Blood donors who were previously turned away due to living in Europe in the 1980s can donate blood again, but there is some paperwork required.

According to OneBlood.com, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has updated regulations to protect the blood supply against the risk of mad cow disease, variant Creutzfeldt- Jacob Disease (vCJD), a fatal infection of the brain and nerve tissue.

 FDA has removed the recommendations to defer indefinitely blood donors for: 1) geographic risk of possible exposure to bovine spongiform encephalopathy for time spent in the United Kingdom (U.K.) from 1980-1996 and for time spent in France and Ireland from 1980- 2001, and 2) receipt of a blood transfusion in the U.K., France, and Ireland from 1980-present.

This applies if you were:

• Deferred for time spent in U.K. or Europe (including France or Ireland),
• Deferred for military service in Europe or UK (i.e., England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, or the Falkland Islands), or
• Deferred for receipt of a blood transfusion in the U.K., France or Ireland.

While the rules have changed, you can’t just go to a blood drive and donate. If you were previously deferred from donating, OneBlood will need to update your records before you will be allowed to donate blood.

To request your records be updated, go online to

https://www.oneblood.org/lp/vcjd-reentry.stml