‘Mad cow ‘ blood donor ban lifted by FDA, Kentucky Blood Center follows suit

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — The Kentucky Blood Center has reinstated eligibility for donors who were previously deferred from blood donation due to travel or residence in the United Kingdom, France or Ireland after new guidance from the FDA.

The deferral was related to a “theoretical risk” of transmitting mad cow disease to blood transfusion recipients. The FDA recently said it’s no longer a concern for donors who have previously lived in those three countries.

Because of this, KBC has removed those deferrals for nearly 4,000 KBC donors, according to a press release. Those donors can now return to any KBC location to donate blood.

Previous FDA guidance recommended deferral for people who spent time in the United Kingdom from 1980-96 or France and Ireland from 1980-2001 or people who received a blood transfusion in the U.K., France or Ireland from 1980 to the present.

“The removal of the 20-year-old European ban comes at an important time for Kentucky’s blood supply. Blood donations are significantly down over the last two and a half years, and while donor turnout has failed to return to pre-pandemic levels, transfusion usage has continued to grow,” KBC said in a press release.

If you’d like to donate blood, you can schedule an appointment for donation at any of KBC’s eight donor centers or mobile drives online at kybloodcenter.org or by calling 800-775-2522.

Below are KBC donor locations: