# HIV risk factors (needle use) — can I give blood? (Vitalant (US))

For HIV risk factors (needle use), waiting period is 3 months; condition is use of needles to inject drugs, steroids or anything not prescribed by your doctor in the past 3 months; outcome is temporary deferral; blood service is Vitalant (US), recorded from its source on 2026-08-13.

- **Criterion:** HIV risk factors (needle use) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Blood service:** Vitalant (US) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Waiting period:** 3 months _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Condition:** use of needles to inject drugs, steroids or anything not prescribed by your doctor in the past 3 months _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Outcome:** temporary deferral _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> Use of needles to inject drugs, steroids or anything not prescribed by your doctor in the past 3 months.

## Source

- https://www.vitalant.org/eligibility

Last verified: 2026-08-13. Review by: 2027-02-09.
Part of [Blood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services](https://referencesource.org/blood-donor-deferral-criteria/).