Where you have been, and what you have been exposed to, can temporarily affect your ability to donate safely. Some infections linked to travel or contact take time to show up in tests.

Travel to malaria‑endemic or high‑risk areas

If you travel to or live in areas where malaria is common:

·       You may be asked to wait 3 months or more after leaving an endemic area if you live in a non‑endemic area.

·       If you had malaria yourself, treated and recovered, some systems require a 3‑month or longer wait (or even several years, depending on policy).

·       People born or living long‑term in some high‑risk regions may have special rules.

Reason:

·       Malaria parasites can hide in the blood and sometimes escape early tests. Deferral reduces the chance of passing malaria to patients.

Other travel‑related infections

Some areas of the world have higher risks of:

·       Viral infections like West Nile virus, Zika, or other emerging infections.

·       Food‑ or water‑borne outbreaks causing severe gastroenteritis.

Blood services may introduce temporary deferrals if you visited a region with an outbreak. This information is usually updated regularly in national guidelines.

High‑risk exposures and contacts

You may also be deferred for a period (often around 12 months) if you:

·       Lived with or had close contact with someone diagnosed with hepatitis B or C.

·       Had a needlestick injury or direct contact with another person’s blood.

·       Received post‑exposure prophylaxis (e.g., hepatitis B immune globulin) after potential exposure.

For each of these, staff will ask:

·       What exactly happened?

·       When did it happen?

·       What follow‑up testing or treatment did you receive?

They will use this to decide how long you must wait before it is safe to donate.

Being honest about travel and exposure

Some donors feel tempted to hide travel or exposure details to avoid being deferred, especially if they travelled for work or religious reasons. It is essential to stress:

·       Your honesty in answering these questions can literally save patients from life‑threatening infections.

·       Deferral due to travel or exposure is temporary; you will likely be welcome back later.

Using RedLife, you can log travel dates and get reminders for when you will be eligible again.