[Ansteorra] Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease and Blood Donation

[Paul DeLisle]

This is what was on the Red Cross' website:

In-Depth Discussion of Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease and Blood Donation

In some parts of the world, cattle can get an infectious, fatal brain
disease called Mad Cow Disease. In these same locations, humans have started
to get a new disease called variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) which is
also a fatal brain disease. Scientists believe that vCJD is Mad Cow Disease
that has somehow transferred to humans, possibly through the food chain.

There is now evidence (not really, they're guessing...Alden) from a small
number of case reports involving patients and laboratory animal studies that
vCJD can be transmitted through transfusion. There is no test for vCJD in
humans that could be used to screen blood donors and to protect the blood
supply. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep
vCJD out of the blood supply by avoiding collections from those who have
been where this disease is found.

At this time, the American Red Cross donor eligibility rules related to vCJD
are as follows:

You are not eligible to donate if:
>From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or
lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in the United Kingdom (UK), or

>From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any
country(ies) in the (UK). The UK includes any of the countries listed below.

Channel Islands
England
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee,
or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6
months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas
during the specified time frames

>From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany
>From 1980 through 1996 - Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy or Greece.
You spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 5 years or more from
January 1, 1980, to present, in any combination of country(ies) in Europe,
including

in the UK from 1980 through 1996 as listed in above
on or associated with military bases as described above, and
in other countries in Europe as listed below:
Albania
Austria
Montenegro (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Belgium
Bosnia/Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Norway
Poland
Czech Republic
Denmark
Romania
Finland
France
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Germany
Greece
Spain
Hungary
Ireland (Republic of)
Italy
Kosovo (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Netherlands (Holland)
Portugal
Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Yugoslavia (Federal Republic includes Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia)


Alden


>
> So what was the time frame? I did a short 2 and half year stint there.
> Chiang
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul DeLisle" <ferret at hot.rr.com>
> To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at ansteorra.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 10:28 PM
> Subject: RE: [Ansteorra] Hurricane
>
>
> > FDA is working on removing that ridiculous Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome
> > restriction (no-one knows don't know what causes it, or even how it's
> > transmitted...so they excluded *everyone* from donating who might have
> > *ever* been someplace that ever presented it...talk about witch
> > doctors!!!)
> >
> > Alden
> > (also restricted from donating since 2001... but they were
> happy to take
> > my
> > blood for the 20 years' before that!))
> >
>
>
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