Check Your Eligibility

Requirements for all blood and blood components donors  

Anyone who is age 17 or older may be eligible to donate blood. Individuals who are 16 years old may be eligible to donate with parental consent.  

You must bring a valid picture ID prior to donation. 

• Donors age 19 and up must weigh at least 110 pounds. 

• Donors 16 - 18:

  Donation Type	Age	Minimum Weight
  Whole Blood	16	120
  	17-18	115 M / 120 F
  Automated	17-18	115 M / 120 F

  *16-year-old donors must have parental consent. 
• Potential donors must be in general good health, without any cold or flu symptoms. 

How often can I donate blood?

Donating blood requires a waiting period between donations. If you donate:

• Whole blood- you may donate 56 days after your last whole blood donation.
• Double Red Cells- you may donate 112 days after your last double red cell donation. Double red cell donors must meet certain weight, height, and hemoglobin (iron) requirements.
• Platelets- you may donate 7 days after your last platelet donation, with a maximum of 24 donations per year.
• Plasma- you may donate 28 days after your last plasma donation.
• 16-18-year-old males — 56 or 112 days, depending on donation given
• 16-18-year-old females — 112 days

A donor is deferred when they don’t meet one or more eligibility criteria. It’s how long they must wait before being considered for donation again. For example, when you get a tattoo, you’ll be deferred for a week. That means you can donate blood one week after it was done.   

Or you may receive an indefinite deferral, where you aren't able to donate blood unless federal regulations change in the future. We understand this isn’t what you want to hear, but you can still help us save lives. Follow us on social media and emphasize the importance of donating blood and/or volunteer to help us recruit donors.   

Note: One of the most common reasons a donor is deferred is because of low iron. Learn more here.   

• Wait if you have a fever or a productive cough (bringing up phlegm).
• Wait if you do not feel well on the day of donation. 
• Wait until you have completed antibiotic treatment for sinus, throat or lung infection.     

Acceptable as long as you feel well, have no fever,  have no problems breathing through your mouth , and symptoms are not due to an infection.  

You are not eligible to donate if you are pregnant. You must wait 6 weeks until after the end of your pregnancy.

Did you recently have an abortion or termination of pregnancy?

You can donate one week after getting a tattoo (single-use dye/equipment), acupuncture (licensed practitioner), ear piercing (sterile gun), and all other body part piercings if applied in a state-licensed* facility.  

You can donate after three months if any of the above procedures was applied by yourself, an unlicensed individual or a facility that is not state-licensed.  

*Must be a licensed facility in one of the following states:  

• Alabama · Hawaii · Maine · Nebraska · Oklahoma · Texas  
• Alaska · Illinois · Michigan · New Hampshire · Oregon · Vermont  
• California · Indiana · Minnesota · New Jersey · Rhode Island · Virginia  
• Colorado · Kansas · Mississippi · New Mexico · South Carolina · Washington  
• Delaware · Kentucky · Missouri · North Dakota · South Dakota · West Virginia  
• Florida · Louisiana · Montana · Ohio · Tennessee · Wisconsin 

You can donate as long as the instruments used were single-use equipment and disposable (which means both the gun and the earring cassette were disposable). You must wait 3 months if the piercing was performed using a reusable gun or any reusable instrument, or if there is any question as to whether or not the instruments used were single-use equipment.

This list is NOT a complete list of countries, but it includes the most visited countries.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials announced changes in April 2020 that affect donor eligibility. The deferral period for people who have traveled to malaria-endemic areas has been shortened from a year to three months. (Travel is defined as a stay greater than 24 hours.) 

A three-year deferral is in place for donors who lived 5 years or more consecutively in a malaria endemic risk area. 

If the country you have visited is not listed, you may call (713) 791-6612 or (713) 791-6608 or email Medical Services.  

The Department of Health and Human Services officially declared Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency (PHE) on August 4, 2022. On July 23rd, the Director General of the World Health Organization declared the current epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.

The blood supply remains safe, both for donors and patients. There have been no cases of this virus being transmitted via blood transfusion during this or prior outbreaks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not changed donor deferral criteria in response to this outbreak.

Donors are required to be in good health at the time of their donation. Those with a confirmed or suspected case of Monkeypox will be deferred from donating, consistent with other illnesses like COVID and the common cold.

• If you have COVID-19 or a positive test for COVID-19, you must wait 10 days and be asymptomatic prior to donating. 
• Donation is safe if you have been given any of these vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Novavax.). If you are participating in a clinical trial, and the protocol asks you not to donate blood for a period of time, you should follow those instructions. 

• If you have recently received a shot, vaccination, or other immunization, please consult the following list to determine if you can donate.

  SHOT/VACCINATION	COMMENTS
  Allergy shot	You can donate
  Botox injection	You can donate two days after your injection
  Chickenpox (varicella-zoster) vaccination	You can donate four weeks after your vaccination
  COVID-19 vaccine	Yes, if you have received an Inactivated COVID vaccine and you are not feeling any side effects (such as fever, malaise, cold/flu-like symptoms), you can donate blood without a mandatory waiting period.  If you received a Live Attenuated Vaccine for COVID, please wait 14 days before attempting to donate.  If you are unsure which you received, the facility where you received your vaccine will be able to give you this information.
  Flu shot (including H1N1) or FluMist	You can donate
  Gamma Globulin – HBIG (exposure to hepatitis)	You can donate one year after your injection
  Gardasil (human papillomavirus)	You can donate
  Havrix (hepatitis A vaccine)	You can donate four weeks after your vaccination
  Heptavax (hepatitis B vaccine)	You can donate four weeks after your vaccination
  Meningitis	You can donate
  Monkeypox	Those who are concerned about possible exposure to Monkeypox should delay from donating blood for a period of three weeks after that possible exposure.
  Novocaine	You can donate
  Polio (injection)	You can donate
  Pneumonia vaccination	You can donate
  Rabies (animal bite)	You can donate
  Routine TB test	You can donate
  Shingles vaccination	Zostavax: You can donate four weeks after your donation   Shingrix: You can donate.
  Steroid injection (joint)	You can donate if given for pain or inflammation. There is no deferral for steroid injections in the joint. You can donate after one month if given for infection.
  Steroid injection (intramuscular)	You can donate
  TB test for exposure	You can donate after three days or until the test has been read
  Tetanus Booster	You can donate

   

• In most cases, medications will not disqualify you as a blood donor. Your eligibility is usually based on the reason that the medication was prescribed. As long as the condition is under control and you are healthy and feeling well, blood donation is usually permitted. 
• Over-the-counter oral homeopathic medications, herbal remedies, and nutritional supplements are acceptable. 

Avodart (dutasteride) was approved on October 10, 2002, and became available for prescription in December 2002. Like Proscar (finasteride), it is for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) in men. However, it is considerably more potent. You must wait 6 months after your last dose before you can donate.

Consult this list for any medications you are currently taking and read the comments for that medication. Do not stop taking medication prescribed by your physician in order to donate blood.  

Haga clic aquí para ver una lista de aplazamiento de medicamentos.

Please consult the following list to determine if you can donate.

Consult the list below to determine if you can donate.  

Acceptable as long as it's controlled and no attack in the last 30 days requiring an ER visit. Medications for asthma do not disqualify you from donating 

If you have a history of bleeding problems, you will be asked additional questions. If your blood does not clot normally, you should not donate since you may have excessive bleeding where the needle was placed. For the same reason, you should not donate if you are taking any "blood thinner" such as: 

• Arixtra (fondaparinux) 

• Coumadin (warfarin) 
• Eliquis (apixaban) 
• Fragmin (dalteparin) 
• Heparin 
• Jantoven (warfarin)  

• Lovenox (enoxaparin) 
• Pradaxa (dabigatran) 
• Savaysa (edoxaban) 
• Warfilone (warfarin) 
• Xarelto (rivaroxaban) 

If you are on aspirin, it is OK to donate whole blood. However, you must be off of aspirin for at least 2 full days in order to donate platelets by apheresis.  For example, if you take aspirin products on Monday, the soonest you may donate platelets is Thursday. Donors with a clotting disorder from Factor V  Leidenwho are not on anticoagulants are eligible to donate; however, all others must be evaluated by the health historian at the collection center. 

• High Blood Pressure - Acceptable as long as your blood pressure is below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) at the time of donation. Medications for high blood pressure do not disqualify you from donating. 

• Low Blood Pressure - Acceptable as long as you feel well when you come to donate, and your blood pressure is at least 90/50 (systolic/diastolic). 

• Acceptable as long as your pulse is no more than 100 and no less than 50.  A pulse that is regular and less than 50 will require evaluation by the physician. Athletics pulse between 40 and 49 may be acceptable with medical approval 

• Eligibility depends on the type of cancer and treatment history. If you had leukemia or lymphoma, including Hodgkin’s Disease and other cancers of the blood, you are not eligible to donate. Other types of cancer are acceptable if the cancer has been treated successfully and it has been more than 12 months since treatment was completed and there has been no cancer recurrence in this time. Lower risk in-situ cancers including squamous or basal cell cancers of the skin that have been completely removed and healed do not require a 12-month waiting period. 

• Precancerous conditions of the uterine cervix do not disqualify you from donation if the abnormality has been treated successfully. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation. 

Most chronic illnesses are acceptable as long as you feel well, you are not taking any medications on the deferral list, the condition is under control, and you meet all other eligibility requirements. 

Diabetics who are well controlled on insulin or oral medications are eligible to donate. Non-U.S. Licensed or Non-U.S. bovine (beef) insulin has an indefinite deferral. 

In general, acceptable as long as you have been medically evaluated and treated, have no current (within the last 6 months) heart related symptoms such as chest pain and have no limitations or restrictions on your normal daily activities. 

• Wait at least 6 months following an episode of angina. 

• Wait at least 6 months following a heart attack. 

• Wait at least 6 months after bypass surgery or angioplasty. 

• Wait at least 6 months if there was a change in your heart condition that resulted in a change to your medications 

If you have a pacemaker, you may donate as long as it has been 6 months since the pacemaker was inserted, your pulse is between 50 and 100 beats per minute, and you meet the other heart disease criteria. You should discuss your particular situation with your personal healthcare provider and the health historian at the time of donation. 

Acceptable if you have a heart murmur as long as you have been medically evaluated and treated and have not had symptoms in the last 6 months and have no restrictions on your normal daily activities. 

If you have signs or symptoms of hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) caused by a virus, or unexplained jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin), you are not eligible to donate blood. If you ever tested positive for hepatitis B or hepatitis C, at any age, you are not eligible to donate, even if you were never sick or jaundiced from the infection. 

You should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV. 

You are at risk for getting infected if you: 

• have used needles to take any drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by your doctor in the last 3 months 
• are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, in the last 3 months 
• have taken money, drugs or other payment for sex in the last 3 months 
• have had sexual contact in the past 3 months with anyone described above 

You should not give blood if you have any of the following conditions that can be signs or symptoms of HIV/AIDS: 

• Fever 
• Enlarged lymph glands 
• Sore throat 
• Rash 

Donors who have undergone acupuncture treatments are acceptable if the procedure was performed in a licensed facility. 

Wait for 3 months after receiving a blood transfusion from another person in the United States. 

Acceptable after dental procedures as long as there is no infection present. Wait until finishing antibiotics for a dental infection. Wait for 3 days after having oral surgery. 

Women on hormone replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms and prevention of osteoporosis are eligible to donate. 

• Wait 3 months after receiving any type of organ transplant from another person. If you ever received a dura mater (brain covering) transplant, you are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about the brain disease, Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD). 

• If you ever received a transplant of animal organs or of living animal tissue - you are not eligible to donate blood.  Non-living animal tissues such as bone, tendon, or heart valves are acceptable. 

It is not necessarily surgery but the underlying condition that precipitated the surgery that requires evaluation before donation. Evaluation is on a case by case basis. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation. 

Wait 3 months after treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea. For most major surgery, at least 6 months should elapse prior to donating.

If your PSA is elevated and you do not have prostate cancer, you may donate today, unless you are taking Avodart (dutasteride), Proscar (finasteride). If you are taking Proscar, you may donate one month after your last dose. If you are taking Avodart or Jalyn, you may donate 6 months after your last dose. If you don’t know why your PSA is elevated, please contact our Medical Services Department at (713) 791-6612. 

• Wait 3 months after having or being treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea.
• Chlamydia, venereal warts (human papilloma virus), or genital herpes are not a cause for deferral if you are feeling healthy and well and meet all other eligibility requirements. 

• Wait 3 months after treatment for syphilis or gonorrhea.
• Chlamydia, venereal warts (human papilloma virus), or genital herpes is not a cause for deferral if you are feeling healthy and well and meet all other eligibility requirements.