Some information on the former post was incorrect – here are the corrected sections.
The Red Cross Ban leaves the FDA and the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) looking a little isolated, what with Canada, Australia the UK and now the biggest single blood donation organization in the US, all turning their thumbs down on the prospects of people with CFS giving blood. The Red Cross cited the AABB’s ‘active’ discouragement of people with CFS giving blood by asking people with CFS who are not ‘feeling well’ that day not to give blood but went further, stating that ‘in the interest of patient and donor safety” they will ‘indefinitely defer’ anybody who has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.
However the Red Cross will not specifically ask people if they have CFS; instead, if during the general health questioning, if the donor volunteers that they have CFS, they will not be allowed to give blood (thanks to Jennie Spotila for the clarification). No group in the US has taken the apparently extreme step of actually asking their blood donors if they have been diagnosed with CFS.