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Background: A theoretical risk of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) transmission through blood has resulted in deferring donors who have been to either the United Kingdom (UK) or France since 1980 for more than 6 months cumulatively. Reports of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Western Europe raise the possibility of deferring donors who have traveled to Europe. It is unclear whether it is better to extend donor deferral to travel to countries where BSE has been reported in cattle, but not the human form of the disease, vCJD, or to make the deferral criteria more stringent for travel to countries where vCJD has been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude that changes to travel deferral criteria may have in terms of donor loss. Method: A survey was conducted in all blood donor clinics nation-wide over 4 days using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: 13,623 donors (about 94% of donors attending a clinic) participated. 21.6% of donors had been to Western Europe (excluding the UK and France) since 1980; only 6.6% reported spending cumulative time of 1 month or more. The countries most frequently visited were Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. 20.3% of donors had been to the UK since 1980; 5.7% staying for 1 month or more and 1.9% staying for 3 months or more. 14.4% of donors had been to France since 1980; 1.7% staying for 1 month or more and 0.7% staying for 3 months or more. If a deferral for Western European travel of 6 months or more were implemented, a donor loss of 2.9% would be expected. If, in addition, the criterion for UK travel was also changed to 3 months or more, a total of 5.3% of donors would be lost, and for 1 month or more, 7.6% would be lost. Conclusion: Previous surveys indicated that 3% of donors would be lost as a result of the UK and France deferral policy. This donor loss was absorbed through donor recruitment strategies. Any policy revision must balance safety with supply. These data indicate that a loss of donors from a Western European travel deferral or more stringent UK or France deferral criteria may be feasible, however the loss in donors would not be inconsequential. Any change in policy would need to coincide with extensive donor recruitment in order to ensure an adequate blood supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]