OT: Blood Donations

[TsPoet]

My company's blood drive guy says (and I'm paraphrasing, since I wasn't taking notes)
The Pacific Northwest is in its worst donor blood crisis in years. Due to the weather, some Red Cross offices have had to be closed off and on - and that means there isn't enough blood.
He says - please donate if you've ever even thought about it.

[KnottedYet]

I can't. Once you've had cancer you are a huge NO-NO in the donation world. No blood. No bone marrow. No participating in AIDS vaccine trials.

Oooh, do I sound bitter? I don't mean to be bitter! Everyone who can, please donate while you can! Someday you may be disallowed, and you will feel regret and gnash your teeth over being left out!!

Do it NOW!!!

[Dianyla]

Do it NOW!!!

Unless you're anemic or have low iron. Which a huge percentage of female athletes are, due to menstrual blood losses and the higher iron requirements of endurance exercise.

Be aware that the simple "iron drop" test done by blood donation organizations is very rudimentary and will only disqualify you from donating if you're seriously anemic. If you are borderline it will often say you're good enough to donate.

I'm not trying to trash the Red Cross or other phlebotomy charities, but please just be aware of this. Visit your doctor and have your serum ferritin levels tested to know whether you need to be supplementing with iron pills if you still wish to be a blood donor.

[East Hill]

Mr. East Hill and I donated last on December 29. I have donated over 54 units in my lifetime. Mr. East Hill is not far behind, with 49 units.

We'll donate again after our minimum recovery time.

KnottedYet, I would assume that you had leukemia or one of the lymphomas? Not asking you to reply, but it is possible for some cancer survivors to donate, as per the American Red Cross website:

Cancer
Eligibility depends on the type of cancer and treatment history. If you had leukemia or lymphoma, including Hodgkin’s Disease, you are not eligible to donate. Other types of cancer are acceptable if the cancer has been treated successfully and it has been at least 5 years since treatment was completed and there has been no cancer recurrence in this time. Some low-risk cancers including squamous or basal cell cancers of the skin do not require a 5 year waiting period.

Precancerous conditions of the uterine cervix do not disqualify you from donation if the abnormality has been treated successfully. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation.



East Hill

[SadieKate]

I wish! I wish! We had a long conversation about blood donation on Thread Drift (is that the right thread), and there are several of us knocked off the list for a variety of reasons. We are a danger to others.

[MomOnBike]

As a mother of a daughter who has had a very serious GI bleed twice I donate every chance I get. I realize how important it can be.

It's worth walking around for a while feeling a quart low. Someone needs the blood. Oddly, I just hope it's nobody I know.

[KnottedYet]

East Hill - thanks for the info! Nope, I'm still disqualified cuz I had one of the "baddies" and my doc keeps catching pre-cancerous boogers at my check-ups. So while I haven't had an actual malingnancy in 12 years (yay!) my little cells are still trying to start careers of their own every so often.

But I'm not dead yet! (get it? Not Dead Yet... KnottedYet.) Someday I'll be able to donate again! (I have "o" blood.)

[emily_in_nc]

I can't donate because I weigh less than 110. I used to be able to, but then I lost weight. I tried to donate once since then (lied about my weight), but it took an hour, and they still couldn't squeeze an entire donation bag out of me. My BP was borderline too low too, so that may have been the problem. I feel bad that I can no longer donate, but not to the point that I am willing to gain weight....

Emily

[Bluetree]

Emily, me too. I was kinda upset the last time I donated, I asked them if there was a weight limit and they assured me, "no problem." I think I weighed about 102 lbs. at the time. Needless to say, I completely passed out at the clinic, had to find a ride home and felt awful for about two days.

After that, they kept calling me to donate every two weeks, no matter how many times I asked them to take me off their call list.

Still, if I ever gain enough weight, I'll donate again.

[Offthegrid]

How funny -- I donated blood today. But I'm on the other end of the country.

[Eden]

My mom said that when she was young they used to take 1/2 pints (no joke!) from people under 110. They have to do so much testing these days that it isn't worth it to take any less than a pint.

[bcipam]

Up until last Fall I was a regular blood donor - for 11 years. Every 56 - 60 days I was at St. Jos. Each time I went in I had to fill out a questionaire. Each time I filled out the questionaire there were new questions about countriies I've travelled too and things I've done. I had sort of put it in my mind that I would never go to England, China, Africa cause you aren't able to donate blood if you've travelled in those states.

With my cancer, I got anemic and could not donate. I'm still anemic and working on that but I was unaware that if I got cancer, I would not (at least for 5 years) be able to give blood. That sucks!

Anyway where my ramble was leading me - if you can give blood please do - the donor possibilities get narrower and narrower each year. Pretty soon no one will be able to give! Your precious gift is so needed especially if your are type O or AB or RH -. Even my common blood A+ is needed!

[East Hill]

I had sort of put it in my mind that I would never go to England, China, Africa cause you aren't able to donate blood if you've travelled in those states.

It's not that you can't donate, especially in regard to the travel to England. There is a graduated cut off depending on how much time one has spent there (due to mad cow disease). There are certain problems associated with Africa, mostly to do with AIDS, but some other diseases can cause you to be knocked off the donor list (malaria, dengue fever, etc.). I believe that China would have to do with malaria and other diseases, as well.

Talk to the person taking your history before you rule yourself out.

Sorry to hear that, Knotted. That's a bummer. I know I plan on donating every 60 days until I die or develop some awful disease which precludes me from donating.

East Hill

[lph]

I've always felt that being able to help someone by donating blood (or organs for that matter) is one of the really amazing things about modern technology. Being able to actually save somebodys life that way is almost miraculous to me. (Anyone else see the movie "Jesus of Montreal"? Maybe had a diff title)

Anyway, the blood donor people don't want me because when I was 4 I spent more than one year in Africa, in Tanzania. I am now 37. The only disease I know of that can lie latent for more than 30 years is syphilis, and needless to say I didn't contract that at the age of 4.

Do I sound bitter? Well, I am! This is one thing I'd really like to do and it bugs me that I can't.

I carry an organ donor card though.

[East Hill]

It sounds as if Norway is stricter than the US. The ban is not on all African countries, but just certain ones (which I can't remember off the top of my head). Oddly, you would be allowed to donate if you have not had (treated) syphilis or gonorrhea for at least one year.

I have just looked at some blood donation guidelines, and they do vary. I guess you would want to check with your local donation facility. I go through Puget Sound Blood Center, at the Southcenter facility.

I don't think they are as strict as American Red Cross.

East Hill