What is the current policy with regards to vCJD?
Over the past decade, it has been the policy of Canadian Blood Services to treat variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) as a threat to the blood supply before there was scientific evidence that this disease could be passed through blood transfusions. As there is currently no available test for vCJD in blood donors, blood components or plasma protein products, Canadian Blood Services has, since September 1999, refused to accept blood donations from people who have spent significant time in areas of the world where human cases of vCJD originated. The current policy applies to anyone who has spent three months or more cumulatively in the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands) or France from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 1996. The deferral policy also applies to anyone who has received a blood transfusion or received medical treatment with a product made from blood in the United Kingdom, France or Western Europe since J
