Blood donation restrictions

[cruzincurt]

So what's the latest? I was continually rejected in the past if I happened to visit Costa Maya during that year so I quit trying. Didn't matter if we got off the ship there or not.

 

Has the Zika problem in the Caribbean caused additional restrictions to be a donor?

Edited June 16, 2016 by cruzincurt

[whogo]

My local center defers donors for one month for travel to a zika area. Malaria zones have a one year deferral, might still be longer if you took malaria pills. I assume other US donor centers are the same, the FDA is involved.

[kitty9]

Our blood center won't allow donations for anyone who's gone out of the US, except for Canada, for at least 6 months. For other countries with endemic problems, that ban could be for a year.

[sbbquilter]

In the past there was a 12 month malarial deferral but that changed a couple years back. Now the Zika deferral is 30 days with other rules relating to sexual activity as well. The FDA sets these guidelines so your best reference is a call to them.

[cruzincurt]

From the newspaper, it appears they have stopped blood donations unless they can be tested for the Zika virus.

 

Likewise the FDA has recommended restrictions.

 

From Health News NPR:

 

On Thursday, senior officials at the Food and Drug Administration said they have asked blood donation centers in two Florida counties, Miami-Dade and Broward, to stop collecting blood for the time being.

 

The move came after investigators ruled out travel as the cause of four cases of Zika virus in those counties. Florida health officials announced the cases last week. The people hadn't traveled to places where Zika is endemic and don't appear to have contracted it through sex, leaving a possibility that they got the virus from being bitten by infected mosquitoes in the U.S.

 

If they did acquire the virus from domestic mosquitoes, it could mean that others in the area also may have acquired Zika virus locally, and may have donated blood without knowing it was infected.

 

In an effort to "help ensure the safety of the nation's blood supply," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement that blood collections shouldn't resume in the area until the centers can test each incoming blood donation for Zika virus.

 

The agency suggested that neighboring counties do the same, and that at-risk counties across the U.S. screen donors before collecting blood.

 

"These may be the first cases of local Zika virus transmission by mosquitoes in the continental United States," said the statement. The Florida Department of Health has yet to confirm how the people acquired the virus.

[mom says]

From the newspaper, it appears they have stopped blood donations unless they can be tested for the Zika virus.

Likewise the FDA has recommended restrictions.

 

From Health News NPR:

 

On Thursday, senior officials at the Food and Drug Administration said they have asked blood donation centers in two Florida counties, Miami-Dade and Broward, to stop collecting blood for the time being.

 

The move came after investigators ruled out travel as the cause of four cases of Zika virus in those counties. Florida health officials announced the cases last week. The people hadn't traveled to places where Zika is endemic and don't appear to have contracted it through sex, leaving a possibility that they got the virus from being bitten by infected mosquitoes in the U.S.

 

If they did acquire the virus from domestic mosquitoes, it could mean that others in the area also may have acquired Zika virus locally, and may have donated blood without knowing it was infected.

 

In an effort to "help ensure the safety of the nation's blood supply," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement that blood collections shouldn't resume in the area until the centers can test each incoming blood donation for Zika virus.

 

The agency suggested that neighboring counties do the same, and that at-risk counties across the U.S. screen donors before collecting blood.

 

"These may be the first cases of local Zika virus transmission by mosquitoes in the continental United States," said the statement. The Florida Department of Health has yet to confirm how the people acquired the virus.

 

Not exactly. They've stopped donations in 2 counties, and recommended stopping in neighboring countries. The are only recommending screening donors in at risk areas. So donations will certainly continue, especially in those areas considered lower risk. It's already possible to check blood for the presence of Zika. It looks to me that the blood collection agencies just need to implement the necessary screening and testing protocols in most places.

Edited July 31, 2016 by mom says