[FALSE] Does Red Cross warn vaccinated people not to donate blood?

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The Claim and Our Verdict

• The claim: A video was shared Jan. 25, 2022, on Weibo, along with a claim that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns people vaccinated against COVID-19 not to donate blood.
• Fact-checking:
  • The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told HKBU Fact Check that ICRC does not do blood drives and has not issued such a warning.
  • Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (RCBTS) told HKBU Fact Check that they had not prohibited blood donation from vaccinated people. For those who have received the COVID-19 jabs, RCBTS said, they could donate blood by following the guidelines.
• Our ruling: We rate the claim as FALSE.

News Brief

A video was shared Jan. 25, 2022, on Weibo, along with a claim that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns vaccinated people not to donate blood.

As of the publication of this report, the video had been viewed more than 20,000 times, and the post had been shared 105 times, and had received 23 comments and 193 likes.

Fact-checking

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told HKBU Fact Check that ICRC has not issued such a warning. “The International Committee of the Red Cross does not do blood drives… This information looks suspicious and is likely to be disinformation, we doubt it came from the Red Cross,” Caitlin Kelly, a representative of ICRC, says in an email to HKBU Fact Check.

Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (RCBTS) told HKBU Fact Check that they had not prohibited blood donation from vaccinated people. For those who have received the COVID-19 jabs, RCBTS said, they could donate blood by following the guidelines. The guideline says that those vaccinated with Sinovac vaccine, Pfizer vaccine, or AstraZeneca vaccine should donate blood seven days after vaccination; If you experience any local side effects after vaccination, you could only donate your blood when the symptoms have completely subsided; If you have any other side effects, blood donation is only allowed 14 days after the symptoms have completely subsided.

RCBTS noted that blood transfusion from vaccinated people was not equivalent to receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. Anyone who receives blood from a vaccinated donor still needs to get the COVID-19 jabs.