| Obligatory | Must not donate if: |
| Discretionary | If more than four weeks from administration of a live immunisation other than smallpox immunisation and the inoculation site has healed, accept. |
| See if Relevant | |
| Additional Information | Live immunisations use living viruses or living bacteria that will stimulate the immune system but do not normally cause a severe illness. They may however cause severe illness in people who are already unwell and have a weakened immune system. By four weeks, any infection caused by the immunisation should have been controlled and so should not be passed on through donated material. There are special rules for BCG and smallpox immunisations. |
| Reason for Change | Advice has been given from SACTTI that a period of four weeks is sufficient to ensure that there would be no circulating virus or bacteria at time of donation for live immunisations other than smallpox. |
This advice is a requirement of the EU Tissue & Cells Directive.
This entry was last updated in
TDSG-BM Edition 203, Release 09