I just read
an article about a guy who has give 320 pints... aka 40 GALLONS of blood in his lifetime. Wow!
I have never ever ever given blood, and I don't think I ever would. I get really squicked out by IV needles and I have a hard enough time giving a couple of vials for bloodwork. It makes me faint.
Do you give blood?
I am far too squeemish after a bad experience when I was 10 and in the hospital all alone. I have to lay down for them to take blood to test me for things or to give me a shot - otherwise I faint dead away.
I haven't done it, but I've thought about it. I find it difficult to have blood drawn for labs, though, it makes me feel kind of squeamish. I'm not sure what goes on when you give blood, do they keep the needle in you for a long time?
Needles don't bother me in the least, however it's been years since I've given blood. I may have to find a place around here to do that since I'm
O- the universal blood type.
If you give whole blood (what is normally taken) then you can donate 6.7 times per year. So, he has either given regularly for 50 years or he donates plasma. I think that you can donate plasma every week, or possibly it's every 2 weeks. It is much easier on the body to give plasma as they only take out certain parts of your blood and return the rest of it to you but you need two good veins (an exit and an entry) which eliminates most women. I have gorgeous veins on my right arm but none that would work on my left arm.
I go as often as I can, but unfortunately I tend to be disallowed sometimes because I travel in malaria-prone countries - even though I take the pills when required but I understand their reluctance - so I have only donated 25 times or so.
You get paid to donate in the U.S. so a different segment of the population may donate there.
ETA: I shouldn't laugh, but I have a funny story. A friend of mine went to donate blood and he brought along some of his summer students. They were a bunch of young computer nerds, in fact only one of them was older than 18 years old and could donate blood at the time (all the others would have had to get permission from their parents). So this young guy is all proud and showing off to his friends and being arrogant... only to pass out completely and quickly when getting his finger pricked for the initial test (they test for blood type and iron level before doing anything else). Poor guy, but that taught him not to be too cocky!
I have terrible, tiny veins. It often takes multiple sticks to get blood for tests, and veins sometimes collapse while the draw is going on. When my weight is down (which it isn't at the moment), I tend to have low blood pressure also. It is normal to low-normal right now. So no, I have not and will not give blood.
Anastasia:
If you find it difficult to have blood drawn for labs then I don't think that you would find it any better when donating. It is in fact very similar for both but I believe the needle for donations is slightly larger and they leave it in for as long as they require to get a pint from you (450 mL, or approximately 10% of your blood). If I drink a lot of liquids in the 24 hours before going then I can give really quickly - the fastest that is healthy is slightly less than 5 minutes - but some people can go for up to 30 minutes and I have waited 20 minutes on days when I didn't plan ahead and hadn't drunk much water.
They say that it won't hurt, but they lie. It hurts to have a large needle stuck in your vein. No more than when you get blood drawn, so it isn't really bad. The problem is that sometimes the needle might slip slightly and will cause unanticipated pain, and they readjust the needle and everything is fine again. That happens rarely though, as it has never happened to me. I think the smaller you are, then the smaller your veins are more likely to be, and the more painful it might be.
I have given five gallons, and I still would if I could, but people who lived in Europe in the 70s and 80s could be carriers for mad cow disease, and they haven't figured out a way yet to tell who that might be. So until that time, I can't. I have blood drawn all the time for tests. I have veins like the Holland Tunnel in both arms so it goes fast and doesn't hurt much. I don't really even notice.
So it hurts a little, but not as bad as the person who needs it is hurting. I wish I could still give, and hope I can again.
I used to give blood regularly for years, even though it is fairly difficult for me.
When the Canadian Red Cross started changing their questions so that they were discriminatory to gay people, I objected.
Every few years, I check to see if the wording of their policies are still discriminatory and against my ethics.
When that changes, I will donate again.
From my understanding if you have been pierced or tattooed in the last six months, they will not take your blood. As I tend to have a lot of work done on a regular basis, it pretty much disqualifies me from giving blood.
I just looked up the Mad Cow Disease rules about living in the UK and I can't donate blood after all:
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in the United Kingdom (UK)
By Dec 31, 1996, I'd already been there over a year.
Every time I've tried, except the last two times (more on that in a minute), something was wrong -- I had ears pierced, had a slight fever (I ALWAYS have a slight "fever"! -- my normal body temp is 99.4), whatever.
The second most recent time, DH's g-ma was going in the hospital, and she only wanted "family blood", so we all did a directed donation. But I got a letter saying I had one of the Hepatitises -- not C, but one that has no symptoms. A maybe? - can't remember. I was horrified. Didn't donate at all for a long time, then one day I saw the bloodmobile outside a shopping mall, and decided I'd let them try again, and see if I really DID have Hep-A or maybe it was a false positive. I told the guy all about it, and he said they do Hep-A false positives all the time. They took this one, no letter in the mail or anything. So, I don't have Hep-A.
All in all, based strictly on my experience, I find it more of a hassle than anything else.
Since the mad cow thing, I'm not allowed anymore, but I did it probably once a year throughout college. I'd do it again if they ever let me.
(09-08-2009 09:41 AM)daria Wrote: [ -> ]Since the mad cow thing, I'm not allowed anymore, but I did it probably once a year throughout college. I'd do it again if they ever let me.
Same here. I lived in England in 1984 and I admit I ate roast beef a few times.
I had a lot of blood drawn once for a study I was part of and I passed out. That was years ago but since then I'm aware that I'm not such a great donor-prospect.
I used to volunteer for the Red Cross and help organize blood drives, but that was before I was old enough to give blood.
I don't give blood because I don't meet the weight requirement.
PG: Interesting. I know that in Canada you cannot direct your blood to anyone but yourself. So if you are going in for surgery or something then you can donate your blood in advance and they will keep it aside for you 'just in case' although it will get destroyed afterward as they don't test it very rigorously (why worry about giving you your diseases again).
Family donations are not allowed for the exact reason that you mention. What happens if you cannot give the blood? The family might pressure you into telling them, and it might not be for a very pleasant reason. I know that you said it was embarassing to have Hep-A, but imagine not having told your family that you were permiscuous, or something similarly bad that should be kept personal! I guess you could always lie and say that you got banned because your blood pressure was too high because you were stressed about the needle (happens often enough) but that would require lying.
Noelle, where in the UK did you live?
I have good veins and no issues with needles but lately I've had some, giving blood for labs and just been poked so much I'm sick of it. I was thought to have an auto-immune disorder for awhile and really I still could.... this whole past year has been dealing with that and I've had enough of needles... plus if I do have something, I don't know if anyone would want my blood. My blood type isn't rare although I'm sure all types would be welcomed anyway. Maybe one day I will.
Nope. Would like to but can't because of tattoos.
(09-08-2009 01:52 PM)Koi Wrote: [ -> ]Nope. Would like to but can't because of tattoos.
This is from the Red Cross about giving blood and tattoo restrictions:
Wait 12 months after a tattoo if the tattoo was applied in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities. This requirement is related to concerns about hepatitis. Learn more about hepatitis and blood donation.
Acceptable if the tattoo was applied by a state-regulated entity using sterile needles and ink that is not reused. There are 32 states that currently regulate tattoo facilities. You should discuss your particular situation with the health historian at the time of donation.
They don't provide the list of the 32 states, though. My husband just got a tat here in California a few weeks ago and they wouldn't let him give blood last week, but from what I understand California facilities are regulated by law. Perhaps the person taking the blood just wasn't terribly smart.