Eligibility Criteria by Topic

A donor with an acute infection should not donate. The reason for antibiotic use must be evaluated to determine if the donor has a bacterial infection that could be transmissible by blood.
Acceptable after finishing oral antibiotics for an infection (bacterial or viral). May have taken last pill on the date of donation. Antibiotic by injection for an infection acceptable 10 days after last injection. Acceptable if you are taking antibiotics to prevent an infection, for example, following dental procedures or for acne. Some conditions which require antibiotics to prevent an infection must still be evaluated at the time of donation by the responsible medical director. If you have a temperature above 99.5 F, you may not donate.

Women on oral contraceptives or using other forms of birth control are eligible to donate.

• Acceptable if you were vaccinated for influenza, tetanus or meningitis, providing you are symptom-free and fever-free. Includes the Tdap vaccine.
• Acceptable if you received an HPV Vaccine (example, Gardasil).
• Wait 4 weeks after immunizations for German Measles (Rubella), MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), Chicken Pox and Shingles.
• Wait 2 weeks after immunizations for Red Measles (Rubeola), Mumps, Polio (by mouth), and Yellow Fever vaccine.
• Wait 21 days after immunization for hepatitis B as long as you are not given the immunization for exposure to hepatitis B.
• Smallpox vaccination and did not develop complications
  Wait 8 weeks (56 days) from the date of having a smallpox vaccination as long as you have had no complications. Complications may include skin reactions beyond the vaccination site or general illness related to the vaccination.
• Smallpox vaccination and developed complications
  Wait 14 days after all vaccine complications have resolved or 8 weeks (56 days) from the date of having had the smallpox vaccination whichever is the longer period of time. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation. Complications may include skin reactions beyond the vaccination site or general illness related to the vaccination.
• Smallpox vaccination – close contact with someone who has had the smallpox vaccine in the last eight weeks and you did not develop any skin lesions or other symptoms.
  Eligible to donate.
• Smallpox vaccination – close contact with someone who has had the vaccine in the last eight weeks and you have since developed skin lesions or symptoms.
  Wait 8 weeks (56 days) from the date of the first skin lesion or sore. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation. Complications may include skin reactions or general illness related to the exposure.

Donors with diabetes who since 1980, ever used bovine (beef) insulin made from cattle from the United Kingdom are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about variant CJD, or 'mad cow' disease. Learn more about variant CJD and blood donation.

In almost all cases, medications will not disqualify you as a blood donor. Your eligibility will be based on the reason that the medication was prescribed. As long as the condition is under control and you are healthy, blood donation is usually permitted.

Over-the-counter oral homeopathic medications, herbal remedies, and nutritional supplements are acceptable.
There are a handful of drugs that are of special significance in blood donation. Persons on these drugs have waiting periods following their last dose before they can donate blood:

 – Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret (isoretinoin), Proscar (finasteride), and Propecia (finasteride) - wait 1 month from the last dose.
 – Avodart or Jalyn (dutasteride) - wait 6 months from the last dose. 
 – Aspirin, no waiting period for donating whole blood. However you must wait 48 hours after taking aspirin or any medication containing aspirin before donating platelets by apheresis. 
 – Effient (prasugrel) - wait 14 days after taking this medication before donating platelets by apheresis.

 – Feldene (piroxicam) - no waiting period for donating whole blood. However, you must wait 48 hours after taking Feldene (piroxicam) before donating platelets by apheresis.

– Coumadin (warfarin), heparin, Pradaxa (dabigatran), Xarelto (rivaoxaban) or Lovenox (enoxaparin) or other prescription blood thinners - you should not donate since your blood will not clot normally. If your doctor discontinues your treatment with blood thinners, wait 7 days before returning to donate.

– Hepatitis B Immune Globulin - given for exposure to hepatitis. Wait 12 months after exposure to hepatitis.

– Human pituitary - derived growth hormone at any time - you are not eligible to donate blood.

– Plavix (clopidogrel) - wait 14 days after taking this medication before donating platelets by apheresis.

– Soriatane (acitretin) - wait 3 years.

– Tegison (etretinate) - at any time - you are not eligible to donate blood.

– Ticlid (ticlopidine) - wait 14 days after taking this medication before donating platelets by apheresis.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

Acceptable as long as you feel well, have no fever, and have no problems breathing through your mouth.

Wait if you have a fever or a productive cough (bringing up phlegm)
Wait if you do not feel well on the day of donation.
Wait until you have completed antibiotic treatment for sinus, throat or lung infection.

Wait at least 8 weeks between whole blood (standard) donations.

You must weigh at least 110 lbs to be eligible for blood donation for your own safety. Students who donate at high school drives and donors 18 years of age or younger must also meet additional height and weight requirements for whole blood donation (applies to girls shorter than 5'6" and boys shorter than 5').

Blood volume is determined by body weight and height. Individuals with low blood volumes may not tolerate the removal of the required volume of blood given with whole blood donation. There is no upper weight limit as long as your weight is not higher than the weight limit of the donor bed/lounge you are using. You can discuss any upper weight limitations of beds and lounges with your local health historian.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

Acceptable as long as you feel well, have no fever, and have no problems breathing through your mouth.

Acceptable as long as you are not having difficulty breathing at the time of donation and you otherwise feel well. Medications for asthma do not disqualify you from donating.

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, if you are taking any "blood thinner" (such as Coumadin (warfarin), heparin, Pradaxa (dabigatran), Xarelto (rivaoxaban) or Lovenox (enoxaparin)) you should not donate. If you are on aspirin, it is OK to donate whole blood. However, you must be off of aspirin for at least 48 hours in order to donate platelets by apheresis. Donors with clotting disorder from Factor V who are not on anticoagulants are eligible to donate; however, all others must be evaluated by the health historian at the collection center.

High Blood Pressure - Acceptable as long as your blood pressure is below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) 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 80/50 (systolic/diastolic).

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 the cancer has been treated successfully and it has been more than 12 months since treatment was completed and there has been no cancer recurrence in 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.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

Most chronic illnesses are acceptable as long as you feel well, the condition is under control, and you meet all other eligibility requirements.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) If you ever received a dura mater (brain covering) transplant or human pituitary growth hormone, you are not eligible to donate. Those who have a blood relative who had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are also not eligible to donate. Learn more about CJD.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD); "Mad Cow Disease"

Diabetics who are well controlled on insulin or oral medications are eligible to donate.

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.

Wait at least 6 months following an episode of angina.

Wait at least 6 months following a heart attack.

Wait at least 6 months after bypass surgery or angioplasty.

 

Wait at least 6 months after a change in your heart condition that resulted in a change to your medications

If you have a pacemaker, you may donate as long as your pulse is between 50 and 100 beats per minute with no more than a small number of irregular beats, and you meet the other heart disease criteria. You should discuss your particular situation with your personal healthcare provider and the health historian at the time of donation.

Acceptable if you have a heart murmur as long as you have been medically evaluated and treated and have not had symptoms in the last 6 months, and have no restrictions on your normal daily activities.

American Red Cross does not accept individuals with hemochromatosis as blood donors.

Acceptable if you have a hemoglobin at or above 12.5 g/dL.
Separate requirements for hemoglobin level apply for double red cell donations.

If you had hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) caused by a virus, or unexplained jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin), since age 11, you are not eligible to donate blood. This includes those who had hepatitis with Cytomegalovirus (CMV), or Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), the virus that causes Mononucleosis.

Acceptable if you had jaundice or hepatitis caused by something other than a viral infection, for example: medications, Gilbert's disease, bile duct obstruction, alcohol, gallstones or trauma to the liver. 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.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

If you live with or have had sexual contact with a person who has hepatitis, you must wait 12 months after the last contact.

Persons who have been detained or incarcerated in a facility (juvenile detention, lockup, jail, or prison) for more than 72 consecutive hours (3 days) are deferred for 12 months from the date of last occurrence. This includes work release programs and weekend incarceration. These persons are at higher risk for exposure to infectious diseases.

Wait 12 months after receiving a blood transfusion (unless it was your own "autologous" blood), non-sterile needle stick/body piercing or exposure to someone else's blood.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

You should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV.

You are at risk for getting infected if you:

• have ever used needles to take drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by your doctor
• are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977
• have ever taken money, drugs or other payment for sex since 1977
• have had sexual contact in the past 12 months with anyone described above
• received clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia

You should not give blood if you have any of the following conditions that can be signs or symptoms of HIV/AIDS:

• unexplained weight loss (10 pounds or more in less than 2 months)
• night sweats
• blue or purple spots in your mouth or skin
• white spots or unusual sores in your mouth
• lumps in your neck, armpits, or groin, lasting longer than one month
• diarrhea that won’t go away
• cough that won’t go away and shortness of breath, or
• fever higher than 100.5 F lasting more than 10 days.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

If you have a fever or an active infection, wait until the infection has resolved completely before donating blood.

Wait until finished taking antibiotics for an infection (bacterial or viral). Wait 10 days after the last antibiotic injection for an infection.

Those who have had infections with Chagas Disease, Babesiosis or Leishmaniasis are not eligible to donate.

See also Antibiotics, Hepatitis, HIV, Syphilis/Gonorrhea, and Tuberculosis.

Malaria is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes found in certain countries and may be transmitted to patients through blood transfusion. Blood donations are not tested for malaria because there is no sensitive blood test available for malaria.

If you have traveled or lived in a malaria-risk country, we may require a waiting period before you can donate blood.

• Wait 3 years after completing treatment for malaria.
• Wait 12 months after returning from a trip to an area where malaria is found.
• Wait 3 years after living more than 5 years in a country or countries where malaria is found. An additional waiting period of 3 years may be required if you have traveled to an are where malaria is found if you have not lived a consecutive 3 years in a country or countries where malaria is not found. 

If you have traveled outside of the United States and Canada, your travel destinations will be reviewed at the time of donation.

Please, come prepared to discuss your travel details when you donate. You may download the travel form and bring it with you to help in the assessment of your travel. You can call 866-236-3276 to speak with an eligibility specialist about your travel.

If, in the past 3 years, you have been outside the United States or Canada:

• What countries did you visit?
• Where did you travel while in this country?
• Did you leave the city or resort at any time? If yes, where did you go?
• What mode of transportation did you use?
• How long did you stay?
• What date did you return to the U.S.?

See Sexually Transmitted Diseases below.

Acceptable if you have sickle cell trait. Those with sickle cell disease are not eligible to donate.

Acceptable as long as the skin over the vein to be used to collect blood is not affected. If the skin disease has become infected, wait until the infection has cleared before donating. Taking antibiotics to control acne does not disqualify you from donating.

If you have active tuberculosis or are being treated for active tuberculosis you should not donate. Acceptable if you have a positive skin test, but no active tuberculosis, or if you are receiving antibiotics for a positive TB skin test only. If you are being treated for a tuberculosis infection, wait until treatment is successfully completed before donating.

Donors who have undergone acupuncture treatments are acceptable.

Wait for 12 months after receiving a blood transfusion from another person in the United States.

You may not donate if you received a blood transfusion since 1980 in the United Kingdom or France (The United Kingdom consists of the following countries: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar or Falkland Islands). This requirement is related to concerns about variant CJD, or 'mad cow' disease. Learn more about variant CJD and blood donation.

Acceptable after dental procedures as long as there is no infection present. Wait until finishing antibiotics for a dental infection. Wait for 3 days after having oral surgery.

Women on hormone replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms and prevention of osteoporosis are eligible to donate.

Wait 12 months after receiving any type of organ transplant from another person. If you ever received a dura mater (brain covering) transplant, you are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about the brain disease, Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD). Learn more about CJD and blood donation.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

It is not necessarily surgery but the underlying condition that precipitated the surgery that requires evaluation before donation.  Evaluation is on a case by case basis.  You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation.

You must be at least 17 years old to donate to the general blood supply, or 16 years old with parental/guardian consent, if allowed by state law. Learn more about the reasons for a lower age limit. There is no upper age limit for blood donation as long as you are well with no restrictions or limitations to your activities.

The On December 21, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance for deferral criteria for men who have had sex with men (MSM). AABB, America's Blood Centers and the Red Cross support the FDA's decision to change the MSM blood donation policy from a lifetime deferral to a one-year deferral and additionally for the purposes of blood donation gender is self-identified and self-reported, which is relevant to the transgender community. This policy change aligns the MSM donor deferral period with those for other activities that may pose a similar risk of transfusion-transmissable infections.

 

The Red Cross is working diligently to determine a process for the reinstatement of eligible donors. While the FDA's final guidance on the MSM blood donation policy describes a pathway for previously deferred donors to give blood. It will take several months for the Red Cross to update computer systems, modify processes and procedures, train staff, and implement these changes which need to be made before donors affected by this change can be accepted for donation.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

Those who have ever used IV drugs that were not prescribed by a physician are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about hepatitis and HIV. Learn more about hepatitis and blood donation.

Acceptable as long as the instruments used were sterile or single-use equipment.

Wait 12 months if there is any question whether or not the instruments used were sterile and free of blood contamination. This requirement is related to concerns about hepatitis. Learn more about hepatitis and blood donation.

Persons who are pregnant are not eligible to donate. Wait 6 weeks after giving birth.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

Wait 12 months after a tattoo if the tattoo was applied in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities. Currently, the only states that DO NOT regulate tattoo facilities are: District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming. This requirement is related to concerns about hepatitis. Learn more about hepatitis and blood donation.

A tattoo is acceptable if the tattoo was applied by a state-regulated entity using sterile needles and ink that is not reused. Cosmetic tattoos applied in a licensed establishment in a regulated state using sterile needles and ink that is not reused is acceptable. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation.

Wait 12 months after treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea.

Acceptable if it has been more than 12 months since you completed treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea.

Chlamydia, venereal warts (human papilloma virus), or genital herpes are not a cause for deferral if you are feeling healthy and well and meet all other eligibility requirements.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

See HIV/AIDS above.

 

Wait 12 months after treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea.

Chlamydia, venereal warts (human papilloma virus), or genital herpes are not a cause for deferral if you are feeling healthy and well and meet all other eligibility requirements.

Wait 12 months after treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea.

You can be exposed to malaria through travel and travel in some areas can sometimes defer donors. If you have traveled outside of the United States and Canada, your travel destinations will be reviewed at the time of donation.

Come prepared to your donation process with your travel details when you donate. You may download the travel form and bring it with you to help in the assessment of your travel. You can call 866-236-3276 to speak with an eligibility specialist about your travel.

If, in the past 3 years, you have been outside the United States or Canada:

• What countries did you visit?
• Where did you travel while in this country?
• Did you leave the city or resort at any time? If yes, where did you go?
• What mode of transportation did you use?
• How long did you stay?
• What date did you return to the U.S.?

Malaria is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes found in certain countries and may be transmitted to patients through blood transfusion. Blood donations are not tested for malaria because there is no sensitive blood test available for malaria.

If you have traveled or lived in a malaria-risk country, we may require a waiting period before you can donate blood

• Wait 3 years after completing treatment for malaria.
• Wait 12 months after returning from a trip to an area where malaria is found.
• Wait 3 years after living more than 5 years in a country or countries where malaria is found. An additional waiting period of 3 years may be required if you have traveled to an area where malaria is found if you have not lived a consecutive 3 years in a country or countries where malaria is not found.

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.

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.

Zika virus infection is spreading rapidly in the Western Hemisphere outside the continental United States and Canada as well as in other areas. Zika virus infection is mild in most people, but there is concern that Zika virus infection is causing serious brain injury to infants whose mothers have been infected during pregnancy. It has also been linked to an increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a temporary but serious disorder causing paralysis. Zika virus can be present in the blood of an infected person who has no symptoms of illness. There is concern that Zika virus can be transmitted by blood. There are reported cases of sexual transmission of Zika virus; the length of time that infectious Zika virus is present in semen remains unknown.

Please wait 4 weeks after:

• You have traveled to any of the areas listed below.
• Your symptoms have resolved if you have been diagnosed with Zika virus infection
• Your symptoms have resolved if you have had 2 or more of the symptoms listed below within 2 weeks of leaving an area that has active Zika virus transmissions. The symptoms are:
  • Fever
  • Rash
  • Joint pain
  • Muscle pain
  • Conjunctivitis (red eyes)
  • Headache
• (Female donors) your last sexual contact, if you have you had sex with a man who was diagnosed with Zika virus infection or who traveled to or resided in an area with active Zika virus transmission in the 3 months before the sexual contact (refer to list below).

Do not donate if you were in:

American Samoa	French Guiana	Panama
Aruba	Guadeloupe	Paraguay
Barbados	Guatemala	Puerto Rico
Bolivia	Guyana	Saint Martin
Bonaire	Haiti	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Brazil	Honduras	Saint Maarten
Cape Verde	Jamaica	Samoa
Colombia	Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia)	Suriname
Costa Rica	Marshall Islands	Tonga
Curacao	Martinique	Trinidad and Tobago
Dominican Republic	Mexico	U.S. Virgin Islands
Ecuador	New Caledonia	Venezuela
El Salvador	Nicaragua

Unable to Give Blood?
You can help people facing emergencies by making a financial donation to support the Red Cross’s greatest needs. Your gift enables the Red Cross to ensure an ongoing blood supply, provide humanitarian support to families in need and prepare communities by teaching lifesaving skills. Make a financial gift today.