3.13: Prion-associated diseases including sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and variant CJD (vCJD)

Individuals who are identified as having an increased risk of developing a prion-associated disease must be permanently excluded from donation. This includes:

• individuals who have received human pituitary-derived hormones
• patients who have received grafts of human dura mater or cornea, sclera or other ocular tissue
• persons identified as being members of a family at risk of inherited prion diseases
• persons who are known to have received an allogeneic tissue or blood transfusion since 1980 (for these purposes, a transfusion is defined as any product containing red cells, platelets, granulocytes, fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate-depleted plasma, buffy coat preparations and intravenous or subcutaneous human normal immunoglobulin and includes mothers whose babies have required intrauterine transfusion)
• persons who have been told that they have been put at increased risk from surgery, transfusion or transplant of tissues or organs
• persons who have been told that they may be at increased risk because a recipient of their blood or tissues has developed a prion-related disorder

The current edition of the JPAC Donor Selection Guidelines¹ provides detailed advice and should be consulted.