Why Australia finally ended the mad cow blood ban

With flu cases through the roof, unprecedented flooding, and no end to Covid in sight; 2022 saw blood donations take a nasty nosedive.  

In response, Lifeblood – the blood blank of the Australian Red Cross – has continued to call for more donors, but also requested a decades old ban limiting a specific group of people from donating blood be lifted. 

Read more: Blood ban lifted

On this episode of The Science Briefing, Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Jacinta Bowler about the origins of mad cow disease and the blood ban that stopped those exposed to the virus from donating blood in Australia for 22 years. 

The Science Briefing is a LiSTNR production

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