Blood donor deferrals by reason U.S. 2023| �ֲ��ýapp��°汾

Number of blood donor deferrals in the United States in 2021 and 2023, by reason (in 1,000s)

Characteristic	2021	2023
Low hemoglobin/hematocrit*	1,028	886
Prescription drug use	91	117
Pulse	140	144
Blood pressure	130	124
High-risk behavior, MSM only**	3	2
High-risk behavior, all other behaviors	9	10
Travel or residence^	27	71
Tattoo/piercing/scarring	13	49
Other non-medical reasons	494	323
Total deferrals	2,010	1,836

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Sources

Release date

August 2025

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2021 and 2023

Method of interview

Online omnibus survey

Supplementary notes

Data is from the National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS).
* Donors deferred for low hemoglobin included those that do not meet the current FDA blood hemoglobin level requirements for blood donation.
** High-risk behavior deferrals include deferrals intended to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases including HIV and hepatitis viruses. Examples of questions intended to identify these risks are sexual contact (men who have sex with men [MSM]) and non-medical injection drug use questions.
^ Travel deferrals are deferrals for travel to a specific region of the world.

Citation formats

In 2023, there were an estimated 1.8 million blood donor deferrals in the United States. The most common reason for donor deferral was low hemoglobin/hematocrit. This graph shows the estimated number of blood donor deferrals in the United States in 2021 and 2023, by reason.