Yes, you can donate blood if you smoke marijuana.
Nearly 5 million Americans receive blood transfusions annually, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
There are numerous causes for why someone can require a blood transfusion, including, a grave mishap or injury, surgery, or illnesses or disorders like hemophilia and anemia
Blood donation is the method by which the blood needed for this crucial treatment is obtained.
A fantastic method to assist someone who needs a blood transfusion is to donate blood.
In order to determine your eligibility for blood donation, you will be asked a few questions about your health, way of life, and past travels.
Learn more by reading on.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
✅ You can not be healthy if you inhale smoke into your lungs, no matter what’s in it.
✅ Even though smoking doesn’t stop you from donating blood, you should still make an effort to stop.
✅ By quitting smoking, you’ll lessen your risk of having heart disease, lung disease, cancer, and other disorders.
✅ You won’t run the risk of subjecting your loved ones and friends to secondhand smoke.
✅ You’ll breathe more easily and cough less.
✅ You won’t smell like smoke anymore, either in your home or on your clothes.
✅ Because you won’t be purchasing cigarettes, you’ll be able to save more money.
If you smoke marijuana
You can still donate blood if you smoke marijuana. The clinic might deny your visit, though, if you arrive for it looking obviously high.
The American Red Cross issued the following comment to Healthline: “While the Red Cross does not support the use of restricted substances, usage of marijuana, cigarettes or alcohol does not automatically preclude a person from donating blood. Donors who are under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, whether legal or illegal, are not permitted to donate. Marijuana use, whether legal or illegal, is not an additional reason to delay.
If you use tobacco
You are still eligible to donate blood even if you smoke cigarettes. If you smoke and wish to donate blood, make sure you give up smoking the day of your appointment, as well as for three hours after.
Smoking before a scheduled appointment can raise blood pressure. This can prevent you from making a donation. Afterward, smoking may cause lightheadedness.
General exclusion criteria
Disqualifiers that might apply in the US include but are not restricted to:
- utilizing illegal drugs for injection
- injecting substances that your doctor hasn’t prescribed you, such as steroids
- feeling unwell or having a severe infection on the day of your appointment or earlier
- being or having been pregnant during the previous six weeks
- getting a tattoo or piercing during the previous 12 months.
- undergoing an organ transplant or blood transfusion within the previous year
- testing positive for hepatitis B or C or for HIV
- a history of leukemia, lymphoma, or other blood malignancies
- contracting the Ebola virus
- experiencing a hereditary blood clotting issue
- having had intercourse with another man within the last three months.
When you visit the clinic, it’s crucial to talk about these issues to see if any of them apply to you.
Medications
Your ability to donate blood can be temporarily barred if you use certain drugs. They consist of:
- Acitretin, a medication for treating severe psoriasis
- blood thinners such as heparin and warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
- Dutasteride is used to treat enlarged prostate (Avodart, Jalyn).
- Isotretinoin, an acne medication (Amnesteem, Claravis)
- the multiple sclerosis medication teriflunomide (Aubagio) (MS)Depending on the drug, you might need to wait two days to three years after your last dose before you can give blood again.
Rarely, taking a certain drug will automatically bar you from giving blood. This includes the psoriasis medication etretinate (Tegison), which is currently prohibited in the United States, and human pituitary-derived growth hormone.
Travel background
You may be able to donate blood based on your past travels as well. If you recently visited Brazil, India, some regions of sub-Saharan Africa, or any other nation with a high risk of malaria, you might be required to wait.
If you’ve traveled extensively in regions where variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is prevalent, such as several nations in Europe, you might not be qualified to donate. A rare disorder called vCJD is more frequently referred to as “mad cow disease.”
You would also be ineligible to give if you had previously received a blood transfusion in France or the UK, both of which are home to vCJD.
Smoking-related conditions that could prevent you from applying
Smoking does not automatically prohibit you from blood donation, but it can eventually result in diseases that do. These may consist of:
- Cancers. If you have leukemia, or lymphoma, or are actively receiving treatment for cancer, you cannot donate. After a successful course of therapy, patients with various forms of cancer may need to wait up to a year.
- Blood pressure problems. You might not be able to donate if your blood pressure is too high at the moment.
- Lung and heart conditions. You cannot donate if you are experiencing signs of a heart or lung problem right now. Additionally, you might need to wait up to six months before donating if you’ve had a heart attack or stroke.
Testing at blood banks
The blood is subjected to a number of required laboratory tests after donation before being stored. They consist of:
- Rh typing and blood
- infection tests, such as
- HIV
- Human T-cell Lymphocytic Virus (HTLV)
- Acute hepatitis B and C
- Syphilis
- West Nile disease
- Chagas illness
Additionally, T cells, which can result in an adverse reaction following a transfusion, are eliminated.
The presence of nicotine, tobacco, or marijuana is not tested for in blood banks.