Posts are circulating on social media saying that the US Congress has passed a resolution banning those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine from donating blood, what is the truth of this?

The answer is no, this is a misleading rumor, and the US Congress has not passed any resolution related to banning blood donation on recipients of the Corona vaccine.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health said in a post two weeks ago on its Instagram page that no medical recommendation or decision has been issued by any competent institution or authority or others, prohibiting those who received the Covid-19 vaccine from donating blood.

What is the origin of the rumor?

The source of the rumor is not clear, but it can be linked to a news published at the end of February in the American magazine "Newsweek", which dealt with the attempt of a Republican lawmaker from Montana to prevent people vaccinated against the Corona virus from donating blood.

In a Feb. 28 Newsweek report, journalist Nick Reynolds said Republican Rep. Greg Kemitz is pushing a bill to prevent those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine or have long-term COVID-19 from donating blood, a proposal that some critics say could effectively eliminate the state's blood supply.

House Bill 645 was formally introduced in the Montana legislature on Feb. 17 and proposes a misdemeanor offense for anyone who knowingly donates blood, plasma, blood products, blood products, human tissues, organs or bones containing "gene-modifying proteins, nanoparticles, high-number spike proteins of COVID-19." or chemotherapy treatments for DNA or mRNA, or other new pharmaceutical biotechnologies or mRNA or DNA."

However, the legislation has not yet been approved.

Therefore, this story may be the origin of the rumor, but the truth is that what happened was the introduction of a bill, and it has not yet been approved.

Proponents of the bill have often cited unreliable or even biased information to support their position.

Some who testified in favor of the bill claimed, without evidence, that friends and family died prematurely as a result of receiving the vaccine, while there is currently no evidence linking the COVID-19 vaccine to premature death.

Destruction of blood supply

Meanwhile, opponents of the bill, who include several medical professionals, said its language was too broad and would actually destroy Montana's blood supply and organ donors.

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly two-thirds of Montana residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while only 3% of eligible donors nationwide donate blood.

Cliff Neumark, senior vice president of donation services at the nonprofit blood supplier organization Vitalant, said the bill would cause "devastating damage" to the state's health care system and potentially reduce the state's overall blood supply by up to 8 percent.

Neumark explained that there is no test available to verify whether the vaccine is in someone's bloodstream, making it impossible to comply with the bill if it passes and goes into effect.

Vicky Bird, executive director of the Montana Nursing Staff Association, told lawmakers, "Our blood is safe."

COVID-19 patients are prohibited from donating blood while they are infected with the virus, mainly due to the precondition that donors must be in "good health" when donating, and all blood donor groups and the American Red Cross have confirmed that it is safe to donate blood after taking the vaccine.

Similar to other vaccines such as measles, mumps or influenza vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are designed to generate an immune response to help protect an individual from disease, but the components of the vaccine themselves do not multiply through blood transfusions or alter the DNA of blood recipients.

Can I donate blood after vaccination with a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine?

This question is answered by the World Health Organization, which says, "Current evidence suggests that you can donate blood if you have received a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that does not contain any live virus and you are healthy. As SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are new, the National Blood Transfusion Service may consider postponing blood donation for 2 days to minimize the likelihood of vaccination-related symptoms after blood donation."

"Those who receive vaccines containing live virus (e.g. vector-based vaccines or attenuated live virus vaccines) should postpone donation for 4 weeks."

"If you feel unwell after receiving a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, blood donation should be postponed for 7 days after full recovery from symptoms," WHO explains.

"In cases where you don't know if you've been vaccinated with a live virus, a four-week delay period should be adhered to," she said.