Edinburgh pilot for donors needing Malarial Antibody Tests (MAT)

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service is committed to the continual improvement of your donor experience.  We aim to do this while maintaining our focus on blood safety. We are pleased to announce a pilot amongst whole blood donors at our Edinburgh Donor Centre.

This pilot will allow donors who have a risk factor for malaria but meet all other criteria to give a full blood donation when they attend. Their donations will be tested for malaria antibodies behind the scenes and can be used for patients if all test results are satisfactory. This change will let more of our donors fulfil their wish to donate and allow us to collect more blood whilst keeping our blood stock levels safe.

If you are due to donate whole blood in Edinburgh Donor Centre and believe you may need a malarial antibody test, please book your appointment and come along as normal. Our team are on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Please note donors outwith Edinburgh Donor Centre who need a malarial antibody test will give a small sample in the normal way. Here is some further information on the pilot:

• Living or travelling outside the UK can affect giving blood. This is because some infections which can be spread by blood transfusion are more common overseas
• If your malaria antibody test is negative and your other test results are satisfactory, we will not write to you with test results but will gratefully use your donation for patient care.
• If your malaria antibody test is reactive or positive, you cannot be a blood donor and we cannot use your blood for patients. We will contact you and explain what it means for you.

To find out more you can get in touch online, by emailing nss.snbtsenquiry@nhs.scot or by calling 0345 90 90 999 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm).