December 27, 2010
Blood Will Tell
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

Q. A friend has hemochromatosis, a common genetic disorder that is treated by regular drawing of blood. Can that blood be donated?

A. Hereditary hemochromatosis results in iron overload, “which, if not reduced, can lead to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, congestive heart failure and diabetes,” said Dr. Beth Shaz, chief medical officer of the New York Blood Center.

Blood does not transmit the disorder, but there has been some concern that some patients would conceal other risk factors so they can keep receiving the treatment at blood centers. In 2001, the National Institutes of Health financed a large study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, concluding that “donors with hemochromatosis do not present a greater risk to blood safety than other donors.”

Dr. Shaz says people with hemochromatosis are eligible to donate blood for transfusion if they otherwise meet Food and Drug Administration eligibility requirements and if the blood center has an F.D.A. variance from rules about labeling the blood as coming from a donor with hemochromatosis. The agency also requires that the blood drawing “be at no cost to all persons presenting with this diagnosis, even if they do not meet criteria to be an eligible donor.”

The list of establishments with the variance can be found on the F.D.A.’s Web site. C. CLAIBORNE RAY

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