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To assure consistency of safety standards for all donors and all patients, basic criteria used for blood donation eligibility are defined by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. What Determines Donation Eligibility? Criteria for blood donation eligibility are designed to protect the health and safety of two groups of people:
To assure consistency of safety standards for all donors and all patients, basic criteria used for blood donation eligibility are defined by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. People Who Are Generally Healthy CAN BE INELIGIBLE to Donate Blood Because the safety of both donors and patients is paramount, blood donation criteria are purposefully conservative-at times making generally healthy people ineligible. Most often the ineligibility is temporary, but on occasion it can be for indefinite periods of time. Common, everyday circumstances that are not usually indications of ill health can cause temporary ineligibility to donate blood. Examples of such circumstances relating to patient safety include:
Examples relating to donor safety include:
The above list contains just a few of the reasons why one can be temporarily ineligible to donate blood. There are literally hundreds of other reasons-each intended to provide safety for patients and donors. Regaining Eligibility to Donate Blood The time it takes to regain eligibility to donate blood varies considerably, depending on the
reason(s) for deferral. Some donors become eligible to try again the next day (e.g., low hemoglobin level, recent exposure to infection). Some donors must wait 1-3 years before trying again (travel outside the U.S. to malaria endemic areas). In general,
approximately 80% of all temporarily ineligible donors regain eligibility within one
week. Ineligibility Can Be Indefinite Sometimes generally healthy people can be ineligible indefinitely (permanently). Examples include people who: for unknown reasons have repeated, falsely abnormal test results, in-dwelling catheters, or similar restorative devices; or are members of groups the FDA has made ineligible because of having lived in certain countries or because of specific lifestyle behaviors. For such generally healthy people, indefinite ineligibility is quite frustrating, despite being based on the good intent of patient and donor safety. If You ARE Temporarily Ineligible:
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