An X user sparked a wide debate on social networks, after claiming that He had been denied the opportunity to donate blood to a family member for being Venezuelan. In his defense, he accused the Ministry of Health (Minsal) and the Chilean State of xenophobiaHowever, according to experts, this is not the reason behind the restriction.
“There is a myth that foreigners cannot donate blood because they are foreigners”begins to explain to The Third Sylvana Ortega, medical technologist and head of the blood bank of the University of the Andes Clinic.
The specialist reports that different foreign nationalities, including Venezuelan, are part of a restriction described in the Minsal’s General Technical Standard No. 0212 that “regulates the care and selection of whole blood and apheresis donors, and by which all blood banks in the country must be governed, to ensure safe blood for transfusion use.”
That is to say, Certain people who come from countries with a risk of some disease that can be transmitted through blood transfusion cannot donate in Chile.
Why are there foreigners who cannot donate blood in Chile?
Foreigners coming from a malaria endemic area —a blood-borne disease– what have resided there for more than 6 months will not be able to donate blood in Chilebecause you can be a carrier, without the need to present symptoms.
This is why the Minsal General Technical Standard No. 0212 was established, which, among other things, It typifies certain nationalities, such as Venezuelan or Dominican., so that they cannot donate blood and thus ensure that patients who need this resource are not contaminated by mistake.
And as Ortega explains, “Malaria is a potentially fatal disease.” This is caused by a parasite that is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.
“For the purposes of blood donation, it is important, since Chile is a malaria-free country, because the mosquito vector that transmits the disease is not found in our country.”. Since this vector does not exist, The only way malaria can be transmitted to a Chilean or resident of Chile is through blood, as would occur in a transfusion.
Why are there foreigners who cannot donate blood in Chile?
“As Chile is a malaria-free country, There are no preventive programmes for the disease and no routine tests are carried out for it. The same is true for blood donations: no tests are carried out on donated blood for malaria.”
In this way, Minsal protects blood laboratories and their patients from the disease by not allowing donors to be potential carriers of malaria. For this purpose, a “screening interview is conducted to determine whether you have visited or lived in an endemic area and were at risk of contracting the disease, that is, whether you were exposed to it.”
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Nevertheless, There are nationalities that—due to their background—are simply ruled out as potential donors because they were born in risk areas and/or have resided in the area for more than six months.
“There are patients who are asymptomatic or who may present mild symptoms and who may have the parasite in their blood”adds the medical technologist.
In addition to malaria, there are other diseases that can be transmitted through blood transfusions, such as Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile Fever.
The expert says that foreign donors who come from areas at risk of the above diseases also have a period of exclusion from Chilean laboratories.
“A person can become infected with any disease transmitted through blood if they receive a blood donation from a carrier of one of them, this is not limited exclusively to malaria. “Cases of contagion through this means have been reported all over the world,” explains Ortega.
Why are there foreigners who cannot donate blood in Chile?
And even though blood is screened for certain blood-borne diseases, there is still a latent risk, called the “window period,” which is the time elapsed between when a person is exposed to the infectious agent until laboratory tests are able to detect the infection and determine that the donor is not suitable for a safe donation.
“This is why the selection interview conducted with each blood donor is as important as the tests, as it allows us to determine exposure to any infection and select a safe donation. Donated blood is used from premature newborns to adult patients in critical condition or transplant patients, and its safety must be assured to avoid worsening the condition of these recipient patients,” declares the specialist.
He also adds that currently The Ministry of Health is working on implementing a technique to study malaria in blood donors, taking migration into account, in order to reduce donor exclusion.
Why are there foreigners who cannot donate blood in Chile?
Ortega, head of the blood bank at the University of the Andes Clinic, explains that The general requirements to be able to donate blood in a Chilean laboratory are:
- Be between 17 and 60 years old. Those over 65 years old must have donated blood in the last 12 months. Donors who are 17 years old must be accompanied by their legal guardian, who must complete a consent form and present their identity card.
- Weigh more than 50 kilos.
- Be in good health (without any known illness).
- Not being pregnant.
- Not having had hepatitis after age 12.
- Do not fast.
- Not having consumed alcohol or marijuana in the last 12 hours.
- More than 3 months (for men) and 4 months (for women) must have passed since your last blood donation.
