When are people not eligible to give blood?

Date published: 9/30/2007

A variety of restrictions are intended to protect the health of donors and recipients that prevent about 40 percent of the population from giving blood.

The criteria include things such as age (you must be at least 17 in Virginia) and weight (at least 110 pounds), as well as your medical history and the risk that you've been exposed to certain diseases.

Here's a sampling of the Red Cross' eligibility guidelines:

Defer giving blood for at least six months after a heart attack, an episode of angina or bypass surgery.

Wait four weeks after being immunized for shingles or chickenpox.

You must wait 12 months to donate if you:

have sexual contact with a hepatitis patient

spend more than three days in a prison, jail or detention center

get a tattoo in an unregulated setting. The Red Cross says people who get tattoos in Virginia must wait a year to donate because while cities and counties regulate tattoo parlors, the state does not. People who get tattoos in states (including North Carolina) that regulate parlors don't have to wait.

Other blood donation organizations set different rules. Richmond-based Virginia Blood Services, following FDA guidelines, does not require people to wait after getting tattoos.

You must wait three years after being treated for malaria, and three years after living in a country where malaria is found.

You can't donate blood if you:

received a blood transfusion in the United Kingdom since 1980, because of concerns about mad cow disease

were born or lived in Cameroon, Chad, Congo or any of several other countries since 1977, because of concerns about a rare strain of HIV

spent a total of five years or more since 1980 in any of a number of European countries, because of concerns about mad cow disease

had leukemia or lymphoma

have AIDS, are HIV-positive or have done anything that puts you at risk of becoming infected. This includes being a man who has had sexual contact with another man since 1977.

For the Red Cross' complete eligibility guidelines, visit redcross.org. For Virginia Blood Services rules, see vablood.org.

Date published: 9/30/2007