Medical Conditions Affecting Donation

Certain medications may delay your ability to donate blood. If you are taking any medication, even if it is not listed here, please call the Blood Donor Room at 212-639-7643 to determine your eligibility.

Medical Conditions Eligibility

Abscesses

Accept after resolved and treatment completed

Acoustic Neuroma

Accept if benign, if malignant accept one year after treatment completed

Actinomycosis

Acceptable after condition resolved and treatment completed

Acute Tubular Necrosis

Accept if recovered and renal function normal

Addison’s Disease

Permanent deferral

Adenoma

Accept if benign, if malignant defer one year after treatment completed

Agammaglobulinemia

Permanent deferral

Alpha-1-Antitrypsin

Accept if asymptomatic and not taking replacement therapy

ALS

Permanent deferral

Anaphylactoid Purpura

Accept if recovered and asymptomatic

Anaplasmosis

Accept if treatment completed & feeling well. Defer for 90 days if untreated

Aneurysms

Aortic or cerebral, if surgically corrected and asymptomatic, defer for 6 months from date of surgery. If not surgically corrected, a letter of medical clearance is needed

Angina

If donor had cardiac surgery or stent and angina is resolved, accept if one year after surgery, donor has resumed normal activities and has a letter of medical clearance. Defer if still symptomatic

Angioedema

Accept unless donor has a history of respiratory difficulty

Angioplasty

Accept 6 months after procedure if donor is asymptomatic, has no limitations on activity and has a letter of medical clearance

Animal bites

Domestic pets- accept if wound is healed

Animal needle stick

Defer for one year if exposed to any animal’s blood through a needle stick

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Accept

Anthrax

Defer until full course of treatment is completed

Antiphospholipid Antibody syndrome

Accept if symptom free

Aortic Stenosis

Accept 6 months after surgical repair if donor is asymptomatic and has no limitations on activity

Arrhythmias

A donor with a history of arrhythmia can be accepted if asymptomatic, has no history of other cardiac problems and has a letter of medical clearance  

Arteriovenous (AV) Malformation

Accept if surgically corrected and asymptomatic for 6 months from date of surgery. If not surgically corrected, a medical clearance is needed

Arthritis

Accept (both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis)

Asbestosis

If causing permanent lung disease-permanent deferral, otherwise accept

Asthma

Accept if asymptomatic

Atrial Fibrillation

Accept if asymptomatic, has no history of other cardiac problems and has a letter of medical clearance

BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin)

Defer for 2 weeks after treatment with BCG

Bee stings

One day deferral

Bell’s Palsy

Accept

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH)

Accept

Bladder polyps

Accept if benign. Defer 2 weeks after treatment with BCG

Brucellosis

Defer 2 years after diagnosis provided treatment is completed

Buerger’s Disease

Permanent deferral

Bowen’s Disease

Accept

Bright’s Disease

Accept if no chronic renal disease

Bursitis

Accept

Cardiac Arrest

Accept one year later if donor has no limitations on activity and has a letter of medical clearance

Cardiomyopathy

Accept with a letter of medical clearance

Carotid Bruit

Permanent deferral

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Accept

Casts

Accept if a simple fracture. If surgery, defer until cast removed and healed

Cat-Scratch Disease

Accept after resolved and treatment completed

Cerebral Palsy

Accept

Cervical dysplasia

Accept

Chest pain

Defer unless evaluated by MD and not due to heart disease

Chicken Pox

If not previously immunized or infected, defer 21 days after exposure. Defer for active infection until 1 week after lesions resolved

Chikungunya

Defer until well and healthy

Chlamydia

Accept

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

If diagnosed by a MD-permanent deferral

Chronic Granulomatosis

Permanent deferral

Cirrhosis

Permanent deferral

Coagualtion Factor Deficiencies

Permanent deferral except for Factor XII (12) deficiency

Coccidiomycosis

Permanent deferral if disseminated or extrapulmonary

Cold sore

Accept if dry and healing

Colds

Defer for active symptoms of a cold, flu or upper respiratory infection and for 3 days after symptoms have subsided

Colitis

Defer for 3 days after last episode of diarrhea

Collagen Vascular Diseases

Accept if asymptomatic

Congenital heart disease

Accept if asymptomatic with no limitation of activity. If surgically corrected, accept after 6 months if asymptomatic with no limitation of activity

Congestive heart failure

Accept with letter of medical clearance

Conjunctivitis

Defer until resolved

Convulsions

Accept if no seizure in the past month

COPD

Accept if asymptomatic

Coronary artery bypass surgery

Accept 6 months after surgery if donor is asymptomatic with no limitation on activity and has a letter of medical clearance. If due to a heart attack, accept one year later if asymptomatic with no limit on activity and with a letter of medical clearance

Costochondritis

Accept

Coxsackie Virus

Accept if recovered and no jaundice occurred

Crest Syndrome

Accept if asymptomatic

Crohn’s disease

Accept if asymptomatic and no diarrhea for 3 days

Cryptococcosis

Accept if asymptomatic.  Permanent deferral if extrapulmonary

Cryptosporidiosis

Accept if asymptomatic and off treatment

Cushing Syndrome

Accept if cured

Cystic Fibrosis

Accept if no current respiratory infection

Cystitis

Accept after resolved and treatment completed

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

Accept if resolved and at least one month after completion of anticoagulant therapy

Dengue Fever

Defer for 120 days after resolution of symptoms

Dermatomyositis

Accept if asymptomatic

Diabetes Mellitus

Accept- if on insulin must be stable and have eaten before donation

Diabetes Insipidus

Accept

Dialysis

Permanent deferral

Diarrhea

Defer for 3 days

Diverticular Disease

Accept if symptom free for 3 days

Ebola

Defer 28 days after contact with an infected person. Defer one year after having Ebola virus disease

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

Permanent deferral

Ehrlichiosis

Accept if asymptomatic and treatment completed

Embolism

Pulmonary embolism: accept if resolved and at least one month after completion of anticoagulant treatment.

Brain embolism: accept if one year after the stroke, and donor is stable without deficits and anticoagulant therapy completed for at least one month

Limb embolism: Accept if resolved and at least one month since completion of anticoagulant therapy

Emphysema

Accept if asymptomatic

Encephalitis

Accept 4 weeks after recovery

Endocarditis

Accept if condition resolved and treatment completed

Endometriosis

Accept

Epstein Barr

Accept if recovered

Erythema nodosum

Accept if recovered and asymptomatic

Esophagitis

Accept if asymptomatic and no underlying disease

Factor V Leiden

RBC only, if off anticoagulant therapy for at least one month. No plasma or platelets

Factor XI deficiency

Permanent deferral

Factor XII deficiency

Accept

Fibromyalgia

Accept

Fibromyositis

Accept

Fifth Disease

Defer 21 days after exposure

Food Poisoning

Defer for 72 hours after symptoms stop

G6PD deficiency

Accept for platelets. Defer for blood

Genital herpes

Accept

Genital warts

Accept

Giardiasis

Accept after resolved and treatment completed

Gilbert’s Disease

Accept

Glomerulonephritis

Permanent deferral if chronic renal disease

Gout

Accept

Granuloma Annulare

Accept as long as antecubital area not involved

Granuloma Inguinale

Accept after treatment completed and lesions healed

Grave’s Disease

Accept once donor has normal thyroid function

Grover’s disease

Accept if antecubital area is not involved

Guillain-Barre

Accept if resolved and asymptomatic

Hashimoto’s disease

Accept

Heart attack

Accept after one year if asymptomatic, has no limitations on activity and has a letter of medical clearance

Heart murmur

Accept if asymptomatic and has no activity limitations

Hemachromatosis

Permanent deferral

Hematuria

Defer until evaluated by MD

Hemophilia

Permanent deferral

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura

Defer until disease inactive. Permanent deferral if renal failure present

Hereditary Spherocytosis

Permanent deferral

Hirschsprung’s Disease

Accept if resolved and asymptomatic

Histoplasmosis

Accept if inactive disease, defer if disease is active

Human bite

Defer one year if skin was broken

Huntington’s Disease

Accept

Hyper or hypoparathyroidism

Accept if asymptomatic

Hypoglycemia

Accept

Irritable bowel syndrome

Defer for 3 days after last episode of diarrhea

Isosporiasis

Permanent deferral if chronic intestinal infection

ITP

 if at age 18 or younger with no residual effects-accept for donation

ITP at age 19 or later-defer permanently

Jaundice

Permanent deferral if cause is unknown or associated with hepatitis B or C. Accept if jaundice as a newborn, secondary to gallstones or mono, Gilbert’s disease or drug sensitivity