I was listening to the American military radio here in Korea and they invited soldiers to donate blood with some exceptions:
- if you’ve been shorter than 30 days in Korea
- if you got a tatoo in the last 6 months
- if you lived in Europe for more than 5 years
I really wonder what could have happened to someone who lived in Europe for more than 5 years which triggered this particular exception.
I am not allowed to give blood, because i once got a blood transfusion in the eighties and i have a tiny, tiny risk of infecting people with mad cow disease. I only found out when i decided to give blood some years back and found out i am not allowed to.
And to clarify; i live in Europe
Same. Weirdly they used to take my blood then decided that it wasn’t OK any more. Didn’t know that it was a change in policy because of mad cow.
I can’t donate blood because my grandma died from prions. I probably have a much, much higher chance of spreading it than you, and mine is still probably extremely low.
I’m very sorry, it must have been shocking news for you and your family.