From next Thursday, people who lived in countries affected by the Mad Cow disease outbreak between 1980 and 1996 will be able to donate blood or plasma.
The restriction has been in place since 2000, with people who lived in the United Kingdom, France or Ireland for six months or more during the 16-year period barred from donating blood in New Zealand.
“It has taken some time for us to reach this point, but after more than 20 years, we are thrilled that we can safely remove this restriction and finally welcome this large cohort of new potential donors into our lifesaving whānau,” Sam Cliffe, New Zealand Blood Service chief executive, said in a press release.
Bookings can be made from next Thursday for appointments as soon as that day but the service is asking people to consider making a booking for another time in the next few weeks.
"This will ensure the donation process runs as smoothly as possible for them and avoid overwhelming our donor centres or mobile drives," Cliffe said in the release.
The restriction was a precautionary measure due to the risk of acquiring human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease from blood or plasma transfusions.
vCJD is a fatal condition which is caused by eating meat from a cow with Mad Cow disease, officially known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.
Since 1995, 178 deaths have been attributed to the condition, BBC reported in 2018.
The UK Mad Cow disease outbreak started in the late 1980s. BBC reports it's estimated that 180,000 cattle were affected and 4.4 million cows were killed to try stop the disease.
The New Zealand Blood Service said while an accurate number can't be given, it's estimated up to 10% of donors were lost in New Zealand when the restriction was implemented in 2000.
Last November, it was announced MedSafe had approved a recommendation by NZ Blood to remove the restriction.
NZ Blood clinicians sought advice from infectious disease academics at the Kirby Institute, a research centre at the University of New South Wales.
Research on the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease among New Zealand's blood donor population was conducted by the group for more than a year.
This revealed the risk was negligible and the safety of blood and plasma donations in New Zealand would not be affected by lifting the restriction.
Last November, NZ Blood said it was aiming to welcome affected donors within six to eight weeks, but the change has taken longer to implement. The service says on its website staff have been 'very busy preparing to implement the biggest change to New Zealand’s blood donor eligibility criteria in nearly two decades' with some of the changes including updating computer systems, changing donor processes and training staff.
“This is an exciting time for everyone. Our teams are looking forward to welcoming all new donors into our lifesaving donor community..." chief executive Sam Cliffe said.
The service said donors previously barred are encouraged to check their eligibility by completing a quiz on the NZ Blood website
People who received a blood transfusion in the UK, France or Ireland any time after January 1, 1980 are still restricted from donating in New Zealand.
SHARE ME