US Hospital Permits Unvaccinated Donor Blood Requests, Delaying Treatment for 15 Patients

A hospital in the United States conceded to requests from patients requiring blood transfusions for blood from donors not vaccinated against COVID-19, leading to delays in treatments that caused one individual to experience a life-threatening reaction.

These requests resulted in treatment delays that put patients at risk, with one case where a patient’s haemoglobin level reached a critical level, which can cause organ injury and failure. Another patient developed anaemia.

@NewScientist reported that these requests were often driven by misinformation about vaccine safety and the blood supply, rather than evidence-based transfusion concerns. ' Jacobs and his colleagues analyzed blood donations at the Vanderbilt centre between January 2024 and December 2025.

They found that 15 patients or their caregivers asked for directed donations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, with all 15 requesting directed donations specifically for blood from donors not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Directed donations are only permitted in the UK and Australia under exceptional circumstances, such as if an individual has a rare blood type and a suitable blood-bank donor isn’t available. In the US, directed donations are allowed more broadly but discouraged, with policies varying between centres.

Jacobs stated: 'Directed donation is operationally more complex than using the routine blood supply.

' Direct donations have been linked to a higher infection risk because they are often given as a one-off, rather than from repeat donors in the community. Direct donations spiked during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 2025, a study confirmed that receiving blood donations from people vaccinated against COVID-19 is safe.

' The Welsh Blood Service stated last year that people are asking about the vaccination status of blood donors. There was a rejected petition to the UK government to split blood donations by vaccination status. In Oklahoma, legislators have proposed mandating that patients have access to unvaccinated blood.

Jacobs stated: 'These requests illustrate how misinformation can create real operational burdens for patients, hospitals and blood providers. 70195.