Most medications do not stop you from donating blood. Antidepressants, birth control, blood pressure medication, statins, and most everyday prescriptions are all fine. A relatively short list causes a waiting period after your last dose, and a very short list causes a permanent deferral. Two things people get wrong constantly: blood thinners only mean a short wait rather than disqualification, and acitretin is a three-year deferral rather than a lifetime one. Here is the current list.
Medications That Permanently Defer You
The permanent list is short:
Etretinate (Tegison), an older psoriasis drug. Any HIV treatment or antiretroviral therapy. Experimental medication, as judged by the blood centre’s medical director. Separately, and handled in the general health history rather than the medication list, human pituitary-derived growth hormone (used in the US between 1958 and 1985, though modern recombinant growth hormone is fine) and bovine insulin sourced from the UK, both because of concerns about CJD.
Medications With a Waiting Period
Waiting periods run from your last dose, not from when you were prescribed the drug.
| Wait | Medications |
|---|---|
| 2 days | Piroxicam (Feldene); apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban, dabigatran, fondaparinux, enoxaparin, dalteparin |
| 3 days | Prasugrel |
| 7 days | Ticagrelor, warfarin, heparin and low molecular weight heparin |
| 14 days | Clopidogrel, ticlopidine |
| 1 month | Isotretinoin (Accutane), finasteride (Propecia, Proscar), thalidomide, lenalidomide, vorapaxar, upadacitinib |
| 6 weeks | Mycophenolate mofetil |
| 3 months | Hepatitis B immune globulin, oral PrEP or PEP (Truvada, Descovy) |
| 6 months | Dutasteride (Avodart, Jalyn) |
| 2 years | Injectable PrEP (Apretude, Yeztugo), vismodegib, sonidegib, teriflunomide, leflunomide |
| 3 years | Acitretin (Soriatane) |
Two corrections worth stating plainly, because a lot of published lists get them wrong. Acitretin is a three-year deferral, not permanent. And blood thinners are a short temporary deferral, typically two to fourteen days, not a disqualification.
What Does Not Stop You From Donating
Antidepressants. No deferral.
Birth control, hormonal contraception, and hormone replacement therapy. No deferral.
Statins and blood pressure medication. No deferral. Your blood pressure does need to read below 180 systolic and below 100 diastolic at the chair, but taking medication for it is not a problem.
Antibiotics. This one is misunderstood. It is the infection that defers you, not the antibiotic. Once the infection has resolved, you feel well, and it has been at least 24 hours since your last dose, you can generally donate. Antibiotics taken preventively, for acne or dental work for instance, usually do not defer you at all.
Aspirin: It Depends What You Are Donating
Aspirin causes no deferral for whole blood. You can take it and donate the same day.
It matters for apheresis platelet donation, where you need to wait two full days after your last dose. Aspirin inactivates platelet function, so the platelets collected would not work properly. The same logic applies to the antiplatelet drugs in the table above, and it is why someone deferred from donating platelets can often still donate whole blood or red cells. If you are told you cannot donate platelets, ask whether whole blood is still an option.
What Changed in 2023
The FDA finalised guidance in May 2023 moving to individual donor assessment, which removed the time-based deferral that had applied specifically to men who have sex with men. All donors now answer the same gender-neutral questions about new or multiple sexual partners in the previous three months.
PrEP and PEP still carry a deferral, and the reason is technical rather than about risk: these medications can suppress the markers that HIV screening tests look for, which could allow an infection to go undetected. That is why the deferral exists even though PrEP is a preventive medication.
How to Check Your Own Situation
Blood centres work from the AABB Medication Deferral List, but individual centres may apply stricter rules, and the final decision is always made at the donation site during screening.
Before travelling to donate, check the Red Cross eligibility criteria at redcrossblood.org or call Donor Client Support at 1-866-236-3276. Bring a list of your medications to the appointment.
One thing not to do: never stop a prescribed medication in order to donate blood. If a medication defers you, that is the system working as intended.
Blood Donation Medication FAQs
What medications permanently stop you from donating blood?
Etretinate (Tegison), HIV antiretroviral therapy, and experimental medications. Human pituitary-derived growth hormone used before 1985 and UK-sourced bovine insulin also permanently defer, handled through the health history questions.
Can I donate blood on blood thinners?
Usually yes, after a short wait. Most direct oral anticoagulants require two days from the last dose, warfarin and heparin seven days, and clopidogrel fourteen. It is a waiting period, not a disqualification.
Does Accutane stop me donating blood?
Temporarily. Isotretinoin requires a one-month wait after your last dose. Acitretin (Soriatane), a related drug, requires three years.
Can I donate blood if I take antidepressants?
Yes. Antidepressants do not defer you, and neither do birth control, hormone replacement therapy, statins, or blood pressure medication.
Can I donate after taking antibiotics?
Generally yes, once the infection has cleared, you feel well, and at least 24 hours have passed since your last dose. The infection is what defers you, not the antibiotic itself.
Does aspirin stop me donating?
Not for whole blood. For apheresis platelet donation you need to wait two full days after your last dose, because aspirin stops platelets working properly.
