Q: Can I donate blood if I have TB in past
A: True a person with TB cannot donate blood. However, TB is not an incurable disease. If a person is treated for TB and the same is confirmed by tests the person can donate blood in India today. However, most blood banks would like to have a gap of 1 year during which the person is symptom free before collecting blood.
Q.For how long after consuming alcohol can someone not donate blood?
A: The Drug controller and the NACO guidelines say that the person must not be under the influence of alcohol. This is ambiguous requirement and therefore the interpretation varies from blood bank to blood bank. The quantity and type of alcohol does matter because that decides the duration for which the person will be under the influence of alcohol. Influence of alcohol could also be interpreted as the presence of alcohol in the blood stream.
At a rule of thumb, the person must not have had alcoholic drinks of any kind in last 12 hours at least. Less then 12 hours is a sure deferral. If the person had alcohol before 72 hours, then whatever the nature of the spirit and whatever the quantity, the person is fit to donate. In the interim duration i.e. 12-72 hours post taking alcohol, if the
Medical Officer who is examining is the person is convinced on visual inspection that the person is not under the influence of alcohol and is fit to donate, the blood bank proceeds to take blood.
A big thanks to Dr Shivaram, Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore for answering these queries.