Donating blood?

I was turned away from donating blood because I lived in Germany during the 80's. Why? I did read something it was because of mad cow disease. Wouldn't I already have developed the disease because it has been 20 years. And since I haven't, shouldn't I be allowed to give blood?

The human version of mad cow disease is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). It is always fatal, and humans get it by eating meat infected with mad cow disease. It is caused by misshapen proteins called prions. Prions occur normally in the body, but when they are malformed they can cause serious disease. They are also transmissible.

The problem with vCJD and blood donation is that it has a very, very long incubation period and cannot be tested for in blood. vCJD can be dormant for decades before causing symptoms, and the prions that cause it cannot be found in a blood test.

Sorry that you couldn't donate! It's extremely unlikely that you have the disease but because it's so dangerous and difficult to detect they have to be very careful.

In recent years they have tightened the rules surrounding blood donation and yes, people who lived in the UK in the 80s are at risk of being infected by mad cow disease. You should speak to your doctor to get more information about it.

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