ABI encouraging blood donations after FDA reversal on deferments

In the wake of new guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration, Arkansas Blood Institute says it hopes to welcome back thousands of deferred blood donors unable to donate for 20 years due to concerns about mad cow disease.

Previously, potential blood donors who had spent time in Europe, including many military families stationed abroad, were deferred from donating blood because of the theoretical risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, commonly known as “mad cow disease,” which is a rare disease of the central nervous system, according to a news release.

Based on updated evidence, the FDA’s new guidance removes the deferral recommendations associated with risk of the disease for time spent in the United Kingdom from 1980-1996; time spent in France and Ireland from 19802001; and receipt of a blood transfusion in the U.K., France or Ireland from 1980-present.

In 2020, the FDA removed several other European countries from the deferral list. These new changes remove the remaining countries, effectively lifting the entire deferral, the release said.

Anyone who is unsure whether this eligibility guidance affects them should call the eligibility hotline at 888-308-3924.

“We are grateful to see the FDA use the latest scientific data to adjust deferral rules, allowing us to welcome back many donors, and invite in countless others who have not attempted to donate due to the restrictions,” Dr. John Armitage, ABI’s president and CEO, said in the release.

“This move will help expand our donor pool, as there is an ongoing need for blood donation, especially during the summer months,” he said.

ABI is asking the community to respond by donating blood today, the release said.

Appointments can be made by calling 877-340-8777 or visiting arkbi.org. Blood donation typically takes only about an hour, and one donation saves up to three lives.

Arkansas Blood Institute is the local, nonprofit blood supplier, supporting the inventory for patients in more than 40 hospitals, medical facilities and air ambulances statewide.