Donor Deferrals

Potential donors may be temporarily or permanently ineligible for donation due to certain medical conditions, medications, travel or high-risk behavior. Some conditions resulting in deferral are listed below.

Medical Conditions

Tattoo/Body Piercing

Medications

Travel 

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Medical Conditions

Cancer AIDS Auto-immune disease Chagas Hepatitis

Heart disease   Kidney, liver, or lung disease Malaria Tuberculosis

Contact the Blood Center for more information regarding these deferrals.

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Tattoo/ Non-Professional Body Piercing

There is a one-year deferral from date of tattoo or non-professional body piercing.

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Medications

Accutane^© (Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotret, isotretinoin) – Usually given for severe acne (1-month deferral)

Avodart^© (dutasteride) – Usually given for prostate enlargement (6-month deferral)

Growth hormone from human pituitary glands – Usually for children with delayed or impaired growth (permanent deferral)

Hepatitis B immune globulin – Given following an exposure to hepatitis B (1-year deferral) NOTE:This is different from the hepatitis B vaccine that is a series of 3 injections given over a 6-month period to prevent future infection from exposure to hepatitis B.

Insulin from cows (bovine or beef insulin) – Used to treat diabetes (indefinite deferral, if taken since 1980)

Propecia^© (finasteride) – Usually given for baldness (1-month deferral)

Proscar^© (finasteride) – Usually given for prostate gland enlargement (1 month deferral)

Soriatane^© (acitretin) – Usually given for severe psoriasis (3-year deferral)

Tegison^© (etretinate) – Usually given for severe psoriasis (permanent deferral)

Unlicensed vaccine – Usually associated with a research protocol (1-year deferral)

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Travel

One-year deferral

Travel to the following locations requires a 1-year blood donation deferral from the date of departure.
Travel documentation form

• Areas at high risk for malaria. Check the CDC website, or call the Blood Center for more information.
• Iraq, due to the potential of contracting leishmaniasis.

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Indefinite Deferral

You are indefinitely deferred from blood donation if from 1980 to present time you have traveled or lived in one or more of the listed countries for time that adds up to five or more years. You may be at risk of developing nvCJD, (new variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, "Mad Cow" disease) from eating beef in Europe. 

Alabania Austria Belgium Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Findland France

Germany Greece Hungary Republic of Ireland Italy Lichtenstein Luxemborg Macedonia Netherlands Norway

Poland Portugal Romania Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Yugoslavia

Africa - If you were born, lived, or have had sexual contact with anyone who was born or lived in the African countries listed below from 1977 to present you are indefinitely deferred from blood donation due to potential HIV exposure.

Cameroon     Central African Republic  Chad Congo

Equatorial Guinea Gabon Niger Nigeria

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