Why am I deferred from donating blood if a first degree family member has died of CJD?
The blood bank has no way of knowing if your relative died of sporadic CJD or a familial or inherited form of CJD. Although there is no evidence that CJD is transmitted via blood in Classical CJD cases there is no way to prove it is not. The blood banks of Australia currently defer anyone from donating blood who is at risk of CJD. This includes people who have a family history of inherited CJD. Current infection control guidelines recommend deferral when there is a family history of 2 or more first degree relatives but the blood banks questionnaire refers to one first degree relative. Technically, people who have had PRNP genotyping confirm no mutation, should be able to give blood.
The Red Cross Blood Service has no way of knowing if your relative died of sporadic CJD or a familial or inherited form of CJD. Although there is no evidence that CJD is transmitted via blood in classical CJD cases there is no way to prove it is not. The blood banks of Australia currently defer anyone from donating blood who is at risk of CJD. This includes people who have a family history of inherited CJD. Current infection control guidelines recommend deferral when there is a family history of two or more first degree relatives but the Red Cross Blood Service questionnaire refers to one first degree relative. Technically, people who have had PRNP genotyping with no mutation confirmed, should be able to give blood.
