Surgeries and endoscopic procedures

If you know you will be undergoing major surgery within the next few months, you cannot donate blood.

Depending on the scope and type of surgery and speed of recovery from the procedure, surgical operations cause a one to six-month long obstacle to blood donation.

Endoscopic operations or endoscopies performed with flexible endoscopes (e.g. gastroscopy, colonoscopy and bronchoscopy) prevent blood donation for four months. Although no infections have ever been found involving poorly disinfected endoscopes in Finland, the Blood Service applies the pan-European practice of restricting blood donations in this respect.

Endoscopic operations and procedures of the joints are normally performed with a rigid endoscope and depending on the nature of the procedure, the deferral time is from 1 to 4 weeks. Very occasionally the deferral time may be 4 months, e.g. in a case of a larger knee operation, where recovery may take longer.

Minor procedures performed under local anaesthesia prevent blood donation for one to four weeks.