I’ve given blood once before, if only to find out my blood type. Long ago in High School bio, we had a lab where we had to test for our own blood types using a pointy thing (not a needle, a triangular tipped stabbing object) to draw our own blood. I wasn’t able to do it to myself and the teacher had to poke my finger for me. I was glad to find I got the result right though: the Red Cross gave me a donor card with my type on it, and it matched my long ago lab finding.
I’m an AB+, “the universal receiver”, that can take any blood type as a transfusion but whose blood can only be given to another person with type AB+. Should I make the effort to give blood? It seems to me that my blood would be the most worthless bag in the blood bank, in that the only recipient who can take it can already take blood from anybody at all. Of course giving such a person my blood would leave the non-AB+ blood free for a more restricted recipient, but sheesh, it left my arm feeling all sore for a few days when I gave blood!
So is this reasoning just so much wussy excuse-making, or do I have a point?
Wussy excuse making.
The two best reasons for giving blood:
(1) The Official Sticker from the Red Cross (or whoever) mandating that everybody else has to be nice to you for the rest of the day.
(2) Free juice!!
Whether your blood gets used or not (and like you pointed out yourself, your pint of AB+ blood will free up a bag of non-AB+ blood for somebody else), who cares? Free juice!!
Nope, I don’t really know what they do with the bag of red after they take it away… and for that matter, I don’t really know what they do with my ballot after I put it in the box. I figure that I just have to take it on, er, faith that the world is slightly better for my having done it.
I’m O-positive, pretty common stuff, but I’m also something called CMV-Negative. I never got some particular virus, and accordingly, I don’t have some antibodies that some people might be allergic to (did I get that right?). Regardless, I’m called by the Red Cross and I go pretty regularly. robardin, it is at least somewhat possible that something similar applies to you, so you might at least go in and ask. And, as you say, a pint they get from you is a pint they don’t need to get somewhere else.
But then, I couldn’t say what’s up with your arm feeling so sore. You might ask about that as well, if and when you go in again.
I vote for wussy, although I wouldn’t put it that way.
I’ve stopped donating since I weigh anywhere from 107 to 113 on a good day which is on the extreme low end of allowable weights. And I tend to have lowish hematocrit to boot on account of eating veggies with the occasional chicken/fish addition. All in all, not the best combination for donor health at all.
I’m betting you’re in a much better place to donate, so if you can, go for it dude! (assuming that you meet the Red Cross criteria for donating, that is)
A blood donation doesn’t just provide cells - your donated unit is processed into platelets, red cells, and plasma. Nobody uses bags of “whole blood” any more, it’s all split into components so patients only get the bits they really need. More efficient, and probably safer in the long run.
Believe it or not, AB types are universal donors for plasma, and most hospitals don’t bother ABO-matching platelets. I guarantee you, at least a part of your donation will go to good use, even if the cells don’t get used up.
I’m a regular every 8 week donor of whole blood (O+) and while it’s just one small thing I can do to help my community, I can tell you it definitely feels good.
Drink plenty of water all day long, before and after your donation!
CMV, or cytomegalovirus, is a virus that most people are exposed to in childhood. It’s in the herpes virus family, which means it can stay latent in your body’s cells - it’s not infecting you, not bothering you, it’s just sitting there. If you have a healthy immune system, you’ll probably never ever have to worry about it again.
But if you’re a newborn baby, or a transplant recipient on immuno-suppressing drugs, or an AIDS patient, your immune system isn’t quite up to the task of wiping out viruses. So we try to give these people CMV-negative blood, because the virus may be hanging out in the donor’s white blood cells. It’s not a problem for the rest of the population, because most of us already have antibodies to fight it off, and even if we’ve never been exposed to it, it doesn’t really make you sick - it’s not like a flu or a gastro virus, it’s got barely any symptoms.
So if you’re CMV negative, you’re valuable! Go drain a vein!
If you’re worried about your donation not being used or useful (which it would be, because receiving typed blood is preferred, afaik), you could talk to the blood center and find out if they do apheresis, which separates out your plasma and/or platelets and gives you your red cells back. It takes longer, but with AB+ blood, you are the universal plasma donor. Anyone can receive your plasma, because your plasma has the opposite antigens to your blood.
I donated a gallon and a few pints … but now am off the list, but the vampires always loved me, AB neg, and some funky phenotype. It runs in the family. MrAru is O pos, they still like him but now he cant gove [synthroid and mycardis and something for cholesterol] I am on metformin, mycardis and byetta.
i wouldn’t mind donating again, but it just isnt going to happen
I used to feel super extra valuable because I’m O- and also don’t have CMV. They told me they would give my blood to premature born babies with canceraids on a silk pillow while singing Ave Maria. But since a couple of years the hospital (here in Sweden) doesn’t seem to care about my CMV-purity. Any idea why?
Yes, please donate. Even if AB+ folks are universal receivers, it’s always better to give them AB+ blood than whatever you may have a spare bag of. Also, as others said, a lot of the blood is useful anyway. Finally, I can’t donate anymore, so you have to pick up my slack.
I’m also AB+. The blood bank has never been anything short of grateful to receive my blood. In my opinion, work blood drives are the best way - you get to get away from work, lie on a bed, then eat cookies. Plus, you’re saving lives. Everybody wins!
Anyway, the more AB+ blood there is for us AB+ folks, the less we have to use of the other supplies.
Your arm may be sore because you are tense - I am very needlephobic and tend to tense up when the tech starts to insert the needle. Try to distract yourself - or ask someone to distract you. They will be happy to do so.
The local Red Cross knows me because a) I donate fairly reguarly and b) I’m a hard stick and I tend to pass out if I don’t sit long enough after the donation. So I’m used to them pulling the needle out, wrapping my arm and rotating the chair so that my feet are in the air.
Then it’s time for juice and cookies!
Please donate. There is never enough. When my friend was in the process of dying (ovarian cancer/chemo/peumonia) she always looked and felt so much better after a transfusion.
