Reference Source

Intravenous Drug Use — can I give blood? (American Red Cross (US))

What is the waiting period for Intravenous Drug Use — can I give blood? (American Red Cross (US))?

For Intravenous Drug Use, waiting period is 3 months; condition is after using needles to inject drugs that were not prescribed by a physician; outcome is temporary deferral; blood service is American Red Cross (US), recorded from its source on 2026-08-06.

Wait 3 months after using needles to inject drugs that were not prescribed by a physician. This requirement is related to concerns about hepatitis and HIV.

redcrossblood.org, retrieved 2026-08-06

3 months
How long you must wait before donating (or the age/weight bound), exactly as this blood service prints it — the passage it comes from is quoted on the record page. National services genuinely disagree on the same criterion; check the service you would donate with.
Sourceredcrossblood.org
Verified
Review by
DatasetBlood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services
Criterion
Intravenous Drug Use
Blood service
American Red Cross (US) our reading
Waiting period
3 months verified
Condition
after using needles to inject drugs that were not prescribed by a physician verified
Outcome
temporary deferral our reading

Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.

Source

Last verified against source: . Due for re-check by . This page as Markdown · OKF bundle · full dataset as JSON.

Can I give blood if…?Find how long you have to wait before donating — and which blood service says so.