WA, OR Red Cross blood banks will not immediately start testing for Zika following FDA recommendation

To protect against the Zika virus, the Food and Drug Administration is recommending all donated blood be tested, but while the Red Cross is reviewing the guidance, the testing will not be put into place in Washington or Oregon.

The new FDA advisory would require all U.S. blood centers to start testing blood donations for Zika. Previously, the requirement was limited to areas with active Zika transmission, such as Puerto Rico and two Florida counties.

The Red Cross released a statement Friday outlining that the risk of getting Zika virus through a blood transfusion in the U.S. is believed to be extremely low, even more so, in places like Washington and Oregon where no mosquito have been detected to be carrying virus.

Red Cross went on to say, it is looking over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation, and the organization says it will be expanding the testing to four more south central and southwestern states in the next two weeks. Currently, testing is only being done in five southeastern states. Washington and Oregon are not included on the list.

Organization officials do say they ask donors in every state about travel to any areas where Zika virus has been detected, and ask travelers not to donate for the 4 weeks after they get back.