# Infections — Blood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services

For Infections, blood service is American Red Cross (US); waiting period is until infection has resolved; condition is wait until finished taking oral antibiotics; wait 10 days after last antibiotic injection; Chagas Disease or Leishmaniasis are permanent exclusion; outcome is temporary deferral, recorded from its source on 2026-08-06.

- **Criterion:** Infections _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Blood service:** American Red Cross (US) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Waiting period:** until infection has resolved
- **Condition:** wait until finished taking oral antibiotics; wait 10 days after last antibiotic injection; Chagas Disease or Leishmaniasis are permanent exclusion _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Outcome:** temporary deferral _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> If you have a fever or an active infection, wait until the infection has resolved completely before donating blood. Wait until finished taking oral antibiotics for an infection (bacterial or viral). Wait 10 days after the last antibiotic injection for an infection. Those who have had infections with Chagas Disease or Leishmaniasis are not eligible to donate.

## Source

- https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical.html

Last verified: 2026-08-06. Review by: 2027-02-02.
Part of [Blood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services](https://referencesource.org/blood-donor-deferral-criteria/).