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

[MiriamMay]

Like the woman in this BBC article, I am not able to give blood because I had a blood transfusion after giving birth.

I don’t understand why this is though. There’s been quite a bit in the news lately about there being a shortage of blood donations. I really don’t understand why having received a transfusion in the past means you can’t donate blood in the future.

BBC News

There is no commercially available test for CJD in blood.

Yes, really. There are situations where the lab is called for blood immediately and they are told to send it whether they've finished all the tests or not. My neighbour worked in the lab of the local hospital and said this happened often.

It’s blood donated AFTER 1980 not before. it’s people who have had a transfusion since1 January 1980 who can’t donate.

Hospitals don’t screen for viruses in blood. You’re probably talking about compatibility testing between the donor blood and the patient.
The blood can’t leave the blood service unless all tests have been completed and are negative, even if it’s an emergency.

I think you’ve misunderstood this. The sending immediately in an emergency before all tests have finished relates to all tests on the cross match with the recipient.

It doesn’t relate to the screening tests to see if the blood can be used for transfusion. The blood isn’t made available to the hospital to use until all the screening tests are completed by the transfusion service.

Usually there is a full cross match between the donor and recipient to check compatibility and before the transfusion is done, but in a real emergency the recipient is sometimes given the transfusion before this is complete.

This is also why group O negative blood is so valuable - because anyone of any blood type can receive it in an absolute emergency.

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/

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 🤷‍♀️

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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

Yes your son and other children can 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.

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.

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. :)

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

Or don't they?

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’

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

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 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.

Except what to you is a 10 second search would take someone like me with severe dyslexia much longer.