The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic reduction in blood donations due to social distancing and the cancellation of blood drives. On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released guidance for immediate implementation to address the urgent need for blood and blood components while maintaining the integrity of the blood supply.
Key aspects of the guidance include the following:
- Reductions in deferral periods due to theoretical risks of viral transmission, such as transmission of HIV and hepatitis viruses. Of these reductions in deferral periods, the one that is most impactful and long awaited is a reduction in the deferral period for men having sex with men, which is now a deferral of 3 months from most recent contact. (The deferral was formerly permanent and then reduced to 12 months from recent contact.) The remaining reductions were also to deferral periods of 3 months, from either permanent or 12-month deferrals.
- Reduction in deferral times for people who traveled to a malaria endemic area. Deferral times for these individual were reduced from 1 year to 3 months. The initial deferral was based on potential risk for malaria transmission.
- Possibility for re-entry, after qualification, for previous blood donors who were deferred after living on military bases in Europe from 1980-1996. The initial deferral for these individuals was based on potential risk of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in these individuals and was a permanent (lifetime) deferral.
- Possibility for re-entry, after qualification, for previous blood donors who were deferred after living in Europe from 1980-1996, with the exception of the United Kingdom, France, and Ireland. The initial deferral was based on potential risk of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in these individuals and was a permanent (lifetime) deferral.
- Possibility for re-entry, after qualification, for previous blood donors who were deferred after administration of bovine insulin prepared in countries with a risk for Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. The initial deferral was based on potential risk of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in these individuals and was a permanent (lifetime) deferral.
Read the FDA statement on this topic here.
