What medications disqualify you from donating blood/plasma?
Taking certain medications may exclude you from donating blood, platelets or plasma. Be sure to list all medications that you take before giving blood. Talk with your health care provider before starting or stopping any medications.
If you are taking antibiotics, then you will need to wait for 24 hours after your last dose before you can donate blood.
The following tables list common medications that may prevent you from donating, at least temporarily.
Antiplatelet drugs
Antiplatelet drugs affect how platelets work. They can be prescribed to help prevent strokes or heart attacks. If you take any of these, you may not be eligible to donate platelets for a certain time period. You may still be able to donate whole blood.
| Drug name(s) | Do not donate if the drug was taken in the last… |
| Effient (prasugrel) | 7 days |
| Brilinta (ticagrelor) | 7 days |
| Plavix (clopidogrel) | 14 days |
| Ticlid (ticlopidine) | 14 days |
| Zontivity (vorapaxar) | 14 days |
| Feldene (piroxicam) | 2 days |
Anticoagulants
Anticoagulants, or blood thinners, prevent blood from clotting. If you take these drugs and donate blood, you may experience excessive bleeding and bruising. These drugs are used to treat or prevent blood clots and prevent strokes.
| Drug name(s) | Do not donate if the drug was taken in the last… |
| Xarelto (rivaroxaban) | 2 days |
| Fragmin (dalteparin) | 2 days |
| Lovenox (enoxaparin) | 2 days |
| Pradaxa (dabigatran) | 2 days |
| Eliquis (apixaban) | 2 days |
| Savaysa (edoxaban) | 2 days |
| Coumadin, Jantoven, Warfilone (warfarin) | 7 days |
| Heparin | 7 days |
| Arixtra (fondaparinux) | 7 days |
Related questions
- How long do I have to take Brilinta after a stent or heart attack?
- What foods should I eat or avoid when taking Brilinta?
- Can you drink alcohol while taking Brilinta?
Drugs that can harm an unborn baby
Drugs that can harm an unborn baby (fetus) belong to different classes of medications and treat different health issues.
- Isotretinoin products treat acne.
- Finasteride, dutasteride and tamsulosin treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
- Finasteride products also treat hair loss.
- Vismodegib and sonidegib are used for basal cell skin cancer.
- Teriflunomide treats relapsing multiple sclerosis.
- Thalomid is used for multiple myeloma.
- Mycophenolate mofetil is used to prevent organ rejection in transplants.
- Acitretin is a treatment for psoriasis.
| Drug name(s) | Do not donate if the drug was taken in the last… |
| Amnesteem, Absorica, Claravis, Myorisan, Zenatane (isotretinoin) | 1 month |
| Propecia, Proscar (finasteride) | 1 month |
| Avodart (dutasteride) | 6 months |
| Jalyn (dutasteride and tamsulosin) | 6 months |
| Erivedge (vismodegib) | 2 years |
| Aubagio (teriflunomide) | 2 years |
| Odomzo (sonidegib) | 20 to 24 months |
| Thalomid (thalidomide) | 1 month |
| Cellcept (mycophenolate mofetil) | 6 weeks |
| Soriatane (acitretin) | 3 years |
Other considerations
You must also wait a year to donate blood if:
- You’ve been exposed to hepatitis B or received hepatitis B immune globulin, or
- You’ve taken experimental medications or vaccines as part of a clinical trial
The following drugs are no longer available in the United States. If you’ve taken them in the past, you can never donate blood:
- Growth hormone from human pituitary gland
- Insulin from cows (known as bovine insulin) that came from the United Kingdom
References
- American Red Cross Biomedical Services. Medication Deferral List. Available at: https://www.redcrossblood.org/content/dam/redcrossblood/missing-documents/3468_Medication-Deferral-List.pdf. [Accessed February 1, 2022].
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Medications That May Delay Your Donation. 2022. Available at: https://www.mskcc.org/about/get-involved/donating-blood/medications. [Accessed February 1, 2022].
- U.S. National Library of Medicine DailyMed. Thalomid (thalidomide capsule). March 11, 2021. Available at: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/getFile.cfm?setid=2eda833b-1357-4ed4-a093-194524fcb061&type=pdf. [Accessed February 1, 2022].
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Odomzo (sonidegib) capsules, for oral use. July 2015. Available at: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2015/205266Orig1s000lbl.pdf. [Accessed February 1, 2022].
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cellcept (mycophenolate mofetil) capsules, for oral use. October 2021. Available at: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2021/050722s045s046,050723s045s046,050758s042s043,050759s050s051lbl.pdf. [Accessed February 1, 2022].
Read next
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If you take Brilinta, do not take extra aspirin or NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen or celecoxib for pain relief unless directed by your doctor. This may increase your risk for serious bleeding. If you need a mild pain reliever, it is usually safe to take acetaminophen (Tylenol) with Brilinta. Check with your doctor first. Continue reading
Is Brilinta a blood thinner or antiplatelet?
Brilinta (generic name: ticagrelor) is an oral antiplatelet prescription tablet for adults that is usually taken twice a day, in the morning and the evening. It is classified as a P2Y12 inhibitor and works by making your platelets less sticky to help prevent blood clots from forming. Continue reading
How long should Brilinta be held/stopped before surgery?
If you are having surgery, your doctor may instruct you to stop taking Brilinta (ticagrelor) 5 days before your procedure. This will help to lower the chance of bleeding. Always follow your doctor’s directions about when to stop or start taking Brilinta again. Continue reading
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