Eligibility

Health Requirements

Cancer

• For most types of cancer, donors are eligible once treatment is completed. Those who have had leukemia or lymphoma are permanently deferred.

Dentistry

• You can donate one day after cleanings, fillings, crowns, extractions, and root canals if treatment is completed and you feel well.
• Wait until antibiotics are finished for infections and 3 days after oral surgery.

LGBTQ+

• FDA policy states that any donor, regardless of gender or orientation, who has had anal sex with a new and/or multiple partners must wait 3 months.

Surgery

• If there is no sign of infection, stitches and casts are acceptable.

What is hemoglobin and why is it important?

Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. Before donating, we check your hemoglobin level to ensure it's safe for you to donate. Because blood donation lowers iron levels, frequent donors may be at risk for low iron or anemia if iron isn't replaced through diet. About 10% of donors are temporarily unable to donate due to low hemoglobin. If your level is low, we encourage you to take steps to increase it before donating again. If your level is unusually low or you have symptoms, consult your doctor before your next donation.

Causes of Low Iron Levels

• Bleeding and/or issues with the digestive tract (certain diseases, polyps, stomach ulcers)
• Blood thinning medications
• Certain medications (especially antacids)
• Chronic disease (diabetes, kidney disease, severe arthritis)
• Decreased iron absorption from certain medications
• Diets with low iron intake
• Immune destruction of red blood cells
• Iron deficiency
• Menstruation and pregnancy
• Other types of blood loss (e.g. stomach ulcers, polyps)
• Menstruation and pregnancy
• Vitamin deficiencies (e.g., folic acid, B-12)

Seek medical advice if these occur.

Increase Your Iron Level

To increase your iron, we encourage you to:

• Consume adequate amounts of vitamin C to aid with iron absorption
• Speak with your doctor or dietician about vitamin supplements containing iron
• Consume iron rich foods which include:
• Meat (beef, chicken, lamb, pork, turkey, veal)
  • Organ meats (kidney, liver)
  • Seafood (clams, non-canned salmon, sardines, shrimp, tuna)
  • Leafy green vegetables (broccoli, collards, chard, kale, spinach)
  • Legumes (white/red baked beans, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans)
  • Eggs
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Iron-fortified breads and cereals
  • Whole-meal bread and pasta
  • Raw or lightly cooked foods and juices rich in vitamin C to increase iron absorption
    • Grapefruit, kiwi, lemon, mango, melon, orange, papaya, pineapple, strawberry, tangerine
    • Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, chard, kale, green/red pepper, sweet/white potato, winter squash
• Consume foods that reduce iron absorption at least one hour prior to eating iron-rich foods:
  • Chocolate
  • Coffee, tea
  • Popcorn
  • Red wine
  • Cheese, ice cream, milk, yogurt
  • Canned sardines or salmon
  • Blackberries, blueberries, grapes, pomegranate, raspberries
• Cook food in an iron skillet
  • *For a complete list of iron-rich food sources, visit www.cdc.gov.

Iron Supplementation

When should you consider taking iron supplements?

• If you donate whole blood or red blood cells more than twice a year
• If you donate double red cells more than once a year
• If you donate plates more than eight times a year
• If you have difficulty maintaining a diet high in iron-rich foods

Speak with your healthcare provider before taking iron supplements

• Too much iron can be harmful

What are the side effects of supplemental iron?

• Constipation
• Dark stool
• Nausea
• Stomach pains

Other important information

• Iron may be supplemented as an iron-fortified vitamin (better) or iron alone (best)
• Iron should be taken with food
• Antacids can decrease the absorption of iron

Maintain your iron level so you can stay healthy, and continue to save lives!

Medication Deferral

Most medications do not prevent you from donating blood, but some may require a waiting period or affect the type of donation you can make. Antibiotics are acceptable once treatment is complete and you are feeling well, while aspirin does not affect whole blood donation but requires a 2-day wait before platelet donation. People with well-controlled diabetes on insulin, those seizure-free for 6 months, and individuals using birth control are generally eligible to donate. Oral PrEP or PEP requires a 3-month deferral, and injectable PrEP requires a 2-year deferral. Certain medications — including blood thinners, antiplatelet drugs, some acne medications, immunosuppressants, HIV therapies, HBIG, and experimental drugs or vaccines — may temporarily defer donation due to bleeding risks or potential harm to pregnant recipients.

• Antibiotics: Finish treatment before donating.
• Aspirin: No wait for whole blood donation.
• Birth control: No restriction.
• PrEP/PEP: Temporary deferral applies.

Medication Deferral List

Certain medications may temporarily or permanently defer you from donating blood. Common examples include:

• Antiplatelet medications (such as Plavix, Brilinta, Effient) — defer 3 days to 1 month
• Blood thinners/anticoagulants (such as Eliquis, Xarelto, Pradaxa, Warfarin) — defer 2 to 7 days
• Acne medications containing isotretinoin — defer 1 month
• Hair loss/prostate medications (finasteride, dutasteride) — defer 1 to 6 months
• Immunosuppressants like Cellcept — defer 6 weeks
• HBIG (Hepatitis B Immune Globulin) — defer 3 months
• HIV prevention medications (PrEP/PEP) — oral medications defer 3 months; injectable forms defer 2 years
• Certain cancer, arthritis, psoriasis, or MS medications — defer 1 month to 3 years depending on the drug
• Etretinate or HIV treatment medications (ART) — permanent deferral
• Experimental medications or vaccines — deferral determined by the medical director.

FDA Guidance

In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration released updated guidance that recommends the adoption of individual donor assessment (IDA) to determine blood donor eligibility. Individual donor assessments mean more people can safely share the gift of life through blood donation.

• Under the FDA's individual donor assessment guidance, there are no eligibility criteria related to men who have sex with men. Any individual, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who has had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months, and also had anal sex in that timeframe, will be asked to wait three months to donate blood from last anal sex contact. Individuals who have had anal sex in the last three months may be eligible to donate as long as they did not have sex with someone new or with multiple partners during that timeframe.
• A new sexual partner includes someone you have sex with for the first time, or someone you had sex with in the past and then stopped but had sex with that person again in the last three months.
• There are no blood donor eligibility rules based on being transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming. All donors answer the same gender-neutral screening questions under FDA guidelines. However, some eligibility requirements—such as height/weight ratios and iron levels—still require donors to select male or female based on biological sex assigned at birth. LifeServe hopes to expand future system options to better reflect both biological sex and gender identity.
• If you've taken HIV prevention medications (PrEP or PEP), you must wait 3 months after your last oral dose or 2 years after your last injection before donating blood. These medications can affect HIV test detection. Individuals who have ever taken HIV treatment medications (ART) are permanently deferred from donating because the virus may still be present and transmissible through blood donation.