§ 640.63 - Suitability of donor.

Link to an amendment published at 80 FR 29905, May 22, 2015.

(a) Method of determining. The suitability of a donor for Source Plasma shall be determined by a qualified licensed physician or by persons under his supervision and trained in determining donor suitability. Such determination shall be made on the day of collection from the donor by means of a medical history, tests, and such physical examination as appears necessary to the qualified licensed physician.

(b) Initial medical examinations. (1) Each donor shall be examined by a qualified licensed physician on the day of the first donation or no more than 1 week before the first donation and at subsequent intervals of no longer than 1 year.

(2)(i) A donor who is to be immunized for the production of high-titer plasma shall be examined by a qualified licensed physician. The medical examination shall be performed within no more than 1 week before the first immunization injection. The medical examination for plasmapheresis need not be repeated, if the first donation occurs within 3 weeks after the first injection.

(ii) A donor who is an active participant in a plasmapheresis program, and has been examined in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of this section, need not be reexamined before immunization for the production of high-titer plasma.

(3) Each donor shall be certified to be in good health by the examining physician. The certification of good health shall be on a form supplied by the licensed establishment and shall indicate that the certification applies to the suitability of the individual to be a plasmapheresis donor and, when applicable, an immunized donor.

(c) Qualification of donor. Donors shall be in good health on the day of donation, as indicated in part by:

(1) Normal temperature;

(2) Demonstration that systolic and diastolic blood pressures are within normal limits, unless the examining physician is satisfied that an individual with blood pressures outside these limits is an otherwise qualified donor under the provisions of this section;

(3) A blood hemoglobin level of no less than 12.5 grams of hemoglobin per 100 milliliters of blood or a hematocrit level of 38 percent;

(4) A normal pulse rate;

(5) A total serum or total plasma protein of no less than 6.0 grams per 100 milliliters of blood;

(6) Weight, which shall be at least 110 pounds;

(7) Freedom from acute respiratory diseases;

(8) Freedom from any infectious skin disease at the site of phlebotomy and from any such disease generalized to such an extent as to create a risk of contamination of the plasma;

(9) Freedom from any disease, other than malaria, transmissible by blood transfusion, insofar as can be determined by history and examinations indicated in this section;

(10) Freedom of the arms and forearms from skin punctures or scars indicative of addiction to self-injected narcotics;

(11) Freedom from a history of viral hepatitis after the 11th birthday;

(12) Freedom from a history of close contact within 12 months of donation with an individual having viral hepatitis;

(13) Freedom from a history of having received, within 12 months, human blood or any derivative of human blood which the Food and Drug Administration has advised the blood establishment is a possible source of viral hepatitis, except for specific immunization performed in accordance with § 640.66.

(d) General. Any donor who, in the opinion of the interviewer, appears to be under the influence of any drug, alcohol, or for any reason does not appear to be providing reliable answers to medical history questions, shall not be considered a suitable donor.

(e) Failure to return red blood cells. Any donor who has not had the red blood cells returned from a unit of blood collected during a plasmapheresis procedure or who has been a donor of a unit of whole blood shall not be subjected to plasmapheresis for a period of 8 weeks, unless:

(1) The donor has been examined by a qualified licensed physician and certified by the physician to be acceptable for further plasmapheresis before expiration of the 8-week period;

(2) The donor possesses an antibody that is (i) transitory, (ii) of a highly unusual or infrequent specificity, or (iii) of an unusually high titer; and

(3) The special characteristics of the antibody and the need for plasmapheresing the donor are documented.

Effective Date Note:

At 80 FR 29905, May 22, 2015, § 640.63 was removed, effective May 23, 2016.