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I directly spoke to Dr. Rudert at the Gluten Intolerance Group annual conference a couple of weeks ago.  She stated that persons diagnosed with Celiac Disease CAN donate blood in the States.  She herself called the American Red Cross and they stated that they would accept blood donated from Celiacs.  When I told her about the report on this listserve of a person being turned away, she surmised that perhaps what happened was this: To the question on the American Red Cross questionnaire, "Do you have an autoimmune disease?", this person was smart and replied, "Yes," understanding that Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease.  This may be why this person was turned away.

Since giving blood is a cause that I firmly believe in, I am relieved to hear Dr. Rudert's answer to this question.  The next time I give blood, I will circle "Yes" to the aforementioned question and see if they try to turn me away.  Perhaps in the future a written statement from the American Red Cross would be helpful for us to take to the donation site.

Marcy in NC
USA 

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