Sir,-According to the guidelines for blood donation set by the European Council1 it is recommended to ask potential donors the following question: Since your last donation or in the previous 12 months have you had [...] acupuncture treatment by anyone other than a registered practitioner?

According to the European Council's recommendation2 it is recommended that patients should be excluded from blood donation for one year, if they have received acupuncture by a non-authorised practitioner.

The rules in England differ slightly from the guidelines set by the European Council. According to the rules applied in England3, patients can give blood if the condition for which acupuncture treatment is being received is acceptable, and provided that this has been performed by staff in NHS hospitals or by a medical practitioner, or if the donor presents a valid certificate from an acupuncture practitioner registered with the Council for Acupuncture or the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists. Otherwise they are accepted one year after end of acupuncture treatment.

However, there seems to be some confusion regarding dental practitioners. Thus a number of patients have been refused to give blood after acupuncture by a dental practitioner. Dentists are among other things registered to extract teeth, perform operations in the mouth and give injections. Under those circumstances it is legal for the patient to give blood.

However, if a patient has received acupuncture for a dental related condition by a dental practitioner, the situation is different. In our opinion, dentists should be regarded as registered dental practitioners in the same way as medical practitioners. Therefore clear guidelines would be appreciated.