RI Blood Center Updates Mad Cow Disease Guidelines For Donation

PROVIDENCE, RI — More people will become eligible to donate blood at Rhode Island Blood Center after the Food and Drug Administration announced updated donation guidance relating to Mad Cow Disease last year, the center announced in a news release Wednesday.

Changes in criteria now allow people from groups previously banned from donating to do so, including people who spent time in the U.K. from 1980-1996, people who spent time in France and Ireland from 1980-2001, and people who received a blood transfusion in the U.K., France, and Ireland from 1980-present, the release announced.

The Rhode Island Blood Center is in the process of reaching out to people who were previously banned from donating due to these regulations, according to the release.

“The move by the FDA allows for the opportunity to expand our donor base during a challenging time for our region’s blood supply” Beau Tompkins, Vice President of Rhode Island Blood Center, said, according to the Rhode Island Blood Center.

“The patients and hospitals RIBC serves rely on volunteer blood donors for their lifesaving treatments,” Caitlin Grimaldi-Flick, Marketing and Communications Manager for Rhode Island Blood Center said, according to the release. “We encourage newly eligible donors to roll up their sleeves to donate and help stabilize our blood supply.”