On the September 2 broadcast of Mayo Clinic Radio, co-hosts Tracy McCray and Tom Shives, M.D., spoke with Justin Kreuter, M.D., Medical Director of Mayo’s Blood Donor Program, about new eligibility guidelines for blood donors with previous cancer diagnoses.
The new eligibility guidelines are as follows:
"We've homogenized ourselves with what the Red Cross is doing, so we looked at this issue of what's the risk?" said Dr. Kreuter. "When we're talking about blood donors, we are concerned obviously about the health of the donor, but we're also very concerned about the health of the recipient."
Dr. Kreuter also discusses the differences between blood donor centers and plasma donor centers, the waiting period between blood donations, and how to donate.
For more information about donating blood in Olmsted County in Rochester, Minnesota, call (507) 284-4475 or email donateblood@mayo.edu. For more information about the Mayo Clinic Blood Donor Center, visit the Blood Donor Center blog, the Blood Donor Center website, and/or like the center on Facebook.
Listen to the Podcast
To listen to the interview, the radio segment featuring Dr. Kreuter begins at 29:55 and runs through 38:13. If you have time, the full show begins with Dr. Carrie Langstraat, a gynecologic oncologist at Mayo Clinic, who discusses treatment options for ovarian cancer and the hopes for improving early detection. Also on the podcast, Dr. Andres Acosta, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, reviews a new, individualized approach to treating obesity through the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine.