Not quite everywhere in the EU as you can still give blood in the UK.
Canada also prohibits people who were resident in the UK during those years from giving blood and the USA prohibits you from giving blood if you lived for a cumulative total of 3 months or more between 1980 to 1996. The EU rule is that you cannot give blood if you were resident in UK for a cumulative period of 5 years or more from 1980 to 1996.
It is up to member countries to implement and modify as they feel fit. The biggest exclusion for blood donors is from MSM (Men having Sex with Men) with is also a EU regulation. However, some countries, Italy for example, now allow donors from this group. Without searching, I would hazard a guess that some other EU countries have also waived the British residency rule as well. It is up to the Spanish Health Authorities to fix the rules.
I understand that CJD affects the nerve tissues, primarily the brain and spinal column, and cannot be detected in the blood during the early stages.
Edited to say: The incubation period of vCJD has been show to be from 6.5 years with an average incubation period of 10 years. Some 40% of caucasians hold the gene making one susceptible to this.
"Now for the science bit"
Genetic susceptibility: Up to now, all tested cases of vCJD have been methionine homozygotes at codon 129 of the PrP gene (a genotype present in approximately 40% of Caucasian populations), with an estimated mean incubation period of about 10 years. If other genotypes are not completely resistant to infection but have longer incubation periods, as suggested in kuru and growth hormone-related CJD, subsequent epidemics in these genotypes may yet appear.
This message was last edited by bobaol on 05/07/2010.