What are the medical conditions that affect eligibility?
Allergies
Acceptable as long as you feel well, have no fever, and have no problems breathing through your mouth.
Asthma
Acceptable as long as you do not have any limitations on daily activities and are not having difficulty breathing at the time of donation and you otherwise feel well. Medications for asthma do not disqualify you from donating.
Bleeding Condition
If you have a history of bleeding problems, you will be asked additional questions. If your blood does not clot normally, you should not donate since you may have excessive bleeding where the needle was placed. For the same reason, you should not donate if you are taking any blood thinner.
If you are on aspirin, it is OK to donate whole blood. However, you must be off of aspirin for at least 2 full days in order to donate platelets by apheresis.
High Blood Pressure
Acceptable as long as your blood pressure is below 180 systolic and below 100 diastolic at the time of donation. Medications for high blood pressure do not disqualify you from donating.
Low Blood Pressure
Acceptable as long as you feel well when you come to donate, and your blood pressure is at least 90/50 (systolic/diastolic).
Pulse (High or Low)
Acceptable as long as your pulse is no more than 100 and no less than 50.
Cancer
Eligibility depends on the type of cancer and treatment history. If you had leukemia or lymphoma, including Hodgkin’s Disease and other cancers of the blood, you are not eligible to donate. Other types of cancer are acceptable if cancer has been treated successfully and it has been more than 12 months since treatment was completed and there has been no cancer recurrence at this time. Lower risk in-situ cancers including squamous or basal cell cancers of the skin that have been completely removed do not require a 12-month waiting period.
Precancerous conditions of the uterine cervix do not disqualify you from donation if the abnormality has been treated successfully. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation.
Diabetes
Diabetics who are well controlled on insulin or oral medications are eligible to donate.
Heart Disease
In general, acceptable as long as you have been medically evaluated and treated, have no current (within the last 6 months) heart-related symptoms such as chest pain and have no limitations or restrictions on your normal daily activities.
Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Blood Count
In order to donate blood, a woman must have a hemoglobin level of at least 12.5 g/dL, and a man must have a hemoglobin level of at least 13.0 g/dL. For all donors, the hemoglobin level can be no greater than 20 g/dL.
Hepatitis, Jaundice
If you have signs or symptoms of hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) caused by a virus, or unexplained jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin), you are not eligible to donate blood. If you ever tested positive for hepatitis B or hepatitis C, at any age, you are not eligible to donate, even if you were never sick or jaundiced from the infection.
Tuberculosis
If you have active tuberculosis or are being treated for active tuberculosis you should not donate. Acceptable if you have a positive skin test or blood test, but no active tuberculosis and are NOT taking antibiotics. If you are receiving antibiotics for a positive TB skin test or blood test only or if you are being treated for tuberculosis infection, wait until treatment is successfully completed before donating.
Pregnancy, Nursing
Following pregnancy, the deferral period should last as many months as the duration of the pregnancy.
It is not advisable to donate blood while breast-feeding. Following childbirth, the deferral period is at least 9 months (as for pregnancy) and until 3 months after your baby is significantly weaned (i.e. getting most of his/her nutrition from solids or bottle feeding).
