Travel Guidelines for Blood Donation

To protect the blood supply and to comply with regulations and safety guidelines, blood banks defer donors who have travelled to certain parts of the world. These rules are in place due to a potential travel-related risk of contracting an infection that may be transmitted through blood transfusion.

RESIDENTS of countries endemic for malaria will be deferred for 3 years from date of departure from that area. Anyone who has spent 5 years or more in another country is considered to be a resident.

VISITORS to countries endemic for malaria will be deferred for 1 year from date of departure from that area.

Risk	Destination	Deferral Period
Malaria	Some Caribbean islands, parts of Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America including some areas in Mexico.	Visitors: 1 year Residents: 3 years

The FDA seeks to prevent transmission of new variant Cruetzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD), which is a progressive neurological disease, through the blood supply by deferring donors who have travelled to at-risk areas.

Risk

Destination

Deferral Period

vCJD

Donors who have spent time that adds up to 3 months or more between 1980 and 1996 in the United Kingdom (England, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, The Channel Islands, and Wales).

U.S. military, civilian military or their dependents who have spent time that adds up to 6 months or more associated with military bases in any of the following countries: 1980 through 1990 – Belgium, Netherlands, or Germany; and 1980 through 1996 – Spain, Portugal (Azores), Turkey, Italy (Sicily) or Greece.

Donors who have spent a total accumulative time of 5 years or more in Europe from 1980 to the present.

Indefinite

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease caused by the sand fly and has occurred in military personnel returning from Iraq.