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Eligibility to Donate Blood and Platelets

Whether you can donate blood or platelets depends on your health, medicines, travel, vaccines, and other safety factors. 

Nurses taking man's blood

Every blood and platelet donation can help patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

Most healthy adults who are at least 18 years old and weigh 110 pounds or more may be able to donate blood and/or platelets.

Before scheduling a donation, review our eligibility requirements to learn who can donate and what may affect your ability to give blood safely.

Make an appointment to donate blood

At our Blood Donor Center, we check your health, medicines, and recent travel to see if you can donate. We also ask about your health history and do a simple health check. 

Sometimes a person cannot donate. This is called a deferral. Some deferrals last for a short time. Others are permanent. 

Common reasons for eligibility or deferral

Medical conditions

Condition When you can donate
HIV/AIDS - or people at high risk for AIDS and their partners Cannot donate
Cold or flu Wait until symptoms are gone for 48 hours
Hepatitis after age 11 Cannot donate
Pregnant or after delivery, miscarriage, or abortion Wait 6 weeks
Surgery (without transfusion) Wait 4 weeks 

Medicines

Condition When you can donate
Antibiotics Call the Blood Donor Center
Aspirin Wait 48 hours before donating platelets
All other medicines Call the Blood Donor Center

Note: You can still donate if you are taking certain common, over-the-counter medicines that are not prescribed by a doctor, such as: 

  • Allergy and blood pressure medicines 
  • Vitamins 
  • Diet pills 
  • Sleeping pills 
  • Ibuprofen 
  • Tylenol® 

Contact the Blood Donor Center if you are unsure about any medicines you are taking. 

Procedures

Procedure When you can donate
Ear piercing Donate right away if ear was pierced at a licensed facility. Otherwise, wait 3 months.
Tattoo Donate right away if tattoo was done at a licensed facility. Otherwise, wait 3 months.
Major dental work  Wait 72 hours
Teeth cleaning Wait 24 hours

Travel

Travel area When you can donate
Areas where malaria is common  Wait 3 months

Vaccines

Vaccine When you can donate
Hepatitis B vaccine (routine protection) Wait 2 weeks
Hepatitis B vaccine after exposure Wait 1 year
Measles, Mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine Wait 4 weeks
T-Dap vaccine Donate the same day
All other vaccines Call the Blood Donor Center 

Note: You can donate blood on the same day that you get a flu shot (vaccination) or a Gardasil (HPV) vaccination.

Contact the Blood Donor Center

Blood Donor Center
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678

 

Learn more