title: Adverse reactions in blood donors with a history of seizures or epilepsy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individuals with epilepsy or seizure disorders are restricted from donating blood because of concern that they are prone to adverse donor reactions such as syncope and convulsions. A study evaluating whether that concern is warranted is reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  During a 2-year period beginning in 1987, blood donors in Maryland with a history of seizures were actively recruited by the American Red Cross. Adverse donor reactions were classified as "slight", indicating dizziness and nausea without loss of consciousness; "moderate," denoting syncope; and "severe," indicating convulsive syncope.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 329,143 satisfactory blood donations; 613 individuals reporting a history of seizures donated blood a total of 723 times. Among donors with seizures, 186 (35.7%) were taking antiepileptic medication, and 61 (8.4%) had had one or more seizures in the preceding year. Individuals with seizures had a low incidence of adverse reactions (3.34%). Although this incidence was slightly higher than that in the entire population (2.24%), the difference was not significant. In particular, the risk of syncope with or without convulsive activity was low for people with seizures (0.21%) and not significantly greater than that in other donors (0.28%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals with seizures or epilepsy are not at greater risk for adverse reactions after blood donation, and major restrictions on their participation as blood donors are not warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krumholz
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Ness
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Gibble
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001782:Blood Donors; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012640:Seizures / Q000150:complications*; D013575:Syncope / Q000209:etiology