Question about giving blood

[PeepsInc]

Quote:
Blood is not considered an organ in the US. So you can sell it. My daughter is a rare AB blood type. The blood bank calls her regularly to donate. My concern is if she's so rare, If she needs blood, Who's gonna give it to her if she needs it? I want the blood bank to set up a private storage for my daughter. If it has a shelf life of 6 months,they can give away her blood that reached 4 months old. So she has a fresh supply if she ever needs it. It's not just a matter of helping others. By donating your making an income for the hospital that receives your blood. They don't give it to there patients for free. It only seems rite they should hold a private bank for any one that donates,& give away there soon to be outdated blood. If you look at the big picture, hospitals & drug companies alike are making money off your donated blood. People who donate blood should get free medical treatment. With out them the hospitals would go bankrupt.... Put that in your bill Obama!

 

[Ewe Mama2]

mom'sfolly :

I used to donate blood, and would continue to, but they think I have mad cow. This is a family joke, but the truth is I lived on a farm in Europe during the wrong years and the blood people don't want to risk prion diseases.

My dh routinely gives blood. He is on medication for high blood pressure, gout (I think) and allergy meds.

Good luck.

I hate that! I studied in Europe during part of that time frame and they STILL won't let me donate. That was almost 15 years ago! Wouldn't you think that it would be detectable after such a long period of time? Or at the very least it would be nice if they could come up with a blood screen test (as they do with HIV/AIDS) on every donation to weed out anyone who has the disease. I know..I know...that would cost too much money. But it irritates me when I see so many "Blood Emergency" signs and pleas for donations, knowing that my perfectly healthy blood isn't welcome.

So what do Europeans do when they need blood? I certainly hope they are allowed to donate!​

 

[mom'sfolly]

I have friends whose newborn needed a tranfusion. Mom and dad wanted to donate blood for their baby, but were not allowed to because they were Brittish. Mind you the kid have been in mommy for 8 1/2 months, living on mom's blood, but mom was not allowed to donate. She and I joke that we'll get mad cow together.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

My parents can't donate either because they're from England, not that they want to donate anyway.

 

[MandyH]

They will ask you waht meds you are on and tell you whether or not they want your blood. I used to do the BIG donation that took an hour, where they hooked you up to the machine that seperates your whole blood and platelets. They keep the platelets and you get your blood back. I am O- so I am a universal donor. Well when I had DD and went into heart failure they would not take my blood anymore because of the heart meds I was taking.

 

[Bluemoon420]

I have rare blood A- and have been asked to donate, but can't because I don't weigh enough. I'd probably donate knowing it would help someone else even though I'm deathly afraid of needles.
The only time they let me donate was for myself when I was pregnant. It was a good thing because I had ended up needing it.

Bluemoon

 

[bigkford]

Quote:
Because smaller people have less blood to spare and they are much more likely to pass out or go into a seizure from the donation process. The body can go into a flight or fight response when blood is removed from the body....sort of a shock response.

I've personally witnessed quite a few teenage girls, who lied about their weight, find out the consequences of their actions. Some of them have such a bad reaction that they not only pass out, but they pee their pants when they do. They have seizures which cause their arms to flex strongly, trapping the needle in the antecubital space and traumatizing the tissues there.

If one teen in the room passes out, we know that there will be others. Even if they have not donated yet, the sight of someone passing out seems to trigger something and they start dropping like flies!

I am not a teen. I am 43 years old and have five kids. I think when there is a shortage I feel it should be my choice. I eat healthy, no sweets, not much junk food. I raise almost all our food. Very little processed foods. I just think I should have the right to choose too.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Because smaller people have less blood to spare and they are much more likely to pass out or go into a seizure from the donation process. The body can go into a flight or fight response when blood is removed from the body....sort of a shock response.

I've personally witnessed quite a few teenage girls, who lied about their weight, find out the consequences of their actions. Some of them have such a bad reaction that they not only pass out, but they pee their pants when they do. They have seizures which cause their arms to flex strongly, trapping the needle in the antecubital space and traumatizing the tissues there.

If one teen in the room passes out, we know that there will be others. Even if they have not donated yet, the sight of someone passing out seems to trigger something and they start dropping like flies!

I am not a teen. I am 43 years old and have five kids. I think when there is a shortage I feel it should be my choice. I eat healthy, no sweets, not much junk food. I raise almost all our food. Very little processed foods. I just think I should have the right to choose too.

My dad can't donate, not because he's too small, but because he passes out if he donates a full unit. In my hometown they have a walking blood bank, so he was signed up to donate 1/2 units only.

Imp

 

[bigkford]

Quote:
I am not a teen. I am 43 years old and have five kids. I think when there is a shortage I feel it should be my choice. I eat healthy, no sweets, not much junk food. I raise almost all our food. Very little processed foods. I just think I should have the right to choose too.

My dad can't donate, not because he's too small, but because he passes out if he donates a full unit. In my hometown they have a walking blood bank, so he was signed up to donate 1/2 units only.

Imp

They won't let me do anything here. I got a clean bill of health from my doc, I'm on no medication or nothing. I still get told no. I think it stinks. I could help save some people and have chance of doing that. I also tried to sign up for bone marrow, but was again declined because of weight.