# Intravenous Drug Use — Blood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services

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

- **Criterion:** Intravenous Drug Use
- **Blood service:** American Red Cross (US) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Waiting period:** 3 months _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Condition:** after using needles to inject drugs that were not prescribed by a physician _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Outcome:** temporary deferral _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> 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.

## 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/).