Following recently updated guidance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Kentucky Blood Center reinstated eligibility for donors who were previously deferred from blood donation due to travel or residence in the United Kingdom, France or Ireland.

The deferral was related to a theoretical risk of transmitting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD, also known as mad cow disease) to blood transfusion recipients. The FDA has determined this is no longer a concern for donors who have previously lived in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

As a result, KBC has removed all indefinite deferrals for nearly 4,000 KBC donors who were affected by the previous guidance. Those donors can return to any KBC location immediately to resume donations.