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Who Can Give Blood
Age Matters!
Donors age 76 and older can continue to donate blood if they meet all donor criteria and present a physician's letter allowing them to donate.
Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with appropriate written permission (NY) or consent (NJ) from their parent or legal guardian - form can be printed from list below) and weigh 110 pounds and be in good health. Donors age 16-18 are also subject to additional height/weight restrictions.
Parental/Guardian's Permission Form
New York New Jersey Pennsylvania
The Most Common Reasons For Not Being Able To Give Blood
There are many permanent or temporary reasons someone may not be eligible to donate blood. The most common reasons are listed below. Some medications or medical conditions can also impact your donation eligibility. Links to those are included below.
Temporary Reasons
Condition Length of time before you can give blood Not feeling well for any reason until symptoms are over Cold, sore throat, respiratory infection, flu until 3 days after symptoms are over Travel to an area of the world where malaria is a problem 12 months after return Certain cases of heart disease contact us for medical eligibility at 1-800-688-0900 Ears, nose or skin piercing 12 months after procedure unless done under sterile conditions Tattoos if applied in NJ, no wait: If elsewhere, 12 months after application Blood transfusion 12 months after receiving blood Full-term pregnancy, abortion or miscarriage six weeks after end of pregnancy Surgery, serious injury when healing is complete and feeling well Syphilis, gonorrhea 12 months after treatment completed Have had certain forms of cancer contact us regarding medical eligibility 1-800-688-0900 Have had sex with someone who has viral hepatitis 12 months after last incident You are a woman who had sex with anyone listed in the first five items under Permanent Reasons below 12 months after last incident You are a man who had sex with anyone listed in the first four items under Permanent Reasons below (Note that the fifth item is a permanent exclusion for men). 12 months after last incident Medications
Antibiotics (except antibiotics for acne) if taken
for infectionwhen treatment is complete Accutane, Proscar and Propecia 1 month after taking last dose Avodart and Jalyn 6 months after taking last dose Soriatane 3 years after taking last dose Plavix, Ticlid 14 days after taking Coumadin, Effient and Brilinta 7 days after taking
Permanent Reasons
Please do not give blood if you:
- Have used illegal drugs with a needle, even once
- Are a hemophiliac
- Have ever had a positive test for HIV (AIDS virus)
- Are a man or woman who has had sex for money or drugs any time since 1977
- Are a man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even once
- Had viral hepatitis or a positive test for viral hepatitis any time after your eleventh birthday
- Had certain forms of cancer (contact us regarding medical eligibility at 1-800-688-0900)
- Had babesiosis or Chagas disease
- Have taken Tegison for psoriasis
- Have Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and/or a blood relative who had CJD
- Had a corneal transplant
Notes:
- Most people with diabetes, and most people on medications other than those noted above, are eligible to donate blood. For specific medical eligibility guidelines, call us at 1-800-688-0900.
- People who have been in certain countries outside the United States may be deferred depending on the country and the length of time spent there.
- The reasons for not being eligible to donate blood may have changed after this brochure was printed.
An Urgent Request: Please do not give blood just to find out your HIV (AIDS virus) test results. If you need information on where to go for confidential HIV testing, please call your local health department.
