[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 21, Volume 7]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 21CFR640.63]

[Page 101-103]
 
                        TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS
 
CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 
                          SERVICES (CONTINUED)
 
PART 640_ADDITIONAL STANDARDS FOR HUMAN BLOOD AND BLOOD PRODUCTS
--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart G_Source Plasma
 
Sec. 640.63  Suitability of donor.

    (a) Method of determining. The suitability of a donor for Source 
Plasma shall be determined by a qualified licensed physician or by 
persons under his supervision and trained in determining donor 
suitability. Such determination shall be made on the day of collection 
from the donor by means of a medical history, tests, and such physical 
examination as appears necessary to the qualified licensed physician.

[[Page 102]]

    (b) Initial medical examinations. (1) Each donor shall be examined 
by a qualified licensed physician on the day of the first donation or no 
more than 1 week before the first donation and at subsequent intervals 
of no longer than 1 year.
    (2)(i) A donor who is to be immunized for the production of high-
titer plasma shall be examined by a qualified licensed physician. The 
medical examination shall be performed within no more than 1 week before 
the first immunization injection. The medical examination for 
plasmapheresis need not be repeated, if the first donation occurs within 
3 weeks after the first injection.
    (ii) A donor who is an active participant in a plasmapheresis 
program, and has been examined in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of 
this section, need not be reexamined before immunization for the 
production of high-titer plasma.
    (3) Each donor shall be certified to be in good health by the 
examining physician. The certification of good health shall be on a form 
supplied by the licensed establishment and shall indicate that the 
certification applies to the suitability of the individual to be a 
plasmapheresis donor and, when applicable, an immunized donor.
    (c) Qualification of donor. Donors shall be in good health on the 
day of donation, as indicated in part by:
    (1) Normal temperature;
    (2) Demonstration that systolic and diastolic blood pressures are 
within normal limits, unless the examining physician is satisfied that 
an individual with blood pressures outside these limits is an otherwise 
qualified donor under the provisions of this section;
    (3) A blood hemoglobin level of no less than 12.5 grams of 
hemoglobin per 100 milliliters of blood or a hematocrit level of 38 
percent;
    (4) A normal pulse rate;
    (5) A total serum or total plasma protein of no less than 6.0 grams 
per 100 milliliters of blood;
    (6) Weight, which shall be at least 110 pounds;
    (7) Freedom from acute respiratory diseases;
    (8) Freedom from any infectious skin disease at the site of 
phlebotomy and from any such disease generalized to such an extent as to 
create a risk of contamination of the plasma;
    (9) Freedom from any disease, other than malaria, transmissible by 
blood transfusion, insofar as can be determined by history and 
examinations indicated in this section;
    (10) Freedom of the arms and forearms from skin punctures or scars 
indicative of addiction to self-injected narcotics;
    (11) Freedom from a history of viral hepatitis after the 11th 
birthday;
    (12) Freedom from a history of close contact within 12 months of 
donation with an individual having viral hepatitis;
    (13) Freedom from a history of having received, within 12 months, 
human blood or any derivative of human blood which the Food and Drug 
Administration has advised the blood establishment is a possible source 
of viral hepatitis, except for specific immunization performed in 
accordance with Sec. 640.66.
    (d) General. Any donor who, in the opinion of the interviewer, 
appears to be under the influence of any drug, alcohol, or for any 
reason does not appear to be providing reliable answers to medical 
history questions, shall not be considered a suitable donor.
    (e) Failure to return red blood cells. Any donor who has not had the 
red blood cells returned from a unit of blood collected during a 
plasmapheresis procedure or who has been a donor of a unit of whole 
blood shall not be subjected to plasmapheresis for a period of 8 weeks, 
unless:
    (1) The donor has been examined by a qualified licensed physician 
and certified by the physician to be acceptable for further 
plasmapheresis before expiration of the 8-week period;
    (2) The donor possesses an antibody that is (i) transitory, (ii) of 
a highly unusual or infrequent specificity, or (iii) of an unusually 
high titer; and
    (3) The special characteristics of the antibody and the need for

[[Page 103]]

plasmapheresing the donor are documented.

[38 FR 32089, Nov. 20, 1973, as amended at 41 FR 10768, Mar. 12, 1976; 
43 FR 9805, Mar. 10, 1978; 43 FR 12311, Mar. 24, 1978; 46 FR 57480, Nov. 
24, 1981; 50 FR 4140, Jan. 29, 1985; 64 FR 45373, Aug. 19, 1999; 66 FR 
1837, Jan. 10, 2001; 66 FR 40890, Aug. 6, 2001]