Donor Qualification

Travel

Travelling to certain regions abroad will result in temporary or permanent ineligibility to donate blood. This restriction is based on four criteria:

Permanent ineligibility

If you have had malaria in the past: you cannot give blood or platelets, but you may give plasma if you meet the qualification criteria.

Temporary ineligibility

You must be able to provide the following information at the interview with the employee on a blood drive: the country or countries you have traveled to in the past 3 years as well as the return dates.

If, in the last 3 years, you stayed in any one of the regions where there is a risk of malaria, the duration of your exclusion will depend on the duration of your stay:

Stay of less than 6 months: you are eligible 3 months after the date of return.
Stay of 6 months or more: you are eligible 3 years after the date of return. Should you have any doubts or questions regarding the criterion, contact us.

List of countries where there is a risk of malaria

COUNTRIES	COMMENTS
Afghanistan	Risk in all areas.
Angola	Risk in all areas.
Azerbaïjan	No risk in the city of Baku.
Bangladesh	No risk in the city of Dhaka.
Benin	Risk in all areas.
Bolivia	No risk in the cities of La Paz, Oruro, Potosi, Sucre and Lake Titicaca.
Botswana	No risk in the city of Gabarone.
Brazil	No risk in the following cities, states, resorts and tourist areas: Brasilia, Iguazu falls, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo.
Burkina Faso	Risk in all areas.
Burma (Myanmar)	Risk in all areas.
Burundi	Risk in all areas.
Cambodia	No risk in the city of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and at the temple complex of Angkor Wat.
Cameroon	Risk in all areas.
Central African Republic	Risk in all areas.
Chad	Risk in all areas.
Colombia	No risk in the cities of Bogota, Cartagena, Manizales, Medellin and San Juan de Pasto.
Comoros	Risk in all areas.
Congo	Risk in all areas.
Costa Rica	Risk in the Alajuela province.
Côte d’Ivoire	Risk in all areas.
Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre)	Risk in all areas.
Djibouti	Risk in all areas.
Dominican Republic	Risk in the provinces of Santo Domingo, La Altagracia (including Punta Cana), San Cristobal and San Juan or any other province on the border with Haiti (Dajabón, Elías Piña, Independancia, Monte Cristi, Pedernales).
Ecuador	No risk in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil and on Galapagos Islands.
Equatorial Guinea	Risk in all areas.
Eritrea	No risk in the city of Asmara.
Eswatini (Swaziland)	Risk in all areas.
Ethiopia	no risk in the city of Addis Ababa.
French Guyana	No risk in the city of Cayenne.
Gabon	Risk in all areas.
Gambia	Risk in all areas.
Ghana	Risk in all areas.
Guatemala	No risk in the cities of Antigua, Guatemala and in Atitlan Lake.
Guinea	Risk in all areas.
Guinea-Bissau	Risk in all areas.
Guyana	No risk in the cities of Amsterdam and Georgetown.
Haïti	Risk in all areas.
Honduras	No risk in the cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.
India	Risk in all areas.
Indonesia	No risk in cities of Jakarta and Ubud and resort areas of Java or Bali.
Kenya	Risk in all areas.
North Korea	Risk in all areas.
South Korea	No risk in Seoul city.
Laos (People’s Democratic Republic)	No risk in the city of Vientiane.
Liberia	Risk in all areas.
Madagascar	Risk in all areas.
Malawi	Risk in all areas.
Malaysia	No risk in the cities of Georgetown, Kuala Lumpur andet Penang State (including Penang Island).
Mali	Risk in all areas.
Mauritania	Risk in all areas.
Mexico	Risk in the provinces of Chiapas and Chihuahua.
Mozambique	Risk in all areas.
Myanmar (Burma)	No risk in the cities of Mandalay and Rangoon (Yangon).
Namibia	Risk in all areas.
Nepal	No risk in the city of Katmandou and on typical Himalayan treks.
Nicaragua	Risk in the autonomous regions of North Caribbean Coast and South Caribbean Coast.
Niger	Risk in all areas.
Nigeria	Risk in all areas.
Pakistan	Risk in all areas.
Panama	No risk in the area of the Panama Canal, in the Panama City and in the provinces of Cocle, Herrera, PanamaOeste, Los Santos and San Miguelito.
Papua New Guinea	Risk in all areas.
Peru	No risk in the city of Lima and tourist areas of Cuzco, Machu Picchu or Lake Titicaca and in the cities of Arequipa, Ica, Moquegua, Nazca, Puno and Tacna.
Philippines	No risk in the cities of Cebu, Manila and Quezon.
Rwanda	Risk in all areas.
Sao Tomé and Principe	Risk in all areas.
Saudi Arabia	No risk in the cities of Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Taïf.
Senegal	Risk in all areas.
Sierra Leone	Risk in all areas.
Solomon Islands	Risk in all areas.
Somalia	Risk in all areas.
South Africa	No risk in the cities of Bhisho, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, East London, Johannesbourg, Kimberley, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria.
Sudan	Risk in all areas.
Suriname	No risk in the city of Paramaribo.
Tanzania (United Republic)	Risk in all areas.
Thaïland	No risk in the cities of Bangkok, Chang Mai, Chang Rai, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Phuket and in the islands of Krabi province (Koh Phi Phi, Koh Yao Noi, Koh Yao Yai et Koh Lanta).
Togo	Risk in all areas.
Uganda	Risk in all areas.
Vanuatu	Risk in all areas.
Venezuela	Risk in all areas.
Vietnam	No risk in the cities of Da Nang, Haiphong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Nha Trang, and Qui Nhon and in the Mekong and Red River Deltas.
Yemen	No risk in the city of Sanaa.
Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo)	Risk in all areas.
Zambia	Risk in all areas.
Zimbabwe	Risk in all areas.