The first question to ask is whether the donor is healthy enough to donate or if the blood product is safe to receive because of comorbid disease. If not then the donor should be deferred until his or her health improves.
Donors who are safe to donate:
(1) systemic drug that is not teratogenic or genotoxic AND product to contain less than 50 mL of plasma from the donor AND not for use in pediatric patients
(2) a drug without systemic distribution
If a donor is taking a systemic drug that is not teratogenic or genotoxic AND ((the product will contain more than 50 mL of plasma from the donor) OR (the product will be given to a pediatric patient) OR (the product will be used to make a plasma-poor platelet concentrate)) then the donor should be deferred for the recommended period (usually 5 half-lives). If the drug does not have a listed deferral period then the donor should be excluded from donation.
A donor who is taking a drug that irreversibly inhibits platelet aggregation should be deferred for 10 days if the product will be used to make a platelet product.
If the person is taking a genotoxic or teratogenic drug AND if the drug causes irreversible changes OR is unknown, then permanently defer the donor.
If the person is taking a genotoxic or teratogenic drug AND if the drug has a recommended deferral period (sometimes 24 half-lives) then defer the patient for the recommended period.
