[Stating technical requirements and deferral criteria for whole blood donation]

Blood donation is framed by regulations whose finality is to guarantee the safety of blood transfusions and to preserve the health of the donors. Each blood donation is preceded by a medical interview which evaluates the aptitude of the donor to support a 400 to 600 mL collection of blood or its components, and checks the absence of exposure to blood-borne diseases. The criteria of exclusion of blood donation are defined on clinical and epidemiologic arguments. The aim of blood donors selection is consisting in managing the residual infectious risk caused by known pathogens, risk related to the window period due to recent contaminations, the absence of technique of pathogens inactivation available for the cellular blood products, and the risk inherent in any production process. Blood donors selection proved to be the only means of reducing the risk of transmission of an emergent agent by blood transfusion.