Why Donors are Screened

Why Donors are Screened

Some critics have raised concerns about the questions that Canadian Blood Services asks during the screening process. In their view, the questions:

• Discriminate against people from developing countries
• Are too personal and/or intrusive
• Take too long and should only be asked of first time donors

Donor screening procedures are exclusionary—they exclude people at high risk of diseases transmissible by blood. The criteria Canadian Blood Services uses to determine the eligibility of blood donors are based on scientific knowledge of risk factors.

All screening measures comply with stringent regulatory requirements and keep pace with the accepted standards of blood services wordwide.