BLOOD DONATIONS and BLOOD SUPPLY (with Lyme and Co-infections)
Updated: Oct 24
Don't forget how inaccurate Lyme testing can be in people. That's one reason I'm uncertain about how safe the blood supply is. Here is what we know so far about donating blood and the blood supply with Lyme and co-infections.
Short on time or energy? A quick-view graphic with the key points is at the bottom of this post.
BABESIA AND THE BLOOD SUPPLY
-Babesia lives inside red blood cells, so it can spread through blood transfusions. A 2021 review counted more than 250 cases in the US, almost all from Babesia microti.
-In 2019, the FDA recommended year-round testing of donated blood for Babesia in 14 states and Washington, DC: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Blood centers were expected to follow it by 2020.
-The American Red Cross uses a test that looks for the parasite's genetic material (called NAT, short for nucleic acid testing), and has used it alone since May 2018.
-Testing is working. A Red Cross researcher reported that more than 4.3 million donations were screened from May 2020 to December 2022, and about 2 in every 10,000 were flagged positive. In that time, only two transfusion cases were traced to an infected donor, and both donations came from states that don't test (Ohio and West Virginia).
-A 2021 review found the risk of getting Babesia from a transfusion in the US is now low because of routine testing.
-An earlier landmark study, published in 2016, found Babesia in 335 of 89,153 donations tested from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Connecticut and Massachusetts, no transfusion cases came from screened blood, while 14 came from unscreened blood.
Can I donate if I've had Babesia?
-The Red Cross asks people who have had babesiosis or a positive Babesia microti test to wait 24 months after finishing treatment (or 24 months after the positive test if no treatment was needed) before donating. The FDA also asks blood centers to turn away donors who test positive for at least 2 years.
LYME AND THE BLOOD SUPPLY
-Dr. Daniel Cameron shares that Lyme spreading through a blood transfusion has not been confirmed in people. A 2018 review he points to found no reports of transfusion-related Lyme, but said safeguards are still needed at blood centers.
-America's Blood Centers also shares that there is no documented evidence of Lyme spreading through a transfusion.
-Donated blood is not tested for Lyme.
-In a California study of 1,700 donor blood samples collected in 2017, 8 had antibodies to Lyme bacteria and 2 had antibodies to Borrelia miyamotoi, a Lyme cousin. Antibodies show past exposure, not necessarily active infection.
Can I donate if I have Lyme?
-The Red Cross shares that people with Lyme should wait until treatment is finished and they feel well. Anyone taking antibiotics for an infection can't donate.
-America's Blood Centers shares that people who have finished their antibiotics for Lyme can donate, as long as they meet the other usual requirements.
-Talk with your doctor about what's right for you.
BARTONELLA AND THE BLOOD SUPPLY
-AABB, a leading blood banking association, shares that Bartonella henselae added to stored red blood cells could still be grown after 35 days in the refrigerator.
-A 2016 lab study found Bartonella could spread through blood transfusion in mice. In people, it is still considered possible but has not been proven.
-AABB says 2 to 6% of US blood donors have antibodies to Bartonella henselae.
-Donated blood is not tested for Bartonella, and there is no FDA guidance or AABB standard for it. AABB suggests donors wait until symptoms are gone and any treatment is finished.
-In Brazil, a 2023 study found Bartonella henselae DNA in about 1 in 5 of 500 healthy blood donors, and the researchers called for an urgent review of the transfusion risk. Earlier studies of the same donor group found Bartonella in donors who felt healthy, and linked it to contact with cats and tick bites.
RELATED POSTS
Transmission of Lyme, Babesia and Bartonella
Lyme Disease and Co-Infection Testing
SOURCES
America's Blood Centers - Safeguarding the blood supply against tick and mosquito-borne illnesses (November 2024)
American Red Cross - Red Cross blood drive returns to Nantucket, donor eligibility (September 2024)
American Red Cross - Blood testing
International Society of Blood Transfusion - The impact of Babesia testing on transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, American Red Cross (June 2023)
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Comparison of molecular methods for Bartonella henselae detection in blood donors (June 2023)
AABB - Bartonella species fact sheet
Pathogens - Preventing transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, review (September 2021, older source, still worth reading)
PLOS ONE - Lyme and Borrelia miyamotoi antibodies in California blood donors (December 2020, older source, still worth reading)
FDA - Recommendations for reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (May 2019, older source, still worth reading)
Frontiers in Microbiology - Pavia and Plummer, transfusion and Lyme review (September 2018, older source, still worth reading)
Global Lyme Alliance - Tainted transfusions: why screening blood is more important than ever (January 2017, older source, still worth reading)
New England Journal of Medicine - Screening for Babesia microti in the US blood supply (December 2016, older source, still worth reading)
Transfusion - Bartonella henselae transmission by blood transfusion in mice, animal study (2016, older source, still worth reading)
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Risk factors for Bartonella infection in blood donors from Brazil (March 2016, older source, still worth reading)
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Bartonella in blood donors from Brazil (January 2015, older source, still worth reading)
Disclaimer: Rise Above Lyme makes no claims about any possible benefit of using any product mentioned within this site. Always consult with your doctor before adding anything. The information shared is based on personal experience, years of accumulated researched resources from Lyme Literate doctors and polls conducted within Lyme groups from actual patient experience using these solution ideas.
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