The GDRI should be used to assist selection of donors giving whole blood, blood components (red cells, platelets, plasma and granulocytes), haemopoietic progenitor cells and tissues for therapeutic use.
Donor selection aims to minimise the risk of transfusion transmitted infections. This includes infectious diseases that a donor might have been exposed to if they have travelled or lived abroad. The GDRI provides guidance on which countries or regions carry a risk of a number of infectious diseases, including malaria, West Nile Virus, Dengue and other arboviruses, Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), and viral haemorrhagic fevers. For T. cruzi, assessment of risk includes whether an individual or their mother was born in an endemic country.
The GDRI is regularly updated to reflect changes in the geographical spread of individual infections. Updates are communicated through the JPAC Change Notification process. Where there is a rapidly emerging geographical disease risk, this can be added to the list of diseases covered by the GDRI.
This list is compiled specifically for risks to the blood and tissue supply in the United Kingdom and may vary from risks or recommendations provided for the protection of the traveller. It is not comprehensive but reflects the diseases which are of the most concern for Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services.
To assess the risk of an individual carrying such infections, look up the countries:
If a risk is shown for that country, look at the relevant entry in the appropriate Donor Selection Guidelines (DSG) for the donation type (e.g. Whole Blood and Components or the relevant Tissue DSG) to assess the individual’s suitability to donate.
See DSG cross-references for the links to the relevant Donor Selection Guidelines topics.
This page was last updated in GDRI Edition 002 Release 52.