Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) - Whole blood and components

Essential information

Definition/s

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is treatment that falls outside of mainstream healthcare. For the purposes of donor selection, this definition includes cosmetic/beauty treatments such as cosmetic fillers.

A Qualified Health Care Professional (HCP) is someone who is registered with one of the statutory bodies listed below.

Excludes

Acupuncture - see Acupuncture

Obligatory

Must not donate if:

  1. The condition for which treatment was given is not acceptable
  2. It is less than 4 months from any treatment that involves:
    1. piercing the skin
    2. drawing blood (e.g. wet cupping)
    3. an invasive procedure (e.g. colonic irrigation)
Discretionary
  1. If oral or topical complementary medicines only and reason for which treatment was given is acceptable, accept.

  2. For all other therapies:

    Performed within the NHS
    If performed by NHS staff on NHS premises including GP surgeries, accept.

    Performed outside of the NHS
    If performed by a Qualified Health Care Professional registered with the:
    1. General Medical Council (GMC),
    2. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC),
    3. General Dental Council (GDC),
    4. The General Chiropractic Council (GCC),
    5. The General Optical Council (GOC),
    6. The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC),
    7. General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC),
    8. Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI),
    9. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) (which regulates Physiotherapists, Arts therapists, Biomedical Scientists, Chiropodists/Podiatrists, Clinical Scientists, Dieticians, Hearing Aid Dispensers, Occupational Therapists, Operating Department Practitioners, Orthoptists, Paramedics, Practitioner Psychologists, Prosthetists and Orthotists, Radiographers and Speech and Language Therapists), accept.

Supporting information

Additional information

Therapies which are invasive or which breach the skin may pass infection from person to person if strict hygiene procedures are not followed.

Therapists who are Qualified Health Care Professionals (HCP) are subject to discipline from statutorily constituted professional authorities. They will have received training in infection control where this is relevant to their work and are expected to follow safe practices at all times. They should not be working outside the scope of practice for which they have received training.

For therapists who are not Qualified HCPs, there is less assurance that they are adequately trained in infection control. Although most such practitioners will follow safe practices, there is still a requirement to defer any of their patients or clients who have received a treatment which meets the deferral criteria above. Waiting 4 months after treatment means any new infection should be detected when a donation is tested by the blood services.

This guidance presumes that a validated NAT test for hepatitis C is negative. If this test is stopped, the guidance will change.

Reason for change:
This entry has been renamed from ‘Complementary therapy’. Guidance for acupuncture treatment has been removed from this entry, and users are now directed to a new ‘Acupuncture’ entry.
Version details:

WB-DSG Edition 203 Release 81 (11 August 2026)