Yes. The deferral period is shortened from 12 months to three months after travel to a malaria-endemic country. However, if you were a resident of a malaria-endemic country before making your residency in the United States, you must be in the U.S. continually for three years, before donating blood.

If you have traveled outside of the United States and Canada, your travel destinations will be reviewed at the time of donation. Come prepared to your donation process with your travel details when you donate. You may download the travel form and bring it with you to help in the assessment of your travel.

Along with Mexico, officials have also issued a warning for countries in Central and South America. They say if you’ve traveled to any of the affected areas, you should wait at least four weeks to donate blood. They also say anyone who’s had sex with someone who’s been to these countries should wait four weeks as well.

You must be in good health at the time you donate. You cannot donate if you have a cold, flu, sore throat, cold sore, stomach bug or any other infection. If you have recently had a tattoo or body piercing you cannot donate for 6 months from the date of the procedure.

Survivors of solid tumor cancers are eligible to donate blood and platelets beginning one year after they stop taking medication for their cancer; however, survivors of blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma, and other blood disorders, are permanently deferred due to the nature of their diseases.

You will be denied if your blood tests positive for: HIV-1, HIV-2, human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-I, HTLV-II, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, West Nile Virus (WNV), and T. pallidum (syphilis). Blood donation is actually a quick and easy way to get tested for all of these things.

Many cancer survivors want to help other people by becoming organ donors. It’s possible for many people who’ve had cancer to donate, but it varies by cancer type and medical condition. There’s always an urgent need for donated organs. Some organ donations, such as a kidney, may be done when a person is still living.

The American Red Cross does allow some people with a history of cancer to donate blood. 2 However, they must meet the following requirements: You must wait at least 12 months following the completion of treatment to donate your blood. You cannot have had a recurrence of cancer.

Kidneys

The most in-demand organ, by far, are kidneys, which have a waiting list seven times longer than that for livers, the next most needed organ.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are often assumed to be opposed to donation because of their belief against blood transfusion. However, this merely means that all blood must be removed from the organs and tissues before being transplanted.

Organs and tissues that can be transplanted include:

• Liver.
• Kidney.
• Pancreas.
• Heart.
• Lung.
• Intestine.
• Corneas.
• Middle ear.

If you are going to be a liver donor, you should stop drinking. If you have a history of heavy alcohol use, it is very important to tell our doctors. Alcohol use may not preclude you from being a donor, but you may need a liver biopsy to be sure your liver has not sustained any damage.

In general, about 75% of people who undergo liver transplant live for at least five years. That means that for every 100 people who receive a liver transplant for any reason, about 75 will live for five years and 25 will die within five years.

Compensated cirrhosis: People with compensated cirrhosis do not show symptoms, while life expectancy is around 9–12 years. A person can remain asymptomatic for years, although 5–7% of those with the condition will develop symptoms every year.

In a study by Desbiens and Wu (2000), 60% of seriously ill hospitalized patients with liver failure experienced pain. This finding is important because the liver may be perceived as a relatively silent organ that does not cause pain.