Vaccinations and Blood Donation

Blood Donation - General

• Each year, millions of individuals rely on blood transfusions to treat both acute care needs such as trauma, and for ongoing disease management. The blood community's top priority is maintaining the safety and adequacy of the blood supply on behalf of these patients.
• The blood supply in the United States is exceptionally safe and most patients’ blood needs, including those with complex blood type matching requirements, are met through community volunteer blood donations and the work of highly skilled transfusion medicine professionals.
• Multiple safeguards, including extensive donor screening protocols and infectious disease testing, ensure the safety and availability of the blood supply for all patients.
• All U.S. blood collectors are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the collection, manufacture and distribution of blood components.
• AABB strongly encourages every eligible American to support the continued availability of blood by scheduling a donation appointment or volunteering to support a blood drive.

Information Regarding Proposed Policies to Limit Donations from Individuals Who Have Received an mRNA Vaccine

• The FDA explicitly allows the collection of blood from donors who have recently received approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines if they are healthy on the day of donation and meet all other eligibly criteria.
• FDA regulations do not provide for blood products to be labeled as collected from an unvaccinated individual and has issued a Safety and Availability Notice to address concerns.
• Ongoing misinformation has led some potential recipients of blood products to raise questions about COVID-19 vaccines and blood donation. Receiving a blood transfusion from a donor who has received a COVID-19 vaccine cannot change a recipient’s DNA or lead to COVID-19 infection.
• Hospitals do not have access to blood donors’ vaccination status and, therefore, cannot provide that information to patients.
• Blood collection facilities do not have information about blood donors’ vaccination status.
• There is no existing test that can determine whether a blood donation comes from an individual who has received a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Policies that create unnecessary barriers to blood donation will interfere with the blood supply and patients’ access to life-saving care.
• For several years, the nation has navigated challenges with blood availability, and a limited blood supply can result in delayed care, cancelled procedures and sub-optimal health care. New, unnecessary restrictions related to blood donor eligibility have the potential to overwhelm an already delicate blood supply.
• Unnecessary restrictions related to blood donor eligibility would create significant, costly new burdens, which would need to be absorbed throughout the health care system and state.

Resources

• AABB Position Statement: Policy Proposals Related to Blood Donation and Vaccines
• AABB About Blood Donation Infographic
• AABB: How the Blood Community Ensures the Safety of Blood in the United States
• Joint Statement: Blood Community Reiterates the Safety of America’s Blood Supply for Patients
• AABB Vaccination and Blood Donation Information
• Blood Safety and Vaccinated Donors
• FDA Information on Directed Blood Donations
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Blood Safety Basics
• Joint Statement on Blood Donor Restrictions
• American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates Blood Transfusion and Vaccines Resolution
• Roubinian NH, et al.; NHLBI Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-IV-P (REDS-IV). Clinical outcomes in hospitalized plasma and platelet transfusion recipients prior to and following widespread blood donor SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Transfusion. 2024 Jan;64(1):53-67.

AABB offers additional members-only resources on this topic:

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