As part of a blood donation appointment, the Red Cross performs free health screenings. These can provide valuable insight into your overall state of health, with the potential to detect underlying health issues or risk factors associated with possible future conditions.
One of these is fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), which can be detected through specialized blood tests. However, specialized testing for anti-HPA antibody screening and HPA genotyping is only performed if FNAIT is suspected.
What is FNAIT?
Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a rare but serious condition that affects 0.1% of pregnancies in which a pregnant mother’s immune system produces antibodies against the platelets of her fetus. This occurs when a fetus inherits platelet antigens from the father that are not compatible with the mother, typically involving a protein called human platelet antigen (HPA). The mother’s immune system recognizes the fetal platelets as foreign, attacking and destroying them, leading to low platelet levels (thrombocytopenia) in the fetus or newborn.
Learn more about FNAIT testing and diagnosis
By donating blood, you are contributing to life-saving blood supplies, and by doing so, you could benefit from a free mini-health assessment and advice.
What health screenings does the Red Cross offer?
Every blood donor is encouraged to create a Blood Donor account. This is where all health assessment results will be shared.
To ensure that the potential blood donor is healthy enough to donate blood and that they will not experience any adverse effects, the following tests of vitals are performed:
- Blood pressure
- Pulse
- Hemoglobin
To protect recipients of donated blood, the eligibility of blood donors is meticulously checked by the Red Cross before blood donation. To ensure that the blood being donated is safe, the following health checks are done:
Sickle cell trait screening: Sickle cell trait is inherited but not everyone is aware that they carry it.
Blood type/Rh testing: Identifying blood group, Rh type and if any unusual red cell antibodies. Some antigens can trigger an immune response, so careful blood typing and crossmatching is required.
Infectious disease testing: Before being transfused, donated blood is tested for a variety of diseases including, Hepatitis B and C, Zika, HIV, West Nile virus and syphilis.
Who is ineligible to donate blood?
When you go to donate blood, your blood center will advise you on their blood donation guidelines. Following your health screening, you will be advised if you can donate blood or not. Below are some of the temporary and permanent criteria that exclude blood donation:
- Anemia
- Asthma
- Bleeding disorders
- Blood cancers
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Malaria or exposure to malaria
- Medication
- Pregnancy
- AIDS
- Recently performing activities that increase risk of HIV infection (sexual contact, needle use, tattoos, piercings)
Red Cross health screenings can help identify health issues early, allowing for timely intervention. If you donate blood regularly, you can also keep track of your health metrics in your Red Cross donor profile.
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