The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has imposed a ban on blood donations from anyone who has spent more than six months in Britain from 1980 to 1997 because of the possible risk of transmitting the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
The exclusion dates coincide with the time when exposure to CJD was considered to be at its peak in the United Kingdom. The American Red Cross estimates that the ban will cut US blood donations by 2.2%at a time when experts are already predicting severe nationwide blood shortages.
Variant CJD has affected about 40 people in the world, including 39 in Britain. It has never been transmitted through the blood except during experiments in which it was injected into the brains of mice. But the FDA said that it was concerned that scientists have not fully ascertained how the disease is spread.
People who made limited visits to Britain will not be affected by the ban. But people who visited repeatedly between 1980 and 1997 will have to add up their trips to see if they are under the six month limit. The ban also applies to people of other nationalities who may have lived in Britain during the time in question. The FDA estimates that up to 250000 donors could be affected by the new regulations.
Canadians who have spent at least six months in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996 have also been banned from donating blood. The Canadian authorities have given the Canadian Blood Service, and its Quebec counterpart, until February 2000 to start screening donors. Quebec’s blood agency, Hama-Quebec, has stepped up the ban to affect anyone who has spent just one month in the United Kingdom since 1980.
The Japanese health ministry issued a statement that said it was considering imposing a similar ban. According to the ministry, a committee has been discussing the issue for several months but has yet to reach a decision.
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KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP PHOTO
US blood donation: time spent in UK will bar many donors