Why can’t you donate blood if you have had a transfusion in the past

Is the risk that transfused blood might be contaminated greater than my own blood being contaminated?

Those rules have changed, and you would likely now be allowed to donate in the USA.
https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2022/more-people-now-eligible-to-give-blood-with-the-red-cross.html

The rules have also changed in Australia.
https://www.lifeblood.com.au/news-and-stories/vital-reads/uk-blood-donation-mad-cow-rule-has-changed-for-good

I am a US resident who formerly lived in the UK and received a blood transfusion there, and I donate regularly here in the US.

@VioletHamilton you just made me ember. I was on the Antony Nolan Bone Marrow register from about 1985 and came up as a close match/potential donor in the early 90s. Had to go to a London hospital ( Royal Free maybe?) to give some blood, have all the procedures explained etc. I was asked if I’d had a blood transfusion — yes— so was asked if I’d be willing to give extra blood for additional testing. Stupidly didn’t ask why, or what sort of testing.

This is a really good explanation. It is basically risk vs reward and supply vs demand.

When I first gave blood (late 90s) a man could not donate if he had ever had sex with another man. Now there is just a “not in the first 3 months” rule.

So they do change the rules as they understand the risks better.

The NHS explains. I cannot give blood because I had a transfusion after a very nasty miscarriage in 1981. The rule is to prevent passing on variant CJD. I doubt I could ever give blood anyway as I had hepatitis as a child.

I had my blood transfusion in 1988 following the birth of DS . I believe you can't donate it was because there was a chance that you'd been infected with hepatitis.

I guess it's in the hope to stop the pointless 'Google is your friend' nonsense. We don't need that, posters don't have to google.

But in relation to what you've posted, the first NHS link was really generic and you have to read though the whole thing; the second one straight after was helpful though.

But for gold standard - deplorabelle's post.

I’m sure it does make sense to medical research scientists and haematologists who have developed the rules for the good of patient safety

Who said anywhere Google was a secret?

It was helpful post with a link. Then someone says ‘helpful 🙄’ to that link then basically writes the same thing as the link 🤦‍♀️ making their post just as ‘helpful’

But why if they have my/donated blood in their system?

Or don't they?

I can't donate because I have weekly infusions of blood products.

Thank you to everyone who can and does - without you, I'd literally be bed ridden and incapacitated. :)

You can’t donate blood in Belgium either if you were a UK resident in the 80s for the same reason. I’m gutted as I can no longer donate after having a stage 1 melanoma that was removed with surgery and no further action required but apparently after any cancer diagnosis you can no longer donate.

You also can't donate blood in some foreign countries if you are from the UK and was around during the mad cow disease era.

I once tried to donate in the USA and was refused.

Never had a blood transfusion. Just because I lived in UK.

Yes your son and other children can donate

I had blood transfusion in 2002 and I find it so frustrating that I cannot donate.

Google isn't a secret, we don't need reminding that it's there.

deplorabelle, thank you for that, really helpful.

Having to stop giving blood was something that hit me really hard post-diagnosis as I'd done it for years. I still feel sad about it when I see the 'blood out of a stone' adverts as I imagine that stocks are really low?

Anyway, I can't and that's the end of it. I feel like a fraud with my MS as it's very well controlled, I'm fit and active with very limited symptoms so hopefully, my organs will be in good nick by the time they're available.

For those asking why you can donate stem cells and organs but not blood, it's all to do with balancing risks. Many many people can donate blood, fewer are matches for organs and stem cell

Added to which, people who need organ or stem cell are very sick and so paradoxically we accept more level of risk for them receiving a donation (the consequences of them not getting the donation are so bad that it's worth the increased risk say vCJD)

With blood you might be similarly extremely ill and in dire need of blood, but you might equally be a healthy person who's just had a difficult birth or serious injury and are otherwise looking at a long healthy life. The risk of them getting vCJD is a much nastier risk to swallow, and we can still cover the need for blood from people who only have the average risk of a UK resident rather than people who have double or quadruple the risk.

It's not a decision taken lightly because of course people who have had blood are more motivated than average to want to donate in return and it's really sad they can't.

How is that not helpful it’s a link containing more information than you just gave 😂

That explains why I am no longer able to give blood (I have MS), as soon as I had a diagnosis I was off the list. You'd think though that people 'brew' some of the conditions they have for some time and if they can't be screened for them, they were giving blood in the meantime?

I was told though that they'd have my organs and willingly. How is that different?

I'm eye-rolling at the google-poster also, what's the point of butting into a thread for that? Pathetic!

Everyone in the country has the same risk of having vCJD. But, if you receive a blood donation your risk is at least doubled, because you have your risk, and the risk of whoever your donated blood came from.

So you're a much higher risk than anyone who hasn't received a blood donation.

Nothing is ever risk-free, but it's about minimising the risk where possible.

Anyone could have it, but if you've recieved a donation you're twice (or three times, or four times depending on how many units you received, each from a different donor of course) as likely to have it.

I used to be a team leader for blood donation and I still struggle to understand this.

They state it’s because of vCJD that they can’t test for, but that means anyone’s blood could have this and not just those who have received a donation. It’s like saying the blood they gave me wasn’t good enough if I now can’t donate.

It just doesn’t make much sense to me because anybody that’s donated could have it anyway 🤷‍♀️

As others have said, it’s to prevent the accidental onward transmission of vCJD. It’s not new, it came into force in 2004 and came about after a case where someone who died from vCJD was considered to have caught it from a blood transfusion.

And blood given in an emergency definitely is tested for the standard range of diseases: that’s done after it’s donated and before it’s issued to hospitals. In an emergency you may receive blood before your blood type is confirmed, it will be type O which is why the blood service is so keen on people with O type blood (especially O negative) as that can be given to anyone. But the transfusion has been tested.

www.blood.co.uk/the-donation-process/after-your-donation/the-journey-of-a-blood-donation/