General Principles

The GDRI should be used to assist selection of donors giving whole blood, blood components (red cells, platelets, plasma and granulocytes), haemopoietic progenitor cells and tissues for therapeutic use.

Donor Selection Procedures aim to minimize the risk of transfusion transmitted infection. Travel to; birth/maternal birth or residency in; and in some cases sexual activity with residents of certain countries, is associated with an increased risk of exposure to infections such as malaria, T cruzi, WNV and HIV. These risks may vary over time and new diseases may occur. Where there is a rapidly emerging geographical disease risk (e.g. SARS or Pandemic Flu) these will be communicated via a Change Notification to be used in conjunction with this document.

This list is compiled specifically for risks to the blood and tissue supply in the United Kingdom and may vary from risks or recommendations provided for the protection of the traveller.

To assess the risk of an individual carrying such infections, look up the countries:

• that they have visited
• for which they report sexual contact with a resident or former resident
• in which they were born
• in which their mother was born

If a risk is shown for that country, look at the relevant entry in the appropriate Donor Selection Guidelines (DSG) for the donation type (e.g. Whole Blood & Components or the relevant Tissue DSG) to assess the individual’s suitability to donate.

Table of Donor Selection Guidelines (DSG) cross-references (click on DSG title for navigation to the subject)

Chikungunya Virus	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
Dengue	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
HIV	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
Malaria	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
T Cruzi	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
WNV	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
Viral Haemorrhagic Fever Risk	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG
Zika Virus	TDSG-BM	TDSG-CB	TDSG-DD	TDSG-LD	WB-DSG

This section was last updated in GDRI Edition 002, Release 01