The American Red Cross is not taking any chances with the Zika virus. The organization has appealed to the public to avoid donating blood if they recently traveled to Zika-infected countries.

According to USA Today, the American Red Cross' announcement came after a similar warning from the American Association of Blood Banks was released. The ban was also accompanied by a recommendation to wait at least 28 days before considering to donate blood.

American Red Cross' Vice President of Scientific Affairs Susan Stramer said, "The American Red Cross is dedicated to providing the safest, most reliable blood products possible to patients in need. The Red Cross continues to use safety measures to protect the blood supply from Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses."

According to Anne Winkler of the Grady Health System in Atlanta, blood suppliers only test donations from Hepatitis, West Nile virus, HIV and Malaria. She also added that Red Cross' chances of screening the virus can happen immediately as they can alter the questionnaire meant for blood donors and include whether they have traveled to countries in the Latin America region and the Caribbean.

Recently, over 30 Americans who traveled in Latin America and the Caribbean tested positive on the Zika virus. However, according to Robert Glatter, an emergency doctor at the Lenox Hill Hospital, the chances of spreading the Zika virus is small as mosquitoes don't bite during the winter.

The Zika virus has spread accross several countries with confirmed cases in the U.S., Brazil, Central America, Caribbean and South America. Winkler also admits that the 28-day ban will likely reduce the blood supply by 1.17 percent during the summer and 2.27 percent during the winter.

In a report by the Independent UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has also issued a warning to blood donors. Health officials declared those who are entering Scotland, Wales and England from the Latin America region and the Caribbean to wait at least 28 days before donating blood.

A spokeswoman for the NHS Blood and Transplant Department said, "It is important we implement any precautionary blood safety measures agreed here as a result of an increasing prevalence of infectious diseases found around the globe." NHS' ban on blood donors arriving from the Latin America region came shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared global emergency on the Zika epidemic.