My family is big on blood donation. My dad is 80 and does a “double red cell” (two pint) draw, my sister, who’s much busier than me, has been giving for years. Of course, as the laziest family member, I’ve never done it, mainly because it takes time from the great societal contributions I make by typing shit on the Internet and sleeping in on weekends.
But that’s going to change. I just made an appointment to give this weekend. Here’s the website. Because of the recent bad weather, there’s a national shortage, so I’m hoping that some other Juicers will choose to give, too.
This thread is for anyone who wants to make a pledge to donate, or if you already donate, tell us about your experience to encourage the others.
gnomedad
I donate platelets regularly but have slacked off recently, so I’ll take this as inspiration to make an appointment. The process takes about 2 hours; where I go, you get to watch a movie. The process takes some blood, removes platelets, and returns it to you in multiple cycles. Everything that touches your blood is sterile and disposable.
Joey Maloney
I wish I could donate, but I lived in the UK in the early 1980s and that disqualifies me in the USA.
…Also, they’d need a 6000-mile-long IV right now. But that’s beside the point. :-)
Crashman
I’m O+ so they’re always calling me. Last few times I’ve donated, though, I’ve felt especially drained and stressed out the next day, so I’ve been putting it off. Don’t know if there’s a direct correlation there, but I should stop procrastinating and go already.
Michael
I have really low blood pressure but still give twice a year because my blood type is rare and I’m CMV- (and approx 70% of US population is positive, so I’m good for immunocompromised people). It also means that I take about 20-25 minutes to fill the bag rather than the usual 8-10. I’ve gotten nicknamed for that.
Drink liquid overnight: don’t go crazy, but don’t go in dry.
Know if you’re allergic to latex or iodine. Remember if you’ve traveled out of the country in the past 3 years (20 I think if you’ve gone to UK related countries) because there’s a questionnaire to fill out before they draw.
Don’t be afraid to tell the phlebotomist if you’re feeling dizzy. I usually keep laying down for 5 minutes after they finish the draw to let my body recover, and I usually ask for a small thing of juice to sip at the bed while I do this (there are always snacks/drinks available at Blood Drives, though most people get out of the bed and eat them at the table).
Oh, and the fingertip prick they use to get a drop of blood for a heme/iron test hurts more than the actual drawing needle in the elbow.
Face
Last time I donated, it was at work, and although I had done it dozens of times before, this time I nearly passed out in the lobby of our company afterwards. I was sent home.
Take home message: give the red, affix the “I gave” sticker to your chest, act woozy (real or feigned), and enjoy the day off.
geg6
We just had a blood drive before the fall semester ended right before Christmas. I’ll still have some waiting time before I can give again. Will call to set it up now, though.
snabby
I’ve been a regular donor of whole blood for years, and just passed 11 gallons. It’s almost always been a positive experience, and I heartily recommend it. I’m O- and CMV-free, making me a good universal donor, and knowing babies are often the recipients (when they need blood before there is time to learn their blood types) is a real motivator. Still, the Red Cross always needs blood of all types. As stated above, the finger stick, which is not bad, is actually worse than the needle, which hardly feels like much of anything.
Plus, free cookies and you feel righteous afterwards.
danimal
God bless the donors. I was at 10 gallons before my heart attack, which put me on meds incompatible with giving any longer. Good thoughts are going out to all who donate.
quaint irene
You think you might be able to get out by this weekend? We had an extra 19 inches of snow here in NJ, on top of all the rest that’s fallen since Dec. 26. My street looks like an avalanche hit it.
TheMightyTrowel
I too am disqualified – in the states it would be because i’ve lived in the UK for more than 5 years, there and here it’s because i’ve slept with a gent who has slept with gents.
I’m a registered organ donor, though, and on the bone marrow lists.
I wish you all well, think of it as an excuse to eat many lovely cookies.
joes527
@Joey Maloney: The UK? Really? I thought that they were being harsh for disqualifying me for a couple of years I spent in West Africa back in the 80’s. I was a regular donor before that, but they won’t even look my way since then.
TR
Give blood. It is literally the least you can do.
It’s about as painless as a flu shot. You lay on your back for ten minutes, they give you a cookie and some juice, and you’re good to go. Go.
MAJeff
I can’t donate because I’ve had sex with a man at least once since 1977.
Cap'n Phealy
I’m type A+. It’s the only A+ I’ve ever gotten in my life…
I donate platelets & plasma every month. It takes longer than a standard donation*, but the components are useful by themselves, you can donate more frequently than with whole blood, and it’s by far the easiest karma points to accrue. I just sit there and surf the net, or watch a movie, or read a book.
Please donate what you can, as often as you can. A surfeit of blood supplies would be better than running short.
*It’s about 2 hrs from the moment I walk in the door to the moment I leave, but that’s longer than most because I’m a large fella, and can give multiple units in a single sitting.
dr. luba
I gave blood in my youth, and found it to be non-traumatic and vaguely rewarding. The cookies weren’t bad, either.
I’ve tried to give blood in more recent times, and been regularly rejected–I like to travel to places with endemic malaria.
Now, in my senescence, I run a fairly low platelet count, and have medical contraindications.
But if you can, give. It helps other people, and you may, just, albeit unknowingly, save a life.
dr. luba
I gave blood in my youth, and found it to be non-traumatic and vaguely rewarding. The cookies weren’t bad, either.
I’ve tried to give blood in more recent times, and been regularly rejected–I like to travel to places with endemic malaria.
Now, in my senescence, I run a fairly low platelet count, and have medical contraindications.
But if you can, give. It helps other people, and you may, just, albeit unknowingly, save a life.
The Disgruntled Chemist
I’m O- and CMV-, so I also get a ton of calls. I donate as often as I can. My biggest tip would be to make sure you are fully hydrated before you go in. My donations usually take a long time anyway, but they really drag on if I’m dehydrated. That’s no fun for anybody.
Also, I get light-headed every time I donate, and the nurses are always willing to take precautions beforehand (elevating my feet, etc.) when I let them know.
geg6
@Michael:
Heh. Speak for yourself. I apparently have extremely small and difficult veins. It’s never one and in with me. Usually, depending on the skill of the phlebotomist and how much they are willing to take my advice on how to draw blood from my “terrible” veins, it takes 3-7 tries before they either hit the vein or don’t blow it out.
Punchy
My pops is O-pos, so he gets more solicitations than a Vegas hooker. More phone calls asking for help than a 13-yr. old girl. Gives as much as he can but the Red X is insatiable. Like they’re employing vampires or something.
Margarita
Does anyone know what the demand is for AB- blood? When I used to donate, friends with more common types would get calls and postcards reminding them to come back frequently. I never did. When I asked at the blood bank, they would only say that they would be happy to take my blood if I came in. But I got the impression they really didn’t care. I made sure my name was on their list to call if they needed me, but I stopped going in regularly. And they never contact me.
Do they even want AB-?
The Disgruntled Chemist
@geg6: Same here. Donating blood is always a miserable experience for me, but as @TR said, it’s literally the least we (well, most of us) can do.
piratedan
aye, used to be a platelet donor for 20+ years but a false hepatitus kicked me off the lists. If you can help, it’s one of those karmic balance kinda of things to help someone you don’t even know.
geg6
@The Disgruntled Chemist:
Oh, agreed. I give as often as I can. I just hate it, though, and no amount of stale cookies can make up for it. I usually end up with both arms littered with puncture marks and huge bruises from blown out veins.
And then I go home on sick time because the bruises frighten everyone into asking no questions about how I feel (usually sore as hell, but not anything more). It seems to be apparent. ;-)
daveNYC
Yeah, it’s that mad cow thing. I grew up near the U of Iowa, and that overseas thing is a bit of a problem, a lot of the professors end up spending enough time abroad over the years that they eventually cross the limit and can’t donate anymore.
I used to donate kinda-semi-regularly, but my last trip was to Tanzania, so I’m now on hold for a year. Darn that pesky malaria.
I firmly endorse giving though. Free juice and cookies rock.
Joey Maloney
@joes527: Yep. Mad Cow disease is the issue. I’ve tried convincing them that I was a strict vegetarian when I was there, but it doesn’t matter.
R-Jud
Donated blood helped save my brother’s life after his car accident in December. Go thou and give. Mr Jud does once a year. I would, but the NHS doesn’t want it from us pernicious anemics.
Poopyman
In case anybody needs another nudge, this is from the local center:
john b
I appreciate the sentiment. But I have a pretty adverse reaction to giving blood for some reason. I passed out the last time I tried about a year ago and nearly passed out the time before. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. But it’s not a fear of the needle or anything, it’s from the blood loss and it usually happens a couple minutes after everything is complete. Suggestions? Because I would like to give, but can’t really psyche myself up for what will likely be another embarassing incident in front of co-workers.
AdamK
@MAJeff: I hope it was more than once.
The Disgruntled Chemist
@Poopyman: I’m right outside of Baltimore. I was going to wait until they came to campus, but now I guess I know what I’m doing this weekend.
Gin & Tonic
@snabby: This. I’m one donation away from 10 gallons. I’m also O-, so they call me to “remind” me pretty much every time my 8 weeks are up. It’s one thing I can do in my life, easily, that is completely altruistic.
Plus free cookies, of course.
David Fud
@Margarita: AB- can only go into AB+ and AB- recipients. They want it, but it isn’t as useful as some other types. See “red blood cell compatibility“.
David Brooks (not that one)
This is an infuriating topic for me. I’m O-, universal donor. I started giving blood when I was 20. I consider it a privilege – or I did, until about 10 years ago. But now, because I lived in England until 1983, and have visited Europe more than 60 aggregate days since (or some such number) – nooo, my blood isn’t pure enough and I can’t save lives in the US. There is a 0.00001% chance I could pass on BSE. Pathetic.
Never mind that every other country will take it from me (I tried to do it during vacation in the UK recently, but organizing the donation time proved too tricky). And, of course, there’s plenty of BSE in the US dairy herd, but agribusiness and the FDA have made sure we don’t know about it.
You knew there had to be a political aspect to this, didn’t you?
Poopyman
Let’s see, I’m up to (checks wallet) 79 platelet donations to date, each one being double or triple units. As @Cap’n Phealy: says, they take platelets and plasma and I’m in the chair a couple of hours. I leave feeling kinda crappy, but I remember that I’m feeling a hell of a lot better than the recipient, and I get to get up and walk away.
If you’re not a regular, giving whole blood is a lot quicker and easier. Just go do it.
JJ
The last (and only) time I gave blood they told me, “Next time you’re feeling charitable, go help out at Goodwill.” Apparently they didn’t like that I passed out and stopped breathing…
Jacob
I’ve been giving regularly since I was old enough. To my mind, it is a minor inconvenience that literally saves someone’s life. I don’t know how anyone who is medically able could morally say no when asked.
For the past few years, I’ve been doing platelet and red cell donations. It is a much longer process but you get first class treatment. The nurses back there usually have more experience, the loungers are super comfy and each has its own TV with satellite. I usually try to save up a couple of good podcasts and just enjoy a quiet couple of hours with no phone, no clients and no kids.
Poopyman
@The Disgruntled Chemist: Empire Towers in Glen Burnie. Tallest building around. Top floor.
JCJ
Like some others above I am O negative and CMV negative. Although not a vegetarian I often eat meatless dishes so I actually ended up iron deficient a little while ago. A couple of scopes later I was found to be free of colon, esophageal, and gastric cancer so I took iron for a while and now I am back at it. As The Disgruntled Chemist noted above O-/CMV- blood is often used at a nearby children’s hospital so I figure the constipation resulting from the iron supplements is worth the trouble.
JCJ
Like some others above I am O negative and CMV negative. Although not a vegetarian I often eat meatless dishes so I actually ended up iron deficient a little while ago. A couple of scopes later I was found to be free of colon, esophageal, and gastric cancer so I took iron for a while and now I am back at it. As The Disgruntled Chemist noted above O-/CMV- blood is often used at a nearby children’s hospital so I figure the constipation resulting from the iron supplements is worth the trouble.
Elisabeth
@john b:
Do you eat beforehand? And, you might just want to lie there for awhile after and ask that maybe they bring your juice and cookies to you.
(I had a tattoo last year ~ need to see what the time period is before I can donate. My issue is low iron which has stopped me from donating several times in the past.)
David Fud
I had given for years, but travel into malarial areas kept knocking me out until I got out of the habit. I see that it is time to pick up the habit again. I’ve only ever wanted to do whole blood (“I’ll give it but I don’t want it back”), but maybe I should check on platelet giving. I seem to remember it is quicker now or better somehow, with an improved technology.
PurpleGirl
I would like to donate blood but I now have medical issues that exclude me. Years ago I gave blood several times, including once at a science fiction convention blood drive and when they had trouble getting the vein in my left arm, I told them try my right arm and it was easier to get the vein there. (I had told them that before they began the process but I guess they needed proof.)
JChan
I can’t donate, either, due my size/weight. Will ask SA’s and co-workers to donate and forward Red Cross address to all on my contact list. Thanks for bringing this up!!!
Masked Bandit
When I’ve donated blood, I always need to nap for a few hours afterward. Just after donating, I wobble like I’m badly drunk. My friends are careful not to let me drive after I scared them and myself badly after a group donation run.
Sadly, I won’t be donating anymore, as I’m pretty sure that I’m on the deferred list now. I am in a same-sex relationship. My boyfriend Ken and I have always ensured that our bedroom activities have been limited so we could answer “no” for the male-male sexual activity question. Unfortunately, my boyfriend worked at a blood bank, and his supposedly non-discriminatory employer found out about our relationship. Without prior notification and without the accompanying definition materials provided along with the questionnaire, his boss and H.R. confronted him on the male-male sexual activity question. Without the definitions or time to prepare, Ken reluctantly agreed that there didn’t seem to be a way that he answered that question honestly.
As soon as he got home, I asked what the specific definition was. He called, found the proper definition, and then asked to change his answer in light of it.
It didn’t matter. Despite no previous problems in the prior 2 years of employment, they fired Ken. Since he changed his answer, they claimed he had no credibility. Since we are two males in a same-sex relationship, they said that a “reasonable person” would conclude that Ken was lying on the form. No written or verbal warnings, though. They fired him, without option of rehire.
We’ve visited lawyers, and, legally, there is no recourse in Utah. There is no appeals process. This happened the Friday before Thanksgiving, just a few days before both our families were joining us in the house we purchased together in July.
Ken is still without work, unfortunately, although there is a job offer about 1.25 hours away that he is pursuing. The hours are crap (rotating shift), the job will be boring, the pay will be somewhat better.
I hate that people who need blood should suffer. I hate that the company decided that they know things about our relationship that they do not. I hate what unemployment is doing to Ken, a no-nonsense, hard worker. We’re okay financially; we bought a house that we could afford on either of our salaries. Still, Ken is a type-1 diabetic; my insurance is not appropriate, and I can’t change it until August enrollment.
So, take care fellow blood donators. While drunken frat boys can donate blood at campus blood donation drives, they really don’t want gay blood in the system out there. It can be used as an excuse to fire you.
/Yes, I’m angry at this crap. Could you tell?
Comrade Mary
I’m O negative and way overdue to donate, but I need to get over my slight anemia and have some day surgery in a couple of weeks before I can donate. Put me down for the spring, thanks.
vlm
As a newborn, I survived only due to a complete blood transfer from donated blood (Rh- issues with mom). I’ve been a regular donor since age 18. My husband has been joining me for years. Other than some wicked bruises from time to time, never had an issue. Heading off to be drained again next week.
The pizza, cookies and juice afterwards though? Wouldn’t touch ’em if you paid me.
Poopyman
@Elisabeth: The questionnaire asks “Have you had a tattoo in the past 12 months?”
Sentient Puddle
O+, so while I’m not quite the most desirable blood type, I still get the nudge every two months. That and the local blood bank swings by our workplace, so it’s not exactly like I have any excuse.
I don’t really have much to add to what everyone else said. Donating is a very worthwhile thing to do.
Amir_Khalid
I haven’t given blood in, like, 30 years. The heart, blood sugar, etc. meds I’m on now would definitely disqualify me from donating. But the real reason I stopped donating is that my veins are damn difficult to find.
Nowadays, that makes things difficult for med techs who need to take blood samples from me. But at my last attempt to give blood (in 1980), I got stuck four times and the needle came up dry. I told my dad about it. He wasn’t too amused, because the team that came to my university campus to collect the blood donations was from the hospital where he was director.
steven gregson
I have been a regular donor for years (O+) and I not only feel spiritually better after giving but I am convinced that I feel physically better as well. Had to quit donating for a few years after a bout with cancer but am now happily back on the list.
Cat Lady
Wow, I thought my O- CMV- made me a very special snowflake, and I’m not even special in this 40 comment thread. I was up to three gallons before I started traveling to Central American countries in the past few years, and even with the right shots and relatively low risk for contracting anything in the areas I was traveling, I’m still quarantined. It drives me crazy cuz I’m never sick and I’d donate every 56 days if they’d let me. It makes me feel good.
Persia
@geg6: Are you drinking like hell beforehand? That’s the only thing that works with me, but it really does work. I went from ‘oh, crap, we’ll have to use a butterfly needle’ to one-and-done with the giant Red Cross needles.
Poopyman
Any questions?
Omnes Omnibus
@David Brooks (not that one): Having lived and traveled in Europe knocks me off the list. I used to give every three months, but the rules have gotten ever stricter.
geg6
@PurpleGirl:
That always seems to be the problem for me, too. They never seem to believe that I might actually know what problems they may face in getting my blood. That, or they think they are the superhero of phlebotomists and can do what almost no other one can do. I mean, what part of “I need the butterfly needle, please, due to my 52 years of experience with my body and various medical professionals with various amounts of expertise failing to get a vein on one try” is so difficult to understand?
MikeJ
Last I checked I couldn’t donate due to having lived in England during the mad cow age (no, it was after Thatcher.) Have the rules changed?
Persia
Just a note: if you can’t donate, you can also help out at blood drives. We donors love the nice people who give us juice and cookies.
I gave for the first time when my grandfather was dying of leukemia. The donations helped keep him going, and I felt like that was the least I could do. The first time I tried my iron was too low, but I kept trying (and eating delicious meat).
They’ve been talking about modifying the ‘men who have sex with men’ restrictions. I hope they do, as it’s absurdly prohibitive at this point.
geg6
@Persia:
I could drown myself and it wouldn’t do a damn thing. It seems to be genetic. My mother and older sister had the same problem. Once, when having minor but in-patient surgery, they had to hit me 9 times before getting the IV in.
GordonGuano
Balloon Juice shilling for people juice? Awright! I have a younger brother who is making ends meet by “donating” plasma for a little extra cash. In our area, he can make around $200/month doing it, which is way better than when I was doing it for beer money in the mid 90s (because you get more bang for for buck when you’re a wee bit low). If not for this damn tattoo I recently got (I took George Carlin’s advice and got “INSERT GERBILS HERE” on my buttcheek with an arrow pointing to the place where the magic happens), I would go out and do it
The Disgruntled Chemist
@john b:
Tell the person who checks you in about your history. They will probably give you something to eat/drink while they take the blood, and will likely also put your feet up.
Persia
@geg6: Yeah, I figured you’d already tried it, but it was worth mentioning. My dad’s a nightmare too, but my veins seem a little more accomodating.
Sentient Puddle
Huh, so I guess I’m really lucky with easy to find veins. They’re already eyeing a vein on my arm before they strap that thing on me and ask for three good squeezes.
I know this thread probably isn’t where horror stories should go, but there was only one time they had trouble with my veins. They found one, stuck me, did their thing, left me for a few minutes, came back, and was bewildered as to why there wasn’t much blood flow despite the fact that the needle was sticking out of a rather visible vein. The guy grabbed someone else to take a look, she looked at my arm, and sort of panicked. After taking the needle out and bandaging me, she explained that they believed that the needle went through my vein, and to ice the hell out of my arm to try to minimize the bruising I was about to experience.
Other than that, everything’s been peachy.
matoko_chan
i donate regularily because im a universal donor and my doctor father emphasized doing it.
Belle Bonfils does a great job in the greater denver metro area.
they send mobiles.
Michael D.
My experience has always been:
“You’re gay? Sorry, your blood is no good here.”
boatboy_srq
I think giving blood is a wonderful thing. I just wish this country wouldn’t keep making it look like they’re only soliciting donations from upstanding, non-inked, drug-free monogamous heterosexuals who’ve never left their home towns and don’t eat odd ethnic foods, and stop hinting that the only way for those of us who don’t fall into that particular category can mainly help out is by recruiting more of those upstanding, non-inked, drug-free monogamous heterosexuals who’ve never left their home towns and don’t eat odd ethnic foods so their blood can be obtained instead of ours.
Violet
@Joey Maloney:
I visit the UK relatively regularly, which disqualifies me, or it did the last time I checked. Kind of wonder what all those folks in the UK do for blood.
Also, I had malaria. That used to disqualify me totally. Don’t know what the current rules are. A friend who had thyroid disease said she was disqualified for that. Apparently if you have an autoimmune disease, like I do since I have Hashimoto’s, the most common thyroid problem, then you’re disqualified. I haven’t checked it out to confirm, but when she tried to donate that’s why she was refused.
Sherry Reson
I’m O+, give every 10-12 weeks. I figure that, like voting, it’s part of citizenship, part of belonging to a place and a people. Also, I’ve childhood memories of my dad on a gurney …
I’ve learned to take hydrating seriously, eating a good breakfast, ditto taking it easy for the rest of the day. Going dancing afterwards was a really* dumb idea, never to be repeated.
I’ve learned to say “yes, there is* scarring on my left arm, but, as some of your colleagues here can attest, given the diameter of the blood drawing needle, that’s the one you want to stick.”
I’d give platelets for all the extra tlc and knowing that they are hugely important for folks battling cancer (and the movie or computer access), but my veins flatten out during that procedure. So you do what you can do.
Violet
Okay, I’ve just check the Red Cross website and it looks like I’m qualified to give. I will try to give in the next week. I haven’t given since college because traveling and various other things disqualified me. The rules change all the time and the UK restriction has kept me from donating before. I’ll see what they say. According to their website I had to live there a long time ago. It used to be if you’d spent a cumulative 3 months in the UK within a several year time span you were disqualified.
Edit: I forgot. I’m waiting for my lab results from my doctor on my Vitamin B12 results. I’m going to see what those are before I try to donate.
Omnes Omnibus
My wife has been turned away because she doesn’t weigh enough.
MikeJ
@Violet:
Having been on the Piccadilly Line when an Arsenal game gets out I’d guess bitter.
MaskedBandit
Huh. My comment appears to be held up in moderation. In the interest of commenting while people are still reading the comments, I’ll just say:
While technically male gays can donate blood if they’ve been careful about their bedroom activities, the people running the blood bank are unlikely to believe you. If possible, they will fire you over it.
Skalite
They don’t let me donate because of the tattoos. I hope others donate, though, I used to do it all the time before the ink.
Jeff Spender
I wish I could donate blood, but I am unable to because I was born with a bicuspid aorta valve, and when I was ten I was diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis. I’m 23, now, and my condition is still only rated as moderate, but it’s bad enough that my cardiologist has barred me from donating. I think that part of the reason is the extremely high risk I have for endocarditis.
I make monetary donations to the Red Cross when I can, but donating blood is something which I simply cannot do.
Elisabeth
@Poopyman:
Thanks! Thought it was a year. Guess I’ll make an appointment for April 2.
shortstop
@joes527: Fear of mad cow disease; there’s still a lot they don’t understand, or say they don’t understand, about its transmission. I’m on the permanent U.S. deferral list, too, since I lived in the UK in the ’80s. (Yeah, “permanent deferral” is a hilarious combo of words.)
However, that rule is only a few years old, and until they kicked us off the U.S. list, the third baseman and I gave every eight weeks. It really is painless (except for a little needle prick) and it really does let you know you’re doing something useful for someone else at exceptionally little inconvenience to yourself (assuming that I’m not a mad cow carrier who passed it on unwittingly). And, if you don’t care for packaged cookies, as I don’t, you can have cheese goldfish. What’s not to like?
Chat Noir
I’ve been donating since July 1990 when we had a blood drive at work. I’m O+. The Red Cross starts calling a day after the eight week period is up to see when I can donate again. This post reminds me that I need to schedule an appointment.
I recall two different times where it wasn’t OK for me to donate because of low iron levels (and those were borderline low).
Never have had a bad experience donating (knock wood) and it gives me an excuse to be lazy for a couple days after!
And Another Thing…
Those who chafe at the donor restrictions might want to reconsider..I got Hepatitus C from a blood transfusion. It’s nobody’s fault but it really messes with your life. From my perspective, the restrictions are wise.
shortstop
@MikeJ: Awesome.
CatHairEverywhere
I am A-, and they call me all of the time. I used to donate regularly, but got out of the habit after my daughter was born several years ago. I really should go back. I am generally not a big fan of needles, and was pleasantly surprised by how simple it is to give blood.
Davis X. Machina
Someone has to give twice for me. SGOT/SGPT numbers were elevated years ago, and now I’m on the computerized blacklist.
Loneoak
@David Brooks (not that one):
Actually, blood donation has always been political. I study bioethics professionally and find it endlessly useful to point out that the acts that we now understand/assume to be inherently altruistic—so altruistic that it is the first example that is used to describe altruism—have always been economic and political. When blood donation first started in the early 20th Century, blood was considered a waste product whose excess could be gotten from the poor. So poor people were paid to give blood—it was not something one could appropriately donate. Then with WWII, there was a blood shortage that was alleviated by recasting blood donation as a patriotic act worthy of proper citizens/moral subjects. Following that, the AIDS epidemic, similar blood born diseases, global travel, gay sex, and needle-drugs reclassed blood as a disease threat that needed to be newly regulated. Who could be proper donor was changed, and now certain people were no longer capable of the most altruistic act.
Although I certainly agree it is altruistic, and you should do it, moral categories have always also been economic and political.
(If you think this is interesting, read this book.)
Poopyman
By the way, the Red Cross eligibility requirements are here … theoretically. At this writing they are “experiencing technical difficulties”.
Violet
I donated blood for the first time when I was in high school. They had it set up in our auditorium/theater. The screening was done at the foot of the stage and if you qualified you went up onto the stage and gave blood. That meant that everyone waiting to be screened sat in the seats designed to be looking at the play on the stage.
As I waited to be called for screening, I watched all those folks on the stage with blood coursing out of their veins into those little bags and it freaked me out. I became clammy, lightheaded, and thought I was going to pass out.
Fortunately the nurses understood and told me I could come back the following day. I did and that time there was no line to be screened, so I was done and up on the stage donating blood in no time. Plus I’d learned the day before not to look at the stage.
Why they set it up like that I’ll never understand. If you’re in high school it’s obviously your first time to give blood (you have to be at least 17) and many people are understandably nervous. I hope they at least figured out in subsequent years they needed to put up screens or something. It was like watching vampire pr0n. LOL.
gbear
Last time I tried to donate blood (4 years ago) I was turned down for being an uncelebate queer. Back then, Red Cross’s rule was that if you had had gay sex within seven years, they wouldn’t take your blood. I don’t think that rule has changed. Screw them.
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
I got kicked to the curb by LifeSource a few years back — they found something hinky in my blood that suggested I had HIV — something that is demonstrably not the case — but the minute they found it, they now can’t accept me forever and ever, amen.
I’ve been meaning to give the Red Cross a whirl ever since and for some reason, never got around to it.
I will this weekend.
(And I tweeted the appeal!)
Violet
@Poopyman:
Yeah, that link is bad. You want to go here for the Red Cross eligibility requirements.
gnomedad
@geg6:
Since I have good pipes, I feel obligated to use them. Don’t feel bad if you avoid donating because it’s a miserable experience. I’ll try to make up for you. :)
Also, some facilities have more sophisticated finger-stick gadgets that hurt a lot less, so now the arm needle is the worst part. That’s progress, I guess. :)
Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people)
Originally from West Africa, travel there frequently, can’t donate as a consequence.
Poopyman
@Violet: Thanks!
For those that are curious, check the sublinks under “View specific eligibility criteria by:”
catclub
It is amazing that people still trust the Red Cross on blood supply. They were amazingly incompetent during the AIDS crisis years. I think their incompetence is why all the other blood supply groups have grown substantially.
Example: the poster here who is automatically turned down for blood donations but is still an organ donor.
catclub
Oh, did you know that, for men in particular, donating blood is probably very good for you? High levels of iron turns out to be not so good – and giving blood – aka middle ages bloodletting – reduces the iron load.
So does being female and bleeding every month.
Roger Moore
I work at a hospital, so the donor center is very vigorous about chasing me down to give regularly. They make it rewarding by giving nice “loyalty” prizes for donating regularly, including 4 hours of vacation each for your fourth and fifth donation in a year. I just got invited to their annual awards banquet for reaching my 25th whole blood donation.
More important to me is that I’m also a blood stem cell donor- basically like a bone marrow donor but less painful. There’s a nice woman on the other side of the country who gets to see her kids go to college because I took the time to sign up and to donate. It was by far the best ratio of good done to effort of anything I’ve done in my life. I’d strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to sign up with Be The Match. They can always use more people, especially ones who come from unusual ethnic backgrounds- minorities and people of mixed heritage.
Roger Moore
@Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people):
You might want to re-check that. Where I donate, at least, they recently removed the parts about Africa from the questionnaire. They’re still worried about travel to places with endemic malaria, but that’s limited to the past three years.
joes527
@Roger Moore: hmmmm… From the eligibility link above:
Either the link has the wrong information or you got a messed up screening. Neither option instils confidence.
A couple of years ago I thought that a close reading of the requirements meant that I was OK. I called the red cross and talked about my particular situation and the person on the phone agreed that I qualified. But when I went in to donate the screening that they had left me out.
evap
I used to give regularly and would still do so except that I lived in Spain for a year, 2002-3, and they no longer take my blood. I guess this is the mad cow worry.
boatboy_srq
@And Another Thing…: OF COURSE it’s somebody’s fault: you got tainted product – and tainted product that’s pretty easily tested for the infection. That is NOT supposed to happen.
Most of those of us on the “ineligible” list aren’t suggesting opening the doors to rampant infection and spreading disease. But the screening factors are largely easy to test for, and some of the restrictions are either antiquated, or hopelessly excessive, or both. For HIV, for example – the exposure window prohibiting donation is over seven years (nearly anyone exposed will test positive within twelve months), and unsafe behavior is hardly a guarantee of infection or of producing a donation unsuitable for general distribution. And much of the “screening” requires honesty from the donors, which is at least as likely to produce inaccurate rating of the donations as would a simple battery of tests performed on the donations themselves. If the donation organisations used effective testing methods on all the donations, and opened up the donation elegibility standards to a larger pool, the likelihood we would have a better, more secure blood supply is extremely high. Further, in order to ensure that a full pint is available, a second (perhaps 100ml) sample could be drawn to be submitted for testing with each donation without harming the donors or risking contamination of the pint drawn.
In short, there are ways to manage blood donations, and test systematically each pint donated, without resorting to all the various eligibility requirements or creating classes of donors, and resulting in a far larger pool of potential donors and a substantial increase in the blood supply.
Instead, we get a systematic shaming of anyone who has ever been tattoed, had unsafe sex, traveled, or simply made a mistake, and blithe acceptance (if not explicit approval) of anyone who simply denies all of these things to the collection site.
BDeevDad
Used to donate before I went on all the meds. Need to check if it’s still ok. Our daughter has required three donations, so thank you to all of you that do or have donated.
My wife actually wrote a post about her sister donating to “pay it forward” for the donations our daughter needed.
Persia
I believe the tattoo thing is now just that you have to wait a year. Same for piercings.
boatboy_srq
CORRECTION – @#96: “…anyone subsequently infected by that exposure will test positive within twelve months)…”
I’m too angry at the system to type clearly, not an idiot.
Mnemosyne
The restrictions on gay men are left over from the days when most GLBT were closeted. That’s why they still do the whole rigamarole of, “Okay, now I’m going to turn my back and you put the sticker on that says whether or not it’s safe to use your blood.” It’s from the days when having your boss or co-workers find out you were gay automatically meant the end of your career, so gay men who thought or knew they might have AIDS had to have a way to pretend to donate blood without actually endangering anyone.
Of course, it’s totally antiquated now. We do still need a way to screen people for AIDS and other communicable diseases, but I think there are better screening questions than “have you ever had sex with another man?”
SectarianSofa
Man, I would love to donate, but can’t — Hepatitis A antibodies drop me off the list.
brentblah
I figure this is as good a time as any to make my first post here…
I donated blood for the first time 3 months ago. I have no fear of needles but something about donating always weirded me out. But they had a drive at my college, I had about an hour between classes, and said “screw it, why not?” It was quick, completely painless, and I felt really good about myself. Plus, free blood pressure and cholesterol screening! It’s a win-win!
Just became eligible to give again 2 days ago. Definitely plan on going in the next week.
David Brooks (not that one)
BTW: I said upthread that I first donated when I was 20, in 1969. Cambridge University had an annual blood drive, and that year (in the wake of student protests galore), the drive’s poster was blood-red with stark white lettering:
Does your noted social conscience extend to giving your blood?
Response that year was double the normal.
Shadow's Mom
I too recommend the experience. I’ll try again this month, but the last 6 times I tried my red cell count has been under the mandated 38. I’m not anemic, just run a bit light. I’ll try eating a lot of broccoli and other iron-rich foods.
Nicole
@catclub:
The reason for that is a fairly common hereditary condition called Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HH), where the body absorbs too much iron. When the blood gets overloaded it shoves the iron into assorted organs where, after decades of iron overload, it can cause diabetes, cancer, all kinds of lovely things. The best treatment for it is phlebotomy. And that blood is usually very iron-rich, which is good for people needing transfusions.
But here’s the thing- many, many, many states and organizations, including the Red Cross, will not accept blood donations from HH patients. The thinking was originally, that they didn’t know if the condition was contagious (it’s not; it’s genetic) and now, that since HH patients must get rid of blood for their health, that their donation is not altruistic and therefore there must be something wrong with it (I’m not kidding; this was the line of thinking when I researched it).
So HH patients have to be charged for medically necessary phlebotomies. And if you charge to draw the blood, you may not use it, and it gets thrown out. So thousands and thousands and thousands of pints of blood are being thrown away because of outdated worries about a genetic condition that in some ways, makes for better blood for those who need it. It’s infuriating. If the restrictions on HH blood were lifted, it could seriously ease the blood shortage in the country.
NYS, I should note, happily accepts HH blood at its blood banks.
And if you have high iron levels, or have a Celtic background, it’s worth getting tested. The earlier you know if you have HH, the less damage that’s been done to your organs and the less likely it’ll ever be a problem. Woman are usually diagnosed with HH later than men, because, as you said, we bleed every month and lose iron that way so the signs often don’t show up until after menopause.
So I find the “It’s good for your health!” sales pitch blood banks do hilarious in a really infuriating way- it’s good for a certain population, who, if they found out WHY it was good for their health, wouldn’t be allowed to donate to maintain their good health. Agh!
Phil Perspective
I’m all set. I just donated last week. ;-) What ever the limit is(once every two or three months), I do it. Have been for years. It’s my good person deed.
elm
I’m also forbidden from donating blood, because I in a country with 0.0001% of its population afflicted by Mad Cow disease.
abo gato
Got the call yesterday from our blood bank that I am eligible again, so Saturday is my day! Husband and I go together and after another couple of donations I’ll be up to 8 gallons and he’ll be at 7. I have come to just ask for the ice bag before they ever start anything and with that at the back of my neck, it kind of keeps me from getting creeped out. We got our son to start, because I told him, hey, you start at 18 and do it regularly, just think how many gallons you can donate over your lifetime? How many people can you help? I know he only goes once or twice a year, but that’s better than most and I hope that when he gets older (like us) that he’ll see how important it is.
And Another Thing...
@boatboy_srq: In my case, it really isn’t somebody’s fault. Interesting that you’d jump to that conclusion. I acquired my infection before there were tests to identify Hepatitis C.
Other than that thanks for the info in your post.
catclub
@Roger Moore: “I just got invited to their annual awards banquet for reaching my 25th whole blood donation.”
Let’s see: at least 4 per year, over 30 years => 120
and I’m probably not that special.
Keep up the good work.
Michelle
I was turned away twice due to a medical condition several years ago after donating regularly before my diagnosis. I still have the condition, but you’ve inspired me to call and check if the prohibition still applies. (It is not transmittable by blood or otherwise.)
Origuy
A+ I’ve been going to the Stanford Blood Center for years. I had to take a break last year after getting a dental implant. They use ground-up bone for the graft. If it’s human, you have to wait a year; if it’s bovine, I think it’s a permanent deferral. Anyway, I gave last week.
boatboy_srq
@And Another Thing…: The conclusion was that, for some time now, Hep C has been very easy to test for, and tainted blood is a symptom of the current methods of relying on donor honesty in the screening process more than on actually testing the product. That, to me, is negligence and dishonesty embodied, and your infection (had it occurred after the tests were developed) completely avoidable.
You’re quite right that, since your infection occurred prior to the tests being available, it wasn’t possible for the transfusion to be screened for that particular pathogen. I forget sometimes that people’s experience with particular circumstances cover many more years, and have far more lasting effects, than the last three administrations’ worth of public policy.
However, since the tests were developed in 1987, it has been possible to screen for Hep C for the past twenty years at least. That’s twenty plus years that we’ve excluded people with potential exposure to Hep C that testing the donated blood could easily have addressed, and denouncing those exposed as “unclean” simply from having done something that might have exposed them to the pathogen.
The problem with the exclusions is less the security of the blood supply and more the censure of behaviour society deems “undesirable.” The prohibitions against the sexually active, afficionados of body art, frequent travelers, etc all smack of moral judgment that the medical community has little business enforcing, particularly when the need is as great and the means of eliminating the effects of those behaviours is as simple as it is.
Arclite
If someone has cancer, can they still give?
ellid
I gave a unit of platelets this morning. I give about once a month, first thing in the morning, and then go to work. My platelets go straight to the trauma unit, cancer unit, and occasionally the NICU at my local hospital.
It’s a good, good feeling.
Quiddity
I’ve given over 6 gallons. My advice is to find a place – typically a hospital – where you feel comfortable. Here in Los Angeles, I initially went to Cedars-Sinai, but it was somewhat impersonal and the parking was a hassle. So I switched to St. John’s in Santa Monica in 2002 and have been going there ever since. They also give you 2 tickets to AMC theaters (w/some restrictions on use). I’d donate anyway, but that’s a nice bonus.
catclub
@boatboy_srq:
I disagree with most of this. Yes, they can test for most of these, and my understanding is that they DO test.
It is very clear that they test for AIDS/HIV because even after all the questions that should eliminate almost all HIV infected persons from the blood pool, they then want to make sure you are not giving just in order to get tested for HIV.
They also want to eliminate as many donors who are likely to test test bad as possible – thus the ‘denouncing as unclean’. True except for the ‘denouncing’ and ‘unclean’ parts.
When the test is not 100% reliable there are all kind of bad falses – false positives and false negatives. Eliminating donors who are significantly more likely than the average to come up positive for various bad things, means they are less likely to slip through the testing via false negatives.
boatboy_srq
@catclub: Obviously we live in different parts of the country.
Also, as one who (from your own words) falls neatly into one of the desired groups, I wouldn’t immediately expect you to understand: you don’t face the same sort of scrutiny as people like myself (presumed HIV risk and frequent traveler).
It may not be a subjective item where you are, but here in FL there is a very definite good-person/bad-person aspect to blood donations.
Further, while it may be desirable to optimise the results of a blood drive, why would an organisation whose business is to obtain as much of a resource as possible deliberately exclude whole segments of the population simply because they might provide unusable donations? This is especially true of HIV and other STDs where not only are the tests substantially reliable (by the way, false positives are much more common than false negatives) but safe sex education has further minimised the risks involved, enabling a larger donor pool through other means? Exclusions like these go far beyond simple health safety, and – especially since the tests are available and widely used – come dangerously close to discrimination.
You’ve probably read the other comments, where certain people are likewise permanently banned for various reasons, some of which have resulted from circumstances identified – and detectable if appropriate – more than thirty years ago. I have no problem with being more selective when it comes to some new, as-yet-unidentified infection, but most of these cases address problems identified and at least mitigated before the end of the last century.
And next time, when you’re giving blood, and you see someone turned away for one of these reasons, think hard about your own reactions. We don’t want “oh, that poor person” or “I wonder what s/he has” – we want recognition that whatever the excluding factor might be needs to be a real, quantifiable concern – not just a hangover from the days when those people weren’t real citizens (or even real people) in the eyes of the group collecting the donations.
TooManyJens
I’ve got an appointment tomorrow morning at 10:15. Thanks for the reminder.
Betsy
I have an appt (already, through a different org) to donate Monday. I estimate I’ve probably donated 3-4 gallons of blood over the last 12 years. I’m O+ (2nd only to O- in desirability) and I have big, easy-to-find-and-stick veins. The donation techs are always really excited about my veins. It’s kind of weird.
Gregory
I donate platelets once a month, and already have in January, but thanks to an email from my local organization indicating urgent need, I’m going again this Saturday.
asiangrrlMN
Aw, crap. I completely forgot to do this over the hollies. I will make my appointment ASAP. Thanks for the reminder, mistermix.
Darkrose
@catclub: The problem is that the criteria are based on presumed behavior.
I can’t give blood because I’ve had sex with a man who’s had sex with men since 1977. And yet, because I’m polyamorous and responsible, when I was sleeping with guys, I had myself tested for the standard STDs and HIV roughly every six months. I’ve also never had sex with a guy without using a condom, ever. So who’s more of a risk: a heterosexual serial monogamist, or me?
Of course, it’s all moot anyway for me, because I’m also anemic and take more meds daily than my mother, a diabetic with Parkinson’s, did. But the fact that in 2011, they’re still acting as though gay = AIDS when it comes to blood donation still pisses me off.
jh46inaz
I donate very regularly because I’m O- and in a program called the Baby Brigade. A very small percentage of people donate blood, and a very small percentage of those qualify for Baby Brigade (you must be type O and have never had cytomegalovirus). If you qualify, you can donate to newborn and premature babies, but they want you to donate very regularly if you join. I go every 8 weeks like clockwork. Get involved and see if you qualify…
Original Lee
Late to the party. I’m O-negative and have, until fairly recently, donated every time I’m eligible. The last few years I donated, my blood went straight into peds bags. A couple of times, I got phone calls from the local hospital the day I was eligible to donate again, and they would send a tech over with the equipment and a cooler because they needed the O-neg so badly. Unfortunately, due to having lived in England too long in the early 1980s, I can no longer donate. I do my bit by working the blood drives and encouraging people to donate, though, just like this.