here)
a. People who lived in Europe for 5 years or more from 1980 to the present will no longer be deferred (with a few exceptions below):
b. Individuals who have spent 5 years or more in France or Ireland from 1980 – 2001 will be deferred.
i. France includes the island of Corsica.
ii. France does not include the overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion.
iii. Ireland (the Republic of Ireland) does not include Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.
Note: The deferral for the UK has not changed: individuals who spent 3 months or more in the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, or the Falkland Islands) from 1980-1996 will be deferred.
c. Member of the U.S. military, civilian military employees, or dependents of a member of the U.S. military who were stationed on a military base in Europe from 1980 to 1996 will no longer be deferred.
d. People with a history of bovine-derived insulin use will no longer be deferred.
2. Men who have had sex with men (MSM): a reduction from a one-year deferral to three months.
3. Women who have sex with a man who had sex with another man: a reduction from a one-year deferral to three months.
4. Travel to a malarial endemic area (as long as you were not a resident of a malarial endemic country): a reduction from a one-year deferral to three months.
5. Tattoo or piercing in an unlicensed facility, needlestick exposure, transfusion: a reduction from a one-year deferral to three months.
6. Non-prescription injection drug*: a reduction from a permanent deferral to three months.
7. Contact with a prostitute*: a reduction from a one-year deferral to three months.
8. Exchanging sex for money or drugs*: a reduction from a permanent deferral to three months.
- *Please note the permanent deferral for someone who has had sex with someone who falls into this category is still in place. We are in communication with the FDA.
Additional changes were made that will impact a small number of people. We will be announcing implementation of all changes very soon.
Note: Changes were made after review of scientific and epidemiologic data including the experiences of other countries, and the FDA has concluded that current policies regarding the above donor eligibility criteria can be modified without compromising the safety of the blood supply.
For more information please check out the links below:
Revised Recommendations for Reducing the Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission by Blood and Blood Products
Recommendations to Reduce the Possible Risk of Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease by Blood and Blood Components
Revised Recommendations to Reduce the Risk of Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria
