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Here's something that I find particularly confusing. Why isn't MS or any other autoimmune disease listed as an exclusion for donating blood under the Red Cross' Eligibility Guidelines ??? This confuses me because adoptive transfer has been a standard technique in MS research for some time. Take for example the myelin reactive T-cells (MRTCs) that have received so much discussion due to Opexa's Tovaxin therapy under development. The MRTCs (assuming they're not rendered division incompetent as with Tovaxin) can be transferred to a naive individual, usually a lab mouse thankfully, which then goes on to develop MS symptoms. It seems to me that if adoptive transfer will work as a research technique, then there would be a considerable possibility that it could also work during a blood transfusion. Am I missing something or has the Red Cross just overlooked this issue in their Eligibility Guidelines?

NHE

Does this answer the question, i.e., leukoreduced blood?

NHE

I think in the UK people with MS cannot donate blood. Or rather shouldn't donate blood.