A Donor Story: Keith

Keith Roe was finally able to donate blood for the first time last year after being deferred from donating blood in the U.S. “I was born and raised in Ireland and due to the concerns for BSE (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, or mad wow disease) and the possibility of it transferring to humans as CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) I was originally not allowed to donate here,” says Keith.

Rules around blood donation are constantly changing as new data becomes available to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Mayo Clinic. After one deferral, many potential donors assume they will never be able to donate and stop checking.
Fortunately for our patients, Keith kept checking. “I am a nurse practitioner, so I see the need for blood products all of the time. It is just very much in the peripheries of my day-to-day life,” explains Keith. Days after Keith learned the FDA removed the last blood donor rules for those who traveled or resided in the United Kingdom, France, or Ireland, he was able to set an appointment and make his first blood donation. “It was super, super easy. I walked in and they just had a few questions. They checked my temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and hemoglobin. I was only there for about 40 minutes, and that included the actual donation,” says Keith.

The FDA has changed several rules regarding blood donation in recent years. If you have questions regarding your eligibility to donate blood, please contact the Mayo Clinic Blood Donor Program to learn if you are eligible to donate blood.