Blood Donation in the UK and USA

Do you fit in this group and if you do you cannot donate blood in the US.

You are not eligible to donate if:

From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in the United Kingdom (UK), or
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any country(ies) in the (UK). The UK includes any of the countries listed below.

Channel Islands
England
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

So you know

I have a friend here who is British and can't give blood for one of those same reasons I believe so it isnt just the US

This isn't new.  It is because of mad cow disease/CJD, which is very hard to test for/very expensive.

People may think it is overly prudent but it IS a valid reason.  

I may have implied that but I am shocked at the idea. I can think of so many countries that I wouldn't want blood from.

Where have we been that we didn't know that?

This is common knowledge in the donor community.

Even the UK has restrictions on who can give blood.

https://secure.blood.co.uk/c11_cant.asp

You should never give blood if:

You have ever had syphilis, HTVL (Human T - lymphotorpic virus), hepatitis B or C or think you may have hepatitis now

You're a man who's had sex with another man, even safe sex using a condom. For more information click here.

You've ever worked as a prostitute.

You've ever injected yourself with drugs - even once.


You should not give blood for 12 months after sex with:

A man who has had sex with another man (if you're a female).

A prostitute.

Anyone who has ever injected themselves with drugs.

Anyone with haemophilia or a related blood clotting disorder who has received clotting factor concentrates.

Anyone of any race who has been sexually active in parts of the world where AIDS/HIV is very common. This includes countries in Africa.

Please do not give blood if you even think that you need a test for HIV or hepatitis, or if you had sex in the past year with someone you think may be HIV or hepatitis positive.

The American Red Cross states specifically on travel:
http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical-listing

Travel Outside of U.S., Immigration

Wait 12 months after travel in an area where malaria is found. Wait 3 years after living in a country or countries where malaria is found. Learn more about malaria and where it is found.

Wait 12 months after travel to Iraq. This requirement is related to concerns about Leishmanaisis.

Persons who have spent long periods of time in countries where "mad cow disease" is found are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about variant Creutzfeld Jacob Disease (vCJD). Learn more about vCJD and donation.

Persons who were born in or who lived in certain countries in Western Africa, or who have had close contact with persons who were born in or who lived in certain West African countries are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about HIV Group O. Learn more about HIV Group O, and the specific African countries where it is found.

You know I never gave blood in the US (I was a big chicken - cluck cluck) - it was my husband who helped me get over my fear & I started donating here in the UK a few years ago.  Here in the UK there are lots of restrictions (some permanent restrictions, some temporary) on who can & cannot give blood (Brits, Americans or otherwise) - some of which Weby mentioned.

Apart from concerns over things like HIV, hepatitis, and CJD (Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease) - you are at least temporarily excluded from donating blood if you have traveled to a malaria area of the world.  If you have traveled to Canada or the US during the summer months, you may also be excluded from donating blood for a period of time due to concerns over West Nile virus.  One online American acquaintance I know of was told she couldn't donate blood here because of travel to India when she visited family.

Every time you go to donate blood here, you have to go over a lengthy questionnaire with the blood bank staff to make sure there aren't any reasons that you should not give blood that particular time.  The last time we gave (in December), we had to wait a little while for the staff to make sure that the areas in Morocco we had visited (back in October) were clear (over some concern) before they allowed us to donate.

It's all about protecting the blood supply, and I think we can all agree that's a prudent & responsible policy in any country.

Ok so I'll look in here from time to time, but I'm in the middle of enjoying a relaxing weekend with my husband & we are celebrating Valentine's Day a day early today.  So everyone be nice & enjoy the rest of your weekends!  

I used to give blood very often in the US, and I was very upset to learn that I can't give blood here because both my mother and I were born in Latin America, and people are permanently excluded for either of those reasons. This is apparently because of the risk of Chagas, a disease I had never even heard of until then. In Wales you can take a blood test to prove you don't have Chagas and then they'll accept you, but the Scottish blood service won't. I was furious, because I come from a city of over a million people that is a model of environmentalism and urban planning and have never even been to a part of Brasil where Chagas is present, never mind endemic, but it seems that to the UK blood service, all of Latin America is a poverty-stricken mosquito-filled swamp full of parasitic diseases. The fact they wouldn't even accept a negative blood test was what really got me though. Now I shake my fist at all the adverts begging for blood donation

Maybe it's just more streamlined (and simpler for the staff) to administrate the policy in the manner that they do?  I understand your frustration, but I don't believe they truly think that "all of Latin America is a poverty-stricken mosquito-filled swamp". 

They have far more refined exclusion criteria for things like malaria and yellow fever, so I don't see why they can't be more nuanced with Chagas, or why they can't allow a negative blood test to be added to the donor's record. They need blood so badly, it's silly to have a blanket ban that spans two generations!

My ex husband visited in 2006 and ate beef here and when he went back to the USA and went to give blood and just cause he visited for 2 weeks he was excluded from forever giving blood.

I have found some of the exclusions for the National Blood Service here a bit curious at times, and some of the information conflicting on what they publish about it.  Normally when I give blood, I'll put up a link (on here, on Facebook, etc) afterwards encouraging others to donate.

The last time I did I had some people give me feedback that the online Donor Health Check (on their website) appeared to be faulty - and I think it was in answer to the question: "Were you born or have you ever lived or stayed outside the UK for a continuous period of over 6 months or more?"  If you answered 'yes', it was telling you that you couldn't give blood!  And yet I have been giving blood here regularly since early 2009 & every time I do - we discuss how I wasn't born here, so on & so forth, so they are aware of all that about me.  I advised the people who mentioned this to go & actually speak with a real person - either on the phone or at their nearest blood bank, to see what the deal was with that.

I just ran through the Donor Health Check a moment ago, and it doesn't automatically exclude you like that any longer - so it must have been a bug that they fixed.  It now tells you "You may still be able to donate blood. For more information, please call..."  (This is the site listed as being for England & North Wales.)

The criteria do seem to change & be further refined as time goes on.  The UK's position on CJD appears to also exclude anyone whose family members have had CJD.

PS - I am sending this thread to its new home in Healthcare & Insurance because I think that it's a better topical fit under that section of the forum. 

You know I never gave blood in the US (I was a big chicken - cluck cluck) - it was my husband who helped me get over my fear & I started donating here in the UK a few years ago. 

Thank you! Thank you to everybody who donates blood! Donations like yours truly were the only thing keeping me alive back in 2009, and I completely lost count of how many units of blood and platelets I received in those few months, but it really is appreciated by people like me who really need it. As I got closer and closer to my transplant, I ended up requiring special, genetically matched platelets that only one or two people in the whole country could give, too, and for that, I often credit my life to those people just as much as my bone marrow donor.

I really wish it was easier to find blood drives here in the UK, though. In the US, they seemed to be everywhere, but when I check for my postcode on blood.co.uk, it seems like there's only a handful anywhere near me over the next few months and most are at work-unfriendly hours, and I think that's kinda sad (not that I'm allowed to donate any more anyway, for good reason!). The more convenient donation is, the more people would do it!

I really wish it was easier to find blood drives here in the UK, though. In the US, they seemed to be everywhere, but when I check for my postcode on blood.co.uk, it seems like there's only a handful anywhere near me over the next few months and most are at work-unfriendly hours, and I think that's kinda sad (not that I'm allowed to donate any more anyway, for good reason!). The more convenient donation is, the more people would do it!

Strange it would be like that down there!  Where we are located, we actually do find it convenient on the whole.  The main blood bank in city centre is about a 5 minute walk from where I work, but it is mostly during work hours.  However, they come about every other month to a community centre near our house (15 minute walk), so we go there in the evenings for our donations.  (And then often to the pub or for a curry afterwards!) 

A girl I know, for her birthday every year, organizes a group outting to the red cross, followed by the eating or iron rich food and consumption of booze - 'cause when you're down a pint you're a much cheaper date.