Kim, I am sorry you are not able to donate.  It must be frustrating - especially after having been a donor for so long, and especially if, like many other people excluded under this rule, your exclusion is the result of your, or a family member's, service to our country.

Unfortunately, this is not an area in which the Blood Bank has any discretion.  The FDA decided to tighten donor restrictions with respect to CJD (the human version of mad cow) and the Blood Bank, like all US blood banks, had to comply.