I can't donate blood

[pegkerr]

I had signed up for the Bloodmobile which was making a stop at my office, and went down this morning, but when answering the intake questions, ran into a snag. I studied at Cambridge University in 1981. They won't take your blood if you were in England for three months at that time. They're thinking of mad cow disease, of course.

I went upstairs, called Rob, who is home today, and had him take my journal off the shelf from 1981. Using the journal, I was able to ascertain the exact number of days I was in England at the time: 83 days. I went back to the Bloodmobile, and learned that their "three month" cut-off is officially 72 days. So I am not eligible to give blood. Ever.

This makes me sad. I have always believed in doing my civic duty, and blood donation is something I've always believed in. It has been years since I've donated, however, and I was glad to do it again--and sad now, to discover I can't.

Does this also make me ineligible to be an organ donator?