Should patients with Borreliosis / Lyme disease donate blood?
A.16 – Whilst it is commonly recognised that Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, and retroviruses can be transmitted through blood products, other pathogens are emerging as potentially significant transfusion-associated infectious agents. Studies have demonstrated that Borrelia bacteria can survive in guinea pig blood at room temperature for 28-35 days and they can survive in human blood processed for transfusion at 4°C for up to 48 days. In the US, donors with a positive and active infection of Borreliosis / Lyme disease cannot donate blood until such times as they are no longer symptomatic, having undergone a full course of antibiotic treatment, and are cleared by a physician. In addition to Borrelia, protozoal infections such as Malaria and Babesia are reported to be transmittable through blood transfusion. The CDC has warned of the ability of Babesia to withstand current procedures employed to treat donated blood. People with confirmed cases of Babesiosis are permanently deferred
