Some people are deferred from donating blood or plasma because of where they lived or places they visited. For instance, donors who have travelled to locations outside of Canada, the continental U.S. and Europe have a waiting period of 21 days after their return home before donating blood or plasma. These new criteria were introduced in February 2016, to identify donors at risk for acquiring illnesses spread by mosquitos such as Zika virus.
Other deferrals include those for malaria and variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD).
Because the risk of infection diminishes over time, people who have lived (for six months or longer) in a country where malaria is prevalent are deferred for three years after departure from the country. Those who have visited a malaria risk area are deferred for 3 months after leaving that area. If your visit lasted less than 24 hours, please call us at 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283) to discuss your eligibility.
Because of the theoretical risk of vCJD, Health Canada concluded that deferring donors who had spent time in the following places balances the safety of Canada's blood and plasma supply with the need for donors:
a cumulative total of three months or more in the United Kingdom (UK) between January 1980 and December 31, 1996
a cumulative total of 5 years or more in France and/or Ireland (republic of Ireland) between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 2001
Donor screening deferrals are based on risk factors. It has nothing to do with race or ethnicity.