Can You Give Blood If You Smoke?

You can still give blood even if you smoke, drink, or use cannabis regularly. A few things might disqualify you, like certain medications or underlying conditions.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), nearly 5 million Americans receive blood transfusions each year.

There are many reasons why someone could need a blood transfusion, such as:

• a severe accident or injury
• surgery
• diseases or conditions such as anemia and hemophilia

The blood that’s used for this important procedure is collected through the process of blood donation. Donating blood is a great way to help someone who’s in need of a blood transfusion.

When you donate blood, you’ll need to answer some questions about your health, lifestyle, and travel history to determine your eligibility.

Does smoking disqualify you from donating blood? Read on to learn more.

If you use cannabis

Smoking cannabis doesn’t disqualify you from giving blood. However, the clinic is likely to turn you away if you show up to your appointment visibly high.

In a statement to Healthline, the American Red Cross said: “While the Red Cross does not encourage the use of controlled substances, marijuana, cigarettes or alcohol use does not necessarily disqualify a person from giving blood. Potential donors cannot give while under the influence of licit or illicit drugs or alcohol. Legal or illegal use of marijuana is not otherwise a cause of deferral.”

If you use nicotine

Smoking cigarettes in and of itself doesn’t disqualify you from donating blood.

If you smoke and want to donate blood, plan to refrain from smoking on the day of your appointment — both before your appointment and for three hours afterward.

Smoking before your appointment can lead to an increase in blood pressure. This may disqualify you from donating. Smoking afterward may lead to dizziness.

General disqualifiers

In the United States, possible disqualifiers can include, but aren’t limited to:

• using illicit injection drugs
• using injection drugs not prescribed by your doctor, such as steroids
• feeling sick or having an acute infection on or before the day of your appointment
• being pregnant or having given birth within the past six weeks
• receiving a tattoo or piercing within the past year
• getting a blood transfusion or an organ transplant in the past year
• having HIV or testing positive for hepatitis B or C
• having had leukemia, lymphoma, or other cancers of the blood
• having had the Ebola virus
• having an inherited blood clotting disorder
• being a man who’s had sexual contact with other men within the past three months

It’s important to discuss these things when you arrive at the clinic to determine if any of them apply to you.

Medications

Using certain medications may temporarily disqualify you from donating blood. They include:

• acitretin, a drug used for severe psoriasis
• blood thinners, such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) and heparin
• dutasteride (Avodart, Jalyn), which is used for enlarged prostate
• isotretinoin (Amnesteem, Claravis), an acne drug
• teriflunomide (Aubagio), which is used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS)

Depending on the medication, you may have to wait anywhere from two days to three years after your last dose until you’re eligible to donate blood again.

In rare cases, having used certain medications will permanently disqualify you from donating blood. This includes human pituitary-derived growth hormone and the psoriasis drug etretinate (Tegison), both of which are now banned in the United States.

Travel history

Your travel history can also determine whether you’re eligible to donate blood. You may be subject to a waiting period if you’ve recently traveled to a country with a high risk of malaria, such as Brazil, India, or parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

You may not be eligible to donate if you’ve spent an extended amount of time in places where variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is found, such as many countries in Europe. vCJD is a rare condition more commonly known as “mad cow disease.”

Having previously received a blood transfusion in France or the United Kingdom, both areas where vCJD is found, would also make you ineligible to donate.

Conditions caused by smoking that could disqualify you

Even though smoking doesn’t disqualify you from donating blood, it can eventually lead to conditions that can be disqualifiers for blood donation. These can include:

• Cancers. You can’t donate if you’re currently being treated for cancer or if you’ve had leukemia or lymphoma. People who’ve had other types of cancer may need to wait one year after successful treatment.
• High blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high at the time of donation, you may not be able to donate.
• Heart and lung disease. If you’re actively having symptoms of a heart or lung condition, you’re not eligible for donation. Additionally, if you’ve had a heart attack or stroke, you may need to wait up to six months before donating.

Blood bank testing

After donation, several mandatory laboratory tests are performed on the blood before it’s banked. They include:

• blood and Rh typing
• testing for infections, including:
  • HIV
  • human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)
  • hepatitis B and C
  • syphilis
  • West Nile virus
  • Chagas disease

T cells, which can cause a reaction during a transfusion, are also removed from the blood.

Blood banks don’t test for the presence of nicotine, tobacco, or marijuana.

Reasons to quit smoking

Smoking doesn’t prevent you from giving blood, but it’s still a good idea to try to quit.

Consider these reasons to quit smoking and check out these apps for help:

• You’ll lower your chance of developing heart disease, lung disease, cancer, and other conditions that can result from smoking.
• You’ll remove the risk of exposing your friends and loved ones to secondhand smoke.
• You’ll cough less and be able to breathe easier.
• You’ll no longer have the smell of smoke on your clothing, as well as in your car and home.
• You’ll be able to save more money since you won’t be buying cigarettes.

Authored by Natalie Silver

Edited by Aline (Ren) Dias

Copy Edited by Stassi Myer – CE

Medically Reviewed by Kelly Wood, MD

References

https://www.healthline.com/health/donate-blood-smoking