One of the questions that has spread the most among society after the approval of the different vaccines against Covid-19 is if you can donate blood once we have already been inoculated. And the answer is the following: yes, but with its nuances.
The Red Cross states on its website that a person who has been vaccinated can donate blood and plasma, but “if you have any side effects such as fever or general malaise, you must wait 15 days.”
However, the American Red Cross elaborates its answer more, and in it says that we can donate without having to wait if the vaccine is mRNA (Pfizer/ BionTech Y Modern), but advises waiting two weeks if the vaccine is from non-replicating vectors (AstraZeneca Y Johnson & Johnson), and wait four weeks if we have been inoculated, but we do not know if it is an inactivated, RNA or live attenuated vaccine.
To better familiarize ourselves with the concepts, the live attenuated vaccine is one that uses a weakened portion of the disease-causing germ, and the inactivated vaccine is one that uses the dead version of the germ.
On the other hand, the Blood Bank of Navarra advises different deadlines to those of the Red Cross: if we have been vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna, for now they suggest waiting a week after obtaining the second dose. For the attenuated virus vaccines and AstraZeneca, it is recommended to donate blood one month after the first dose or one month after the second dose.
Can I donate blood if I have passed the Covid-19?
Indeed, a person who has contracted the disease and has already overcome it, or someone who has been in contact with an infected person can donate blood, but must wait 28 days after full recovery.
Plasma donation
Beyond blood, another aspect that the Red Cross demands the most is plasma donation. One of the processes that are being developed to combat Covid-19, apart from vaccines, is the donation of plasma from people who have overcome the disease, so that they can help those who become infected in the future.
This procedure is carried out by hyperimmune plasma transfusion, which is obtained from those people who have overcome the infection. This type of transfusion allows faster immunization in infected individuals, in such a way as to shorten the disease or reduce symptoms, so that it would have to be administered in the first days of evolution.
In summary, we can donate blood if we have been vaccinated, but we must wait if we have any type of symptoms reactive to the vaccine or comply with the detailed deadlines according to the type of vaccine we have received.
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