Infectious disease

This depends on the type of infection that you have been in contact with. You must be in good health to give blood and must not have any symptoms of the infection that you were in contact with.

You can give blood if you have been in contact with a person with a cold, if you are well and do not have any symptoms of a cold. 

You can give blood if you have been in contact with a person with the flu (influenza), if you are well and do not have any symptoms of the flu. 

You can give blood 4 weeks after you have been in contact with a person with: 

-Measles

-Mumps

-Chickenpox

-German measles

If you have not had the infection yourself

You can give blood if you have been in contact with a person with one of these infections if you had the infection yourself in the past

If you have been in contact with a person with one of these infections, and you do not know if you had the infection yourself in the past, you must wait 4 weeks before you can give blood

If you are in any doubt as to whether or not you had the infection in the past, you must wait 4 weeks before you can give blood

You can give blood if you have been in contact with a person with malaria as long as you have not been to a malarial area yourself

If you have been to a malarial area please refer to Travel