NIH declares blood donations safe from COVID-19; less than 0.001% chance of transmission

New research by the National Institutes of Health has confirmed the safety of blood donation and transfusions from COVID-19. NIH concluded that transfusions’ likelihood of infection transmission is a little over 1 in 100,000, or 0.001%. Based on its findings, NIH said that current blood donor screening guidelines, including those used by the Food and Drug Administration, that do not require blood testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus are safe and pose no threat to the U.S. blood supply. Current guidelines require donor screenings of physical symptoms of COVID-19 that occurred within 14 days of donation, and blood of donors with recent or who develop COVID-19 infections cannot be used.