A volunteer group of Westgate inmates seeking ways to give back to the community have called on Bermuda to “be courageous” and allow prisoners to donate blood — but the Island’s policy is set by international precedent.

The response came from a Bermuda Hospitals Board spokeswoman after inmate Kenneth Burgess urged for a review of the rules, given Bermuda’s lag behind the rest of the world in terms of donor numbers.

“Blood donation eligibility guidelines followed by BHB comply with the American Association of Blood Banks,” the BHB responded, explaining the organisation deemed prisoners as a potentially high risk group.

“Blood donor guidelines avoid potentially high risks groups, as the goal is always to optimise the safety blood donations.

“They are issued and followed to ensure the safety of recipients and are required by our accrediting bodies, which include Joint Commission International (JCI) and Accreditation Canada. Violating these standards by receiving blood donations from high risk groups would result in the loss of our accreditation and, more importantly, could jeopardise the safety of patients receiving blood.

“We certainly are very grateful for the interest of inmates in donating, but we must adhere to standards that are proven to optimise the safety of blood donation.”

The US organisation’s criteria have been criticised as overly restrictive.

It is estimated that Bermuda lost one-third of its eligible donors after the “mad cow” or bovine spongiform encephalopathy scare, when the Association barred all donors who had lived in the UK or Europe during the 1990s.