Donating blood after travel abroad

After having spent time abroad, a careful assessment as to whether and when someone will be eligible to donate blood again is necessary: many of the countries that are popular travel destinations are associated with the risk of contracting an infectious disease like malaria or the West Nile, dengue or Zika virus. Many dangerous diseases can be transmitted by blood and thus also by a blood transfusion. Waiting periods are therefore required after travel to certain countries in order to eliminate, as far as possible, the risk of the transmission of a disease to transfusion recipients; the length of the waiting period depends on the country at issue.

Sometimes, weeks or even months may pass after an infection with a disease before it can be detected. The risk of transmission would therefore be greater if travellers were allowed to donate blood immediately after their return. Thus, people who travel to places where there is a risk of exposure to malaria, for instance, are barred from donating for six months. Hence it is very helpful if people plan ahead and donate blood before leaving for a holiday abroad.

Risk areas are changing

Even travel within Europe, such as a trip to Italy, Greece or Spain, can result in temporary ineligibility. In recent years, an increase (probably due to climate change) in the prevalence of tropical pathogens during the summer in Europe has been detected. These pathogens are now found even in temperate climate zones, depending on the season.

Additional individual countries or regions may be designated as risk areas at short notice. Before your next donation, please use the Travel Check. tool to find out about any newly imposed waiting periods.

(No) stocking up on blood

Many of the blood products prepared from donated blood for use in the treatment of patients have a limited storage life: 49 days in the case of red blood cells, for instance, only seven days in the case of platelets. This means that stocks of blood have to be continually replenished. Ensuring that there is always a sufficient supply of blood products of all blood types, while also preventing any waste of valuable donated blood is particularly challenging in the summer months.