Surgery may cause significant blood loss. It is important that donors waiting for an operation should not be put at risk of anaemia or poor iron stores by donating prior to planned surgery. Unless the type of surgery planned is unlikely to result in significant blood loss the donor should be deferred until after their planned surgery. This will minimize their own chance of needing a transfusion, which would of course prevent them from continuing as a donor. It is also important not to hinder the recovery of the donor. This requires waiting until they are fully recovered before they donate again.
This guidance presumes that a validated NAT test for hepatitis C is negative. If this test is stopped the guidance will change.
Surgery may place the donor at risk of infection, either from unhealed wounds, or due to infection risks from infected staff or equipment. Although these risks are very small it is important to wait long enough for the risks to have gone or until the tests performed by the Blood Services can pick up any infection that they test for that may have been transmitted to the donor through their surgery. As there may be uncertainty about these risks for surgery performed outside of the UK and ROI, a deferral period of three months is required.
Minimally invasive surgery includes superficial skin procedures and procedures performed under infiltration with local anaesthetic agents and/or sedation.
This does not include procedures performed under regional anaesthesia (e.g. spinal, epidural) which may be used where joints and major body cavities may be accessed. The use of general anaesthesia may not indicate the invasiveness of a procedure and should not be used as a substitute to assessment of the donor regarding the procedure and their recovery. Donors can be accepted for donation once it is more than seven days since a surgical procedure as long as they also fulfil all other criteria. Donors who have had minimally invasive surgical procedures are unlikely to have systemic effects from the surgery requiring recovery time. However, care should be taken to ensure that all wounds are dry and healing. An open wound is a risk for bacteria entering the blood. Bacteria can be a serious threat to anybody receiving blood or blood components. This is because bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels after collection.
Donors being monitored for chromium or cobalt levels following a metal-on-metal hip replacement can be accepted for donation.
Completion of postoperative monitoring, treatment and follow-up should be confirmed for every donor returning to donate. Thromboprophylaxis may be continued, usually for a few weeks only, after discharge from hospital. Donors who are recovered and are attending only physiotherapy appointments for ongoing rehabilitation can be accepted.
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