How many other veterans and service members are not permitted to donate blood? Why?

I hope that if enough us realize that we can't donate blood because there are no blood tests which confirm that we have or do not have Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) antibodies or the disease, that Congress will take appropriate action and assign a high enough priority with appropriate funding levels to develop the needed blood tests. CPT Bruce Beattie CPL Doug Hill SPC William Weedman, SFC Mark Merino, SGT Anthony Bussing , Sgt (Join to see), TSgt Thomas Monaghan, COL Korey Jackson, Cpl Andrew Tucker, CW3 (Join to see), MSgt Michael Durkee, SGT John Wesley, SFC Jeff Gurchinoff

I used to give blood regularly until I was diagnosed with PTSD and kidney disease. It’s not particularly those symptoms as much as it is for the meds I take for those symptoms. Now that I’ve been diagnosed with Agent Orange, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to donate blood. In 1976, where I worked, I started the first blood drive ever done at that facility, for a friend who’s new born son was born with sickle cell anemia. I was glad to be able to donate knowing it would help more than one person. That facility still has blood drives every year. A few years ago I went to that facility to donate, but was turned down. Can you imagine the irony and hurt when that happened?

I was a haz mat spill clean up specialist for my civilian employer and got infected from blood borne pathogens. On the positive side, I'm immune from further Hep infections.

I was stationed @ HAHN AB GE from 84-88. Cannot give blood. :-(

Mine is due to my heart condition and the fact that I am now on medication to control cholesterol and BP.

Update on March 8, 2018
"DoD Says Troops in Europe Safe From 'Mad Cow' By Gerry J. Gilmore on Jan. 31, 2001
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2001 – By following prudent guidelines, U.S. service members and their families living in Europe should not fear catching the human derivative of the so-called mad cow disease, DoD veterinary officials say.
A traveler's advisory issued by the Centers for Disease Control for U.S. citizens in Europe notes that "the relative risk of becoming infected with BSE is very small, if it exists at all," said Army Col. Scott Severin, deputy director of DoD's Veterinary Service Activity. "BSE" is short for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or what the media and public have dubbed "mad cow disease," he said.
Since March 1996, DoD has not purchased beef from the United Kingdom for commissaries, dining halls, post exchange outlets and authorized vendors to avoid possible customer contact with BSE, he said.

"The beef our service members are eating in the dining facilities comes from the United States," Severin said. "The meats being sold through Army and Air Force Exchange Service through the concessions and shoppettes or through the commissaries are all from the United States or from countries outside of Europe where there's no evidence of BSE."

He said DoD took steps in March 2000 to ban the procurement for sale of European-origin ruminant (beef, veal, mutton and lamb) meat and meat products containing them, for consumption by U.S. service members in Europe. "Additionally, DoD has distributed consumer awareness packets throughout European Command and Central Command areas of operations," he said.

Severin said the CDC's guidance to Americans who eat on the European economy and are concerned about exposure to BSE is to stay away from beef and beef products, if possible. "If you do want to eat beef (off installation), go with solid muscle meats like steak or roasts instead of something ground, like hamburgers or sausages," he said. "There is no risk associated with eating pork, poultry, milk or dairy products."

BSE is one of a group of chronic, degenerative diseases that attack the victim's central nervous system, Severin said. As its name implies, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy affects cattle. The human form is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Sheep spongiform encephalopathy, one of the more prevalent and better known forms, goes by the name scrapie. Spongiform encephalopathies also occur in other animals including goats, elk, mule deer and cats.

The disease was first identified in the United Kingdom in 1986. British and Irish officials ordered thousands of cattle destroyed to prevent its spread, he said. Spongiform encephalopathy can spread when victims ingest or are injected with infected matter or tissues. Severin said experts today blame contaminated animal feed for the British outbreak.

"The British government put feed bans into place that appear to have been effective in reducing the epidemic in the United Kingdom," he said. That epidemic peaked in 1993 and the incidence rate has steadily declined since, although cases still occur, he noted.

Severin said concerns about BSE resurged in 1996 when the first cases of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease appeared in the United Kingdom. There "appeared to be a very strong correlation between eating beef from BSE- infected animals and the occurrence of the variant CJD in humans," he noted.
The European Union banned the export of all British beef products in 1996 in an effort to prevent the spread of BSE to the continent, he said. This action failed to stop the spread of BSE to Europe.
"BSE has shown up on the continent. The most recent countries to have confirmed cases are Spain, Germany and Italy," Severin said.
He said the potential danger to humans from eating infected beef products is real, though remote. CDC has estimated the chances of contracting CJD from eating European beef at "less than one in 10 billion servings."
Both BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases are caused by "prions," short for "proteinaceous infectious particles," according to Web-based research sources. Scientists don't know how or why yet, but prions cause a host's healthy proteins to turn deadly.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is incurable; no serum or vaccine exists, Severin said. Victims usually die within a year, he noted. All cases of variant CJD cases have occurred in the United Kingdom, with the exception of three cases in France and one in Ireland.
In the United States, a recent quarantine of a Texas cattle herd made the headlines, but turned out to be "nondisease- related," Severin said. "There has never been BSE in U.S. beef herds," he said. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture has had an extensive surveillance program looking for BSE in the United States for years. They've never identified a single case of BSE."
{[http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=45103]}

FYI my friends - it appears the rules for donating blood have changed. Only those living or being stationed in the British Isles, of France or Ireland for 5 or more years are restricted based on living or being stationed in Europe.

Based on the American Red Cross from June 30, 2021
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical/eligibility-reference-material.html
It seems that being stationed or being a dependent in Germany, Turkey and other duty stations in Europe [outside of the Great Britain, Ireland and France [for 5 years or more] has been lifted from the prohibition for donating blood lists.

At this time, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:
You are not eligible to donate if
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in any country in the United Kingdom (UK),
Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any of the countries listed below:
France Ireland Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales



FYI MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SSG Franklin Briant SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson Lt Col Charlie Brown Col Carl Whicker SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D SPC Michael Terrell SSgt Marian Mitchell SSgt Kelly D. SPC Nancy Greene

Was in Turkey in 80s and that disqualifies me. Guess there was a huge hepatitis outbreak there then. Not sure why after all these years I'm still not able to donate, but every time I go to a donation site the screener says I still can't donate.

I was stationed in Germany the same time you were. I can't donate because of my meds and heart disease. Now I learn I have a double whammy with having possible "mad cow" disease. I miss being able to donate.

The "accepted" reasons we cannot donate.
http://www.militaryblood.dod.mil/Donors/can_i_donate.aspx
I have a Desert Storm veteran friend who has declassifed documents which prove it is way more than "Mad Cow Disease" which is keeping us from donating indefinitely! I am trying to find out now if he is on Rally Point, and if not, I will invite him to join and join this discussion.
But yes, I was originally told I could not donate for 20 years, then just 6 years ago I was told I would never be allowed to donate again. I too donated on regular basis while in the military and when I got out, until they made that decision, which was around mid 90s?

Agent Orange resulted in Eschemic Heart Disease, which requires that I take three types of blood thinners.