I lived in the UK for six months between 1980-96. Can I donate blood?

Yes, you can! There used to be a rule preventing people who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996 from giving blood in Australia, but it was changed on 25 July 2022.

Another rule preventing people who had received a blood transfusion in the UK from 1980 onwards from giving blood was discontinued on 13 November 2023.

These rules were related to the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD, the human form of the bovine condition sometimes known as ‘mad cow disease’). Read more about the UK donation rule change.

Please note that vCJD is different to classical Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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