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FACT BRIEF

Does the American Red Cross accept plasma donations from people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19?

By Beatrice Dupuy
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YES

The American Red Cross accepts blood and plasma donations from those who received COVID-19 vaccines.

The Red Cross is working to implement new Food and Drug Administration guidance on the impact of vaccination on “convalescent plasma,” which is collected from people who recovered from COVID-19 and used to treat current patients. Social media posts are misstating this guidance and falsely claiming that vaccinated people can’t donate plasma in general.

A Red Cross program that collected convalescent plasma ended on March 26, after the FDA updated guidance to ensure that donations from vaccinated people would contain the antibodies needed for the plasma to be useful.

“We are evaluating the feasibility and timeline to implement this complex update,” the Red Cross says.

Blood donated through the Red Cross is tested for COVID-19 antibodies in case it can be used for convalescent plasma.

See a full discussion of this at The Associated Press
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Food and Drug Administration Investigational COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma
American Red Cross Blood Services What to know about the Coronavirus and Blood Donation
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
The Associated Press
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.