Steroid therapy - Cord Blood

Essential information

Obligatory

Must not donate if:

1. Regularly taking steroid tablets, injections or enemas, or applying creams over large areas.
2. The mother has needed treatment to suppress an autoimmune condition in the last 12 months.
3. Less than seven days after completing a course of oral or injected steroids for disorders associated with allergy.
4. The mother has infected perineal dermatitis.

Discretionary

1. If occasional use of creams over small areas of skin for minor skin complaints, accept.
2. If using steroid inhalers for prophylaxis, accept.
3. The short term administration of steroids to the mother to induce fetal lung maturation is not an exclusion to donation, accept.

Supporting information

See if relevant

• Autoimmune disease
• Skin disease
• Tissue and cell allograft recipients

Additional information

Steroid therapy in high doses causes immunosuppression. This may mask infective and inflammatory conditions that would otherwise prevent donation.

There is no evidence that the short-term use of steroids to induce fetal lung maturation can mask or increase the risk of maternal infection.

Reason for change:

To allow mothers who receive short term administration of steroids to induce fetal lung maturation to donate.

Version details:

CB-DSG Edition 203 Release 02 (11 December 2007)