Upper Age Limit for Blood Donors Removed by Canadian Blood Services

[CuriousCanuck]

Just an FYI from your local blood guy (quotes are from the press release)

In late August, Health Canada approved the removal of the upper-age restriction for regular whole blood and apheresis donors. Effective December 1, eligibility will be as follows:

First-time donors until their 61st birthday (no change from current policy).
Donors from their 67th to their 71st birthday must have given in the last two years (no change from current policy).

After their 71st birthday, donors must have given within the last two years and provide an annual medical assessment that is valid for one year from date of acceptance by CBS.

Until December 1, 2005, donors between their 71st and 75th birthday, who have donated within two years of their 71st birthday, are eligible to donate. These donors must also provide an annual medical assessment that is valid for one year, before they are allowed to donate.

This policy change is supported by recent scientific data and approved by Health Canada. CBS has estimated that after five years, this change could result in an additional 8,000 donations collected per year.

I am happy that rules are changing based on scientific data to allow for blood donors to continue to donate. I realize that there are other restrictions some people here may not agree with, but let us please keep them out of this thread. This is good news, so let’s not argue about opinions on other rules.