sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Red Cross beginning to screen blood donors for monkeypox
By Megan Molteni Aug. 3, 2022
As monkeypox continues its relentless spread around the globe, organizations in the U.S. are taking steps to safeguard the nation’s blood supply.
In addition to temperature checks that are part of standard health screens for prospective donors, the American Red Cross is now checking for the distinctive lesions that are a hallmark of the disease as part of routine arm examinations. And beginning in October, the Red Cross will require individuals who have been diagnosed with monkeypox or exposed to someone with a monkeypox infection to wait at least 21 days before giving blood.
“This decision is a reasonable response to prevent transmission of the monkeypox virus given scientific uncertainty about whether it is capable of spreading through blood,” Lawrence Gostin, who runs the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown Law, told STAT via email.
more...
https://www.statnews.com/2022/08/03/red-cross-beginning-to-screen-blood-donors-for-monkeypox/
By Megan Molteni Aug. 3, 2022
As monkeypox continues its relentless spread around the globe, organizations in the U.S. are taking steps to safeguard the nation’s blood supply.
In addition to temperature checks that are part of standard health screens for prospective donors, the American Red Cross is now checking for the distinctive lesions that are a hallmark of the disease as part of routine arm examinations. And beginning in October, the Red Cross will require individuals who have been diagnosed with monkeypox or exposed to someone with a monkeypox infection to wait at least 21 days before giving blood.
“This decision is a reasonable response to prevent transmission of the monkeypox virus given scientific uncertainty about whether it is capable of spreading through blood,” Lawrence Gostin, who runs the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown Law, told STAT via email.
more...
https://www.statnews.com/2022/08/03/red-cross-beginning-to-screen-blood-donors-for-monkeypox/