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| Obligatory | Must not donate if:
- less than 6 months from recovery of symptoms, and
- less than 6 months since the donor was diagnosed with hepatitis A infection following laboratory testing.
| | See if Relevant | Travel |
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| Obligatory | Must not donate if less than 6 months:
- since a current sexual partner has recovered from symptoms of hepatitis A, or
- since a current sexual partner tested positive for hepatitis A RNA, or
- since last sexual contact with a former sexual partner who had hepatitis A.
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| Obligatory | Must not donate if less than 6 months:
- from recovery of the last affected person in the home, or
- since a person sharing a home tested positive for hepatitis A RNA.
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| Obligatory | Known exposure.
Must not donate if:
Less than six months post the last known contact with the affected individual even if vaccine or intramuscular immunoglobulin was given. | | Discretionary | No known exposure:
Accept. | | See if Relevant | Hepatitis B - 4. Immunisation
Travel | | Additional Information | Hepatitis A immunisation is advised before travel to parts of the world where other infections relevant to donating such as malaria are common. The donor should be asked about any relevant travel history.
Hepatitis A immunisation may be combined with Hepatitis B immunisation. | | Reason for change | The deferral period for immunisation post known exposure has been reviewed following guidance from Public Health England. |
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| Additional Information | Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver, usually spread by the faecal -oral route or by sewage-contaminated food and water. It is rare in the UK with most cases occurring in people returning from travel to endemic countries. Household contacts of cases are at risk of infection. It can also be spread sexually. Transfusion-transmitted infection is known to occur.
Hepatitis A usually presents with malaise, fever and abdominal symptoms followed by the onset of jaundice, although some individuals may be asymptomatic. Most people recover after a few weeks but in a small number of cases, infection can lead to more severe liver disease and death. Hepatitis A does not cause long term infection. People who have recovered from hepatitis A have life-long immunity.
Blood services may screen for hepatitis A infection using a test for hepatitis A virus RNA. Donors who are diagnosed with hepatitis A infection following blood donation screening or as part of an outbreak investigation must be deferred for 6 months, even if they do not have any symptoms of the disease. After 6 months, they can return to donate without further testing.
Hepatitis A immunisation is often given before travel to parts of the world which also have a risk of infections such as malaria or tropical viruses. The donor’s travel history should be checked if they have had hepatitis A vaccine.
Hepatitis A immunisation is sometimes given in combination with hepatitis B immunisation. Refer to the Hepatitis B entry if necessary. |
| Reason for change | The entry has been updated to include testing by blood services for hepatitis A virus. The layout has also been reorganised. |
| Donor Information | If you wish to obtain more information regarding a personal medical issue please contact your National Help Line.
Please do not contact this web site for personal medical queries, as we are not in a position to provide individual answers. |