Students and faculty who have lived in France, Ireland or Portugal for a total of 10 years since 1980 may be prohibited by the Food and Drug Administration from donating blood in the near future.

Following an advisory panel's review in early January of the latest scientific findings on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, specifically the bovine version known as mad cow disease, the FDA made the recommendation that those who fit the criteria above should be banned from donating blood in the United States.

The agency would review the panel's latest finding and was likely to follow its recommendation, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, said Lenore Gelb, spokeswoman for the FDA.

Students who meet the requirements of the recommendation will still be able to donate blood until the recommendation would go into effect, said Jennifer Mansfield, regional public relations specialist for the Red Cross.

Fears of mad cow disease being transmitted to the U.S. blood supply prompted a more stringent recommendation by the same panel in 1999. Banning blood donation from individuals who traveled or lived in Great Britain for a cumulative total of at least six months between 1980 to 1996, the recommendation was implemented by the FDA and adopted by the American Red Cross a month later.

Because of the large international student population, the Centre Community Red Cross has been affected by the panel's past recommendations more than other areas.

"A larger percentage of the international population is local, so we are going to be impacted a little bit more," said Connie Schroeder, campus coordinator for American Red Cross Blood Services. "We want students to be assured of the safety of the blood supply."

And while it may not be by much, the local Red Cross is still losing valuable donors.

"Out of 100 people, 50 to 60 can donate blood and only five percent do," Mansfield said. "We did lose a few donors, but we haven't lost as many as we expected. It was expected that we would lose two percent of donors nationally and we lost a little less than that. Because of this we want to increase the people who are able to donate blood but haven't yet."

Mad cow disease is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans. No American has been diagnosed with the new version of CJD and there is no known evidence of the disease being transmitted through human blood, although it has been detected in laboratory animal experiments. No blood screening can test for the disease.

The possible ban and the threat of more to come in the near future doesn't bode well for the already dwindling blood supply nationwide. The Red Cross is considering further tightening of the ban on blood donations, lowering the cumulative time a person was in Great Britain to less than six months and applying that time period to those who traveled or lived in France and western Europe.

But these regulations may not be permanent.

"As scientific research and technology improve some of these people will be re-entered into the donation system," Schroeder said. "It's an ongoing process."

While many students welcomed the precautions and felt that they were protective, some didn't feel that the FDA recommendations would hinder their travel overseas.

Kim Conway (senior-telecommunications) spent two weeks over winter break in London and plans to return as soon as possible.

"A lot of people were worried when we were in London, especially when we went out to eat," Conway said. "It doesn't worry me because it isn't a huge epidemic. The FDA isn't exactly sure what could happen, so they are just taking precautions. The recommendations aren't going to hinder me from traveling to Britain or Europe."

The Red Cross will be accepting blood donations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Tuesday and Wednesday in Alumni Hall of the HUB-Robeson Center.