Mad Cow, Iron Levels Knock Out Potential Blood Donors

BALTIMORE -- The American Red Cross is in dire need for blood donations, but there are some new restrictions that may impact whether you can give blood.

The mad cow disease that raced through countries across the Atlantic has created new directives for potential donors here in the United States. According to the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac chapter of the American Red Cross, people cannot donate if, since January 1, 1980, you have:

• Spent a total time that adds up to 3 months in the United Kingdom.
• Spent a total time that adds up to 6 months or more in any country in the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Turkey, or Oman.
• Received a blood transfusion in any of these regions.

Dr. Joan Gibble, medical director for the Red Cross chapter, said mad cow disease can take up to 10 years to manifest, there's no cure and there's no way of identifying it in blood. She said there is no existing evidence that the disease can be transmitted through human blood, but the Red Cross doesn't want to take any chances.

A new guideline from the Food and Drug Administration is also creating a dilemma for the Red Cross.

Before donating, people are pinpricked and a sample is tested to count iron levels in the blood. In the past, the sample came from the ear, but the new guideline is requiring the sample to be drawn from the finger.

Gibble said a finger sample gives a more accurate count of iron in the blood. Donors are turned away if their iron levels are too low.

In following the new guideline, the Red Cross is finding more anemic people -- mostly women -- and losing them as donors. Gibble said a majority of their potential donors are women.

She also said SARS and AIDS are still limiting some donors.

Who Is Eligible To Give? Donors Must:

• Be generally in good health
• Be at least 17 years of age
• Weigh no less than 110 pounds
• Have NOT received a tattoo within the past year
• Have NOT donated whole blood within the past 56 days.