Irish Blood Transfusion reverses 15-year-long UK donor deferral policy

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has reversed a 15-year-long donor deferral policy for people who have lived in Britain because the transfusion transmission risk of a human form of a disease commonly known as 'Mad Cow Disease" is now considered to be remote.

The first case of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), the human form of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was reported in Britain in 1996 and in November 2004 the IBTS introduced a permanent deferral for a one-year residency in Britain between January 1980 and December 1996