1.

CRITERIA FOR DONOR SELECTION

a. Criteria should be applied on the day of the donation
b. Results should be appropriately recorded
c. Donors with history of diseases shall be excluded, subject to evaluation by a
qualified physician on the day of donation
d. Interval between donations should be a minimum of 8 weeks (5 times in a 12-
month-period)
e. Whole blood donation must be deferred at least 48 hours after plasmapheresis
f. Each prospective donor must sign an informed consent form

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR DONORS

a. Must appear to be in good health and free from acute respiratory diseases
b. Must be between the ages of 17 and 65 (up to 66 th birthday)
c. Oral temperature must not exceed 37.5C
d. Minimum Acceptable Hemoglobin and Hematocrit
Male: Hgb 13.5 g/dL; Hct 41%
Female: Hgb 12.5 g/dL; Hct 38%
e. Pulse should measure 50 100 beats per minute
f. Systolic blood pressure 90 and 180 Diastolic blood pressure 50 and 100
g. Known pregnancy excludes a donor; a donor shall be excluded until 6 weeks
postpartum
h. Minor surgery shall exclude a donor only until healing is complete
i. A donor shall be free from infectious diseases in so far as can be determined by
usual examinations

1. Viral hepatitis
Donors with history of hepatitis shall be excluded permanently
A donor shall be excluded if his (hers) was the only unit of blood
transfused to a patient who later developed hepatitis (permanent
exclusion), or if the donor has ever had a positive test for hepatitis B surface
antigen (HBsAg)
Defer for at least six months donors who have received blood or blood
products, who have had tattoos, or who have had close contact with a
person with viral hepatitis
2. Malaria
Travellers to endemic malarial areas shall be excluded for six months
provided they are asymptomatic and have not taken antimalarial drugs
Donors who have had malaria shall be deferred for three years after the
end of treatment
Visitors or immigrants from malarial areas may be accepted three years
after their departure from the area
3. Positive STS
Cause for rejection of a donor
Donors may be acceptable when they become seronegative, provided the
previous positive reaction was not due to a condition that could result in
continued exclusion
4. Clinically active tuberculosis
Such donors are unacceptable
Donors with a positive tuberculin skin test but no other abnormality may
be accepted provided they have not received prophylactic medication in the
previous 48 hours
 5. AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
There is at present no diagnostic test for AIDS
The suspected causative agent is called HTLV-III (Human T-cell
Lymphotrophic Virus Type III)
A test for anti-HTLV-III is now employed in all licensed Blood Banking for
donor screening
Symptoms of AIDS might include:
1. Unexplained night sweats

2. Unexplained weight loss

3. Swelling of the lymph nodes in the groin, axilla, or neck
4. History of unexplained fevers
5. Signs of Kaposis sarcoma (pink to purple, flat or raised, blotches or
bumps)

j. Symptom-free individuals who have recently been immunized are acceptable blood
donors, with the following exceptions:
1. Smallpox
 Donors are acceptable either after the scab has fallen off the site of
inoculation or two weeks after an immune reaction
2. Measles, mumps, yellow fever, oral polio vaccine, animal serum
products and rabies
Donors should be deferred two weeks following immunization
3. German measles
Donors are acceptable four weeks after their last injection
4. Hepatitis B immune globulin
Donors are acceptable one year after injection
5. HEPTAVAX-B
A vaccine to prevent hepatitis B, used primarily by health care workers
No deferral may get vaccine and give blood the same day
k. Donor skin should meet these specifications:
1. Venipuncture site shall be free of lesions.
2. History of a tattoo any place on the body within the past six months shall be
cause for rejection.
l. The obvious use of narcotics or alcoholic habituation or intoxication shall exclude a
donor
m. History of recent oral drug therapy shall be evaluated by a physician (oral
contraceptives and vitamins)
n. Symptoms of bronchial asthma shall be deferred
o. Donors weighing the minimum of 110 pounds may ordinarily give 450 mL of blood
p. Fasting is not recommended

3. CONSIDERATIONS FOR COLLECTION OF DONOR BLOOD

REMEMBER:
A. Qualifications of drawing personnel: under direction of licensed, qualified physician
B. Containers used, anticoagulants and dating period: FDA licensed
C. Methods of drawing: bags (gravity)
D. Identification of donor, donor unit, and all pilot samples
E. Preparation of venipuncture site: proper scrub, PVP iodine solution, aseptic technique
F. Care of the donor throughout the procedure: blood bank has total responsibility for
the donor

4. PROCESSING OF DONOR BLOOD

A. ABO GROUPING
B. Rh TYPING
C. SCREENING FOR ATYPICAL ANTIBODIES
D. TESTS FOR SYPHILIS
1. RPR
2. VDRL
3. FTA-ABS
4. TPI
5. MHA-TP/ HATTS
E. TESTS AVAILABLE FOR HEPATITIS B SURFACE ANTIGEN (HbsAg)
1. HbsAg testing must be performed on all donor blood
2. RIA is commonly used for routine HbsAg testing
3. RPHA and ELISA are also acceptable
4. CEP and latex agglutination are not acceptable
5. RIA testing procedure
6. recent availability of additional reagents
7. Anti-HBs
8. HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc
9. Anti-HBc
10. HBeAg
11. Anti-Hbe
12. IgM anti-HAV
13. Seven diagnostic serological tests
F. LABELING BLOOD FOR ADMINISTRATION