Can you give blood if you have high cholesterol?

This has become a very common question nowadays whether one can donate blood even if their cholesterol is high. The answer is yes, we can give blood even when we have high cholesterol. This is due to the fact that high cholesterol isn’t some abnormal condition for a donor. When about 350/450ml blood is drawn from a donor & transfused it is diluted in the blood of the patient and level won’t be that high.

Patient can metabolize it and lower it to actual level. But this depends on his or her metabolism process. It is similar to some patient who takes fatty food. If someone takes cholesterol-lowering medicines as prescribed by his doctor, then this does not at all interferes with one’s ability to donate blood. If at all, one has high cholesterol along with coronary artery disease, he/she should convey their medical history to the doctor when they donate blood to ensure safety. It is usually found that the patient that earlier had a heart attack, bypass surgery or an angioplasty for at least 6 months prior and their medicines have not changed, can give blood. Similar is the case with patients who have had angina because hospitals generally need 6 months gap post an episode prior to blood donation.

But if blood donor just finished his course of antibiotics to lower his cholesterol within past 7 days or he had any kind of infection in past 2 weeks, they shall be excluded from giving blood. The reason for usage of antibiotic must be evaluated for determining if the donor has some bacterial infection which can be transmitted through blood. Donors with some acute infection shall not donate blood. However, it depends on the kind of infection a donor had. If a donor had suffered from a mild infection he or she can donate their blood. Screening is essential prior to donate blood for ruling out the sexually transmitted diseases such as Hepatitis B virus, Syphilis, HIV, etc.