(3) Donor who has had close contact with a patient with viral hepatitis. The
type of contact that hospital personnel encounter in their routine work is not considered
close contact and is not cause for rejection. Hospital personnel in areas where hepatitis
is endemic (in renal dialysis units, and so forth) should be deferred for 6 months after
employment in such areas.
(4)
Inmates of penal or mental institutions until 6 months after release.
b. Any donor with a questionable history or one who has been implicated in
more than one case of post-transfusion hepatitis should be referred to the blood bank
physician for evaluation.
c. Record of physical examination and medical history must be signed by the
examiner. The reason for deferral (temporary or permanent) should be recorded and
explained to the donor and referral to a physician made if indicated.
d. Donors who are accepted should be made aware that there is possible risk to
recipient and asked to report any illness developing within a few days of donation, and
especially to report hepatitis that develops within 6 months.
1-7.
SPECIAL DONOR CATEGORIES
Exceptions to the usual requirements may be made for:
a. Therapeutic Bleedings. This term is used when blood is removed for
medical indications. The records must include a written order by the patient's physician
specifying the amount of blood to be drawn, the frequency of bleeding and/or a
hemoglobin or hematocrit level at which the patient should be bled. The blood bank
physician may agree to and accept responsibility for having these patients bled in the
donor center. In most therapeutic bleedings, it is advisable to bleed at a slower rate
than usual and to extend the rest period following donation. If the patient is obviously ill,
phlebotomy should be performed in a hospital setting. If the unit is not suitable for
homologous transfusion, it must be labeled NOT FOR TRANSFUSION and either
discarded or used for research purposes. If the unit is suitable for homologous
transfusion (as determined by the blood bank physician), it may be transfused after the
usual processing, provided the label indicates a therapeutic bleeding and specifies the
donor's disease. The recipient's physician must agree to use the blood for transfusion
and a record made of this agreement.
MD0845
1-17