As long as your acupuncture treatment was performed by a qualified practitioner using a single-use needle under sterile conditions, you are eligible to donate. If acupuncture treatment was performed by an unqualified practitioner, you are not eligible to donate for 4 months

In order to donate, you must be at least 17 years old or 16 years old with a parent or guardian’s consent. Download the permission slip here

Eligible as long as your allergies are controlled (no headaches or breathing difficulties)

Must be off antibiotics for 3 days

• Antibiotics, for preventative measures (i.e. acne, rosacea, prior to dental work due to MVP or joint replacement) – eligible to donate
• Antibiotics, oral for infection – eligible to donate after medication is complete and you are free from illness for 3 days

• Osteoarthritis – Eligible to donate
• Psoriatic or Rheumatoid – As long as your symptoms are mild and you are not on immunosuppressant medication

Eligible to donate for whole blood and plasma donations. Platelet donors must be off aspirin for 48 hours

Acceptable as long as donors symptoms are under control and the donor has been asymptomatic for 24 hours

• Low – As long as donor is feeling well and their blood pressure is at least 90 systolic and 50 diastolic then they are eligible to donate
• High – Acceptable as long as their blood pressure is below 180 systolic and below 100 diastolic at the time of their donation
• Prescription blood pressure medication does not defer a donor from donating as long as their blood pressure is within range at the time of donation

Anyone that has received a blood transfusion will not be eligible to donate for 4 months from date of transfusion. Although if it’s an autologous donation (your own blood), donor is eligible.

Women who are breastfeeding are eligible to donate. We advise that you increase your fluid intake the day and hours before you donate to stay well-hydrated.

• Eligibility is based on what type of cancer and the treatment history. If a donor had Leukemia, Lymphoma, multiple Myeloma, or Sarcoma then the donor is permanently deferred. 
• If donor’s cancer was treated with or without radiation or chemotherapy – except for hematological cancers – donor will have to wait 5 years after deemed cancer free until they are eligible
• Skin Cancer (Must wait 5 years after deemed cancer free unless a pathology report is provided)
  • Basal Cell: donor has to have no stitches in order to be eligible. If a donor has stitches, then it must be verified through a pathology report (written or verbal).
  • Squamous Cell: has to be verified through a written only pathology report in order to be eligible, which must be approved by Medical Director

Eligible to donate

Must be symptom free for 3 days and feel well the day of donation

Must be dry and flat in appearance

As long as results are negative, the donor is eligible to donate

• Minor (Cleaning, simple filling, etc) – must be over 1 day since the procedure
• Major (Tooth extraction, root canal, crown prep, etc) –  There is a 7 day deferral after procedures. The donor must be off antibiotics for at least 3 days. If the donor has a cadaver bone or tissue then it is 12 months until eligible

Non-insulin dependent: Eligible to donate if controlled and asymptomatic

Insulin Dependent: Controlled and stable (same regimen). At least 1 hour since last insulin injection (except for insulin pump)

Deferred for 4 months after completion of treatment

• Angina, Arrhythmias (Irregular Heartbeat), Bundle Branch Block, Coronary Artery Disease, Mitral Valve Prolapse/Leaky Valve, Murmurs
• • Must be symptom-free for the past 8 weeks
  • No activity restriction from physician
  • No nitroglycerin for past 8 weeks
• Aortic Stenosis, Cardiomyopathy, Congestive Heart Failure
  • Permanent deferral
• Heart Attack
  • If over one year ago: symptom-free for past 8 weeks, no activity restriction from physician, and no nitroglycerin for past 8 weeks
  • If less than a year ago: donor must provide a physician’s note giving approval OR medical director must give approval
• Pacemaker and Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome
  • Medical Director has given approval
  • Symptom-free for past 8 weeks
  • No activity restriction from physician
  • No nitroglycerin for past 8 weeks

• Exposure: if donor has had sexual contact with a person who has hepatitis or live with someone that carries this virus, they must wait 12 months after the last contact
• If donor has a history of hepatitis, they are not eligible to donate

If Genital or Herpes Zoster/Shingles donor will have to be 2 weeks asymptomatic

All potential donors will be screened using a series of questions that assess
individual risk of HIV, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. This is in
accordance with FDA final guidance.

The FDA final guidance recommends the following changes to donor eligibility.

Listed below is criteria that requires a 3-month deferral for the donor from the date of last occurrence:

• New or multiple sex partners AND anal sex in the last 3 months.
• Sexual contact with any person in the last 3 months in exchange for money, drugs or other payment.
• Use of needles to inject drugs, steroids or anything not prescribed by your
  doctor in the past 3 months.
• Sexual contact with a person who has in the past 3 months used needles to take drugs or other payment for sex, or in the past 3 months used needles to take drugs, steroids or anything not prescribed by their doctor.
• Sexual contact in the last 3 months with anyone who has ever had a
  positive test for HIV infection.
• Taking oral medications to prevent HIV infection such as PrEP or PEP in the past 3 months. We do not encourage individuals to stop taking these medications in order to donate blood.
• Donors taking injectable (i.e. Long-acting antiviral PrEP to prevent HIV
  infection will be deferred for two years from their most recent injection.
• Sexual contact or lived with a person who has hepatitis in the past 3
  months.

DO NOT STOP taking medications prescribed by your doctor in order to donate blood. Donating while taking these drugs could have a negative effect on your health or on the health of the recipient of your blood.

To see a complete and up-to-date list of the medication deferral list, click here.

• Donor – Must be 8 weeks post-donation and released from medical care
• Recipient – Permanent deferral

All piercings must be done using single-use equipment. If a piercing is done not using single use equipment, the deferral time is 4 months.

You have to be 6 weeks postpartum and be released from medical care in order to be eligible to donate. This includes miscarriages and abortions.

• Breastfeeding – Eligible to donate if you are breastfeeding just make sure you increase your fluid intake

You must be released from doctor’s care and stitches must be removed

• Major (e.g. joint replacement, abdominal surgery, back surgery, hysterectomy, generally requiring hospital admission and overnight stay) – Must be 6 weeks since your surgery.*
• Minor (e.g. scope procedures, foot surgery, rhinoplasty) – Must be 3 weeks since surgery*
• Mini (e.g. eye surgery) – Must be 1 week since surgery*

*Consult with RN as needed

This trait is an inherited group of disorders where red blood cells contort into a sickle shape. The sickle cell trait is a gene mutation that can be passed along by a child’s parent. The child does not have the disease, but can transfer the defective gene on to future generations.

• Sickle cell trait: if the donor knows that they carry the trait, we do not encourage donors to donate whole blood. Although, if you carry the trait you can donate platelets or plasma
• Sickle cell disease: donor is not eligible to donate

Eligible if it has been 4 months since the successful completion of treatment. You must provide proof in written form.

You can donate after 7 days as long as you received your tattoo in a state-regulated, licensed parlor using sterile needles and non-reusable ink. It will be a 4 month deferral if these requirements aren’t met

If you have traveled outside of the United States, you will be asked about your travel destinations at the time of donation. If you have traveled to a Malaria area, you will have to wait 3 months until eligible to donate. If you immigrated from a Malaria area, you will not be eligible to donate for 3 years.

Travel questions regarding Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), also known as Mad Cow Disease, have been removed following the FDA’s new guidelines in May 2022. The FDA has determined this is no longer a concern for⁠ donors who have previously lived in the United Kingdom⁠
and other European countries. ⁠

• COVID Vaccinations: Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson – Eligible to donate as long as donor is not experiencing any ill-like symptoms
• Cortisone Allergy shots, Flu/Pneumonia vaccine, Hepatitis A, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Typhoid (injection/oral), and Cholera – Eligible to donate
• Antigen Allergy shot – 24 hours from injection until eligible
• Rubeola (Measles), Yellow Fever, Mumps and Oral Polio – Must wait 2 weeks after receiving any of these shots
• Botox, Hepatitis B, MMR (Measles, mumps, rubella), Zostavax/Shingrix Shingles, Rubella (German Measles), Varicella (Chicken Pox) – Must wait 4 weeks after receiving any of these shots
• Unlicensed vaccines – permanent deferral
• TB Skin test
  • For negative reading, donor is eligible to donate
  • For positive reading, donor must have a negative chest X-ray, no signs or symptoms of disease, and a completed course of preventative medication treatment (If prescribed)

• Non-disseminated – You are eligible to donate after 2 years of being fully recovered and have completed treatment
• Disseminated, Chronic – since it involves other organs, such as, brain, liver, heart, etc it is a permanent deferral

It has to be 120 days since donor had a positive viral test or resolution of symptoms