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Blood Donation Centers:

Canadian Blood Services:

"No policy specific for tick borne diseases"

American Red Cross: [archived webpage]

"Lyme disease - If this is a chronic condition you cannot donate. If you were treated with antibiotics and completely recovered, you can donate 12 months after the last dose of antiobiotics was taken." "Those who have had infections with Chagas Disease, babesiosis or leishmaniasis are not eligible to donate blood."

UCSF Blood Center [archived webpage]

"Permanent Deferrals - The following conditions would permanently disqualify an individual as an allogenic or designated blood donor...Brucellosis/Babesiosis...Lyme Disease"

NY Blood Center (pdf file)

"Lyme Disease - 1) If no signs of symptoms: Defer until treatment is completed. 2) If signs or symptoms: Defer for six months whether or not treatment was received".

Medical Literature:

The patient was a 43-year-old Caucasian woman with history of transfusion-dependent Diamond-Blackfan syndrome, hepatitis C, and splenectomy. She was admitted initially for presumptive pneumonia. The next day, a routine examination of the peripheral blood smears revealed numerous intraerythrocytic ring forms, consistent with Babesia. The parasitemia was approximately 5% to 6%. The diagnosis was confirmed by positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for B. microti DNA and high titer of antibody to B. microti (1:2048). Despite aggressive therapy including clindamycin and quinine antibiotics, the patient expired 3 days after admission. Subsequently, 13 blood donors were tested for B. microti. All tested donors were negative by PCR. However, one donor living in New Jersey had a significant elevated B. microti antibody titer (1:1024).

Lyme and anaplasmosis (HGA) infection from kidney transplant

We report the case of a kidney transplant recipient who developed Lyme disease, followed by human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) 3 years later. A review of all previously published cases of Lyme disease (3 cases), HGA (5 cases), and human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) (5 cases) in transplant recipients is presented.

see Canadian Blood Supply - babesiosis

And...

Transfusion-transmitted tick-borne infections: a cornucopia of threats

"Despite the present unavailability of screening assays, some form of serologic and nucleic acid testing may be justified for the Babesia. Given that interactions between humans and ticks are likely to increase in the future, vigilance is required as new and extant tick-borne agents pose potential threats to transfusion safety."

Risk and prevention of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis and other tick-borne diseases.

"The risk of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis is higher than usually appreciated and in endemic areas represents a major threat to the blood supply."

Tick-borne diseases in transfusion medicine

"The transmission of tick-borne pathogens via blood transfusion is of global concern."

CDC- Blood Safety and Tick-Borne Illnesses

"At least 21 reported cases of babesiosis, mostly caused by Babesia microti but also by the more recently recognized WA1-type Babesia parasite, have been transmitted by transfusion of blood from asymptomatic infected blood donors."

Transfusion-Associated Babesiosis after Heart Transplant

"Our experiences with this patient suggest that babesiosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of transplant patients who have fever and hemolytic anemia."

Emergence of lyme arthritis after autologous chondrocyte transplantation

"The possibility of a dormant borrelial infection should be considered in patients who undergo repair of cartilage defects with autologous chondrocyte transplantation."

Survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in blood products

"The results of this study do not exclude the possibility of transmission of Lyme disease through blood transfusion."

Prevalence of Erythema migrans Borreliosis in blood donors

"Though further research is required to document a transfusion-transmitted Borrelia infection, infected persons should be treated to avoid serious or late manifestations."

Survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in human blood stored under blood banking conditions

"It is concluded that B. burgdorferi may survive storage under blood banking conditions and that transfusion-related Lyme disease is theoretically possible."

Borrelia burgdorferi: survival in experimentally infected human blood processed for transfusion

"However, the possibility of survival of B. burgdorferi under blood banking conditions warrants a heightened awareness of this potential problem."

Current concepts on the transmission of bacteria and parasites by blood components

"This review deals with the main bacterial (Syphilis, Lyme disease, Gram positive and Gram negative agents), parasite (Chagas disease, malaria, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis and babesiosis) and rickettsial diseases that are carried by blood products."

Babesiosis in a renal transplant recipient acquired through blood transfusion

"Transplant patients may contract babesiosis after tick exposure and/or via blood transfusion. The diagnosis of babesiosis may be confused with malaria and should be included in the differential diagnosis of posttransplant hemolytic-uremic syndrome in organ transplant patients."

Retrospective study of a borreliosis infected blood donor

"In a follow-up of 14 recipients of blood products donated by such a donor, no clinical signs or serologic evidence of a transfusion-transmitted borreliosis could be demonstrated."

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in Hamburg blood donors

"Introduction of B. burgdorferi antibody screening is not regarded an effective means to prevent transfusion-transmitted Lyme disease."

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