Blood closely screened against human variant of BSE

Experts have suspected that the disorder, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, might be spread through blood transfusions.

In November 1999, UBS began deferring donors who had spent time in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1996, which is the period extending from the probable beginning of the mad cow disease outbreak in cattle in the United Kingdom to when safeguards were fully implemented.

Additional restrictions were added in May 2002, and as of October 2002, UBS defers donors who have traveled to or lived in Europe for a total of five years or more between 1980 and the present, including time spent in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996; are members of the U.S. military, are civilian employees or dependents of military employees who spent a total of six months or more on or associated with military bases in certain European countries between 1980 and 1996; or received a blood transfusion in the United Kingdom since 1980.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered these deferrals because of the possible risk of transmission of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease...