By Gabrielle Settles - Politifact
A user of the social network TikTok spoke about his experience of donating plasma at a Red Cross headquarters in the United States, and said that a woman who worked there warned him not to get vaccinated.
"She told me, 'You will not be able to donate plasma if you have given the injection," said the man in the video, "I asked her if it was just a precaution because we do not know what it contains and she said,' no, we know what It contains. That is why you cannot donate blood, because it is completely contaminated. "
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The man concluded that if the Red Cross warns people that the COVID-19 vaccine is contaminated it would be better to listen to it.
But that's not really what the Red Cross says.
The Red Cross issued a statement on February 24 informing that people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine can donate blood, platelets and plasma.
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TikTok alerted to the video as part of its efforts to counter false or misleading content on social media.
(Read more about PolitiFact's alliance with TikTok).
The Red Cross offered other helpful information: People can donate blood not only if they have received the federally approved Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
They are also eligible if they received vaccines that remain unregulated in the United States such as Novavax and AstraZeneca.
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If a person knows the name of the vaccine manufacturer and feels healthy, with no COVID-19 symptoms, they
can donate immediately after being vaccinated
.
"Knowing the name of the vaccine manufacturer is important in determining donor eligibility," said Jessica Merrill, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross.
"If a donor does not know the name of the manufacturer of the vaccine they received, they will be asked to wait two weeks before donating blood," he explained.
The donation process for a vaccinated person is normal
, Merrill said.
It takes an hour: the person checks in on arrival and fills out a confidential questionnaire about their health history and places visited.
It also undergoes temperature, hemoglobin, blood pressure, and pulse checks.
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Merrill said one reason for the misinformation about donating blood after the COVID-19 vaccine is that many regular donors know that some immunizations require a waiting period.
However, Merrill explained that this is not the case with COVID-19 vaccines.
"Like other vaccines such as measles, mumps or influenza, the COVID-19 vaccine is designed to generate an immune response that helps protect an individual from the disease, but the components of the vaccine themselves do not they are found in the bloodstream, "Merrill said.
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Distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine resumed in the United States after health authorities suspended its use to investigate some rare cases of blood clots.
"There is no evidence or reason to suspect an increased risk of blood clots as a result of donating blood after receiving this vaccine, or for patients who receive donations from these people," Merrill said.
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Our verdict
In a TikTok video, a man said that a Red Cross staff member told him that a person vaccinated against COVID-19 cannot donate plasma because their blood is contaminated.
That's a lie.
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The Red Cross refuted this claim and explained that a vaccinated person can donate blood if they know who made their vaccine and they are healthy.
If the person does not know who made the vaccine, they must wait two weeks before donating.
All COVID-19 vaccines, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are safe for blood donations.
Therefore, we
qualify the TikTok post as fake
.
