"Chagas disease is indigenous to many parts of Latin America, and transmission by blood transfusion and organ transplantation has been well documented," said Ellen B. Klapper, M.D., co-director of Transfusion Medicine. "The potential for the disease here has heightened due to the increase in the number of people who previously lived in countries where the infection is common. The FDA recently licensed a test to screen blood donors, and preliminary data reported by the American Red Cross indicate that as many as 1/2000 donors in the Los Angeles region may test positive for antibodies to T.cruzi."

Units that test positive for the antibody will be discarded, and the donors will be ineligible for future blood donations.

Should you have any questions regarding this or any other issue related to blood safety, please call one of the transfusion medicine physicians at (310) 423-7469.