The risk of a false negative is too great for the Red Cross to accept. Also, a person can be infected with HIV but it might not show up on tests until a month or so after the infection occurred.
Are they working on fine-tuning the HIV test? I understand, in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, a lot of people got HIV from blood donations, so the Red Cross is extra careful.
Beat you to it, Ivylass. I gave a double-dose of platelets last week. Got hooked up to a funny machine that sucked my blood out, stripped it of red platelets, and then pumped my clear – plasma? serum? ichor? plasma, IIRC – back into my arm. Made me feel funny afterwards, though. Think I’ll stick to regular donations hereafter. Anyway, 'tis done.
A couple of people did that while Ivygirl was trying to give blood. Why do you do it, and what extra benefit is it to give platelets only?
Oh, and my co-worker Bobby gave, too, even though he knows that he’ll pass out afterwards. Does it every time, but he still gives.
He managed to puke on himself this time, too. 
For leukemia patients, I believe. Maybe for anemics, too?
I’ll be back as soon as I can!
I figured out that the Red Cross comes to my local VFW every 56 days, which means if you donate there you are clear to donate there again the next time they come 'round. I get a mailing about it every time, and a phone call. It really couldn’t be simpler.
So, I’ll be there 56 days after May 8!
I gave Thursday. It is easy for me though, I give at work and we do blood drives 2-3 times per year. My wife gives every 8-10 weeks.
When I worked at the Hospital I use to give blood every 8 weeks.
My only problem is about 1 in 4 times I get very light headed and I hate seeing the blood going out.
Not surprisingly I am better off if I am talking to someone and distracted.
Jim
I’ve been HIV-negative for the 7 years since the end of that relationship. I’m pretty sure that’s plenty long to weed out false negatives.
Strangely enough, Canadian Blood Services isn’t nearly as scared of women who engage in high-risk sexual behaviour like anonymous unprotected sex… but us serial monogamists who happen to have dated a bisexual guy once are ruled out for life. shrugs I’d say it’s their loss, but unfortunately, the people making these decisions will probably never be at the losing end of a blood shortage.
It is part due to an unwillingness to give serious re-examination to the guidelines by the FDA. The Red Cross, the AABB and America’s blood centers all support modifying the rule against lifetime deferral of men who have sex with men but the FDA refused to consider any change. Perhaps the proposal to change it to a year deferral was too radical, but the FDA’s maintaining the 1978 cutoff date is ludicrous. There is nothing I’ve ever heard of that indicates that one can be HIV-infected for 30 years without symptoms.
Well, originally the Red Cross was urged to test or reject the blood of homosexual males, and they didn’t, and then a bunch of people became HIV positive as a result and died horribly. Testing every donor for HIV at that time was deemed simply too expensive and wasteful, especially given the belief that HIV may not have been transmissible through bodily fluids. For a while the blood clinics relied only on self-reporting surveys, and even those were inconsistent because they feared behaving in a discriminatory fashion. At the time the ‘‘no gay men’’ rule was enacted, it was in the middle of the HIV/AIDS crisis, after the disease was conclusively spread through blood donations. (That is basically the gist of the story in And the Band Played On, by Randy Shilts.) As to why the policy hasn’t been re-examined, I can only guess it very much has to do with how many people died because of the denial and ignorance that persisted in the midst of that crisis. In short: liability. Of course, the FDA is notorious for refusing to do things in the actual best interest of mankind, so who knows?
The last time I tried to donate blood I was rejected because of a low iron count. Since then I’ve been in Mexico and gotten a tattoo and a piercing. I don’t know how that would figure into my eligibility, but I’m discouraged to say the least.
A trip to Mexico should be no problem but the Tattoo and piercing should make you ineligible for a year IRC.
I can’t give either, and no-one seems to know why.
Can do; perhaps Tuesday. Used to give every 56 days but became anemic and am now under orders to give no more than 3x a year. I got my 13-gallon pin last time.
Sigmagirl
O-negative
I once donated platelets every week for five or six weeks, which were sent directly to a hospital for a child who was undergoing a bone marrow transplant. IIRC, fresh platelets are preferable to stored ones in the treatment. They also liked me to donate because I had tested negative for hepatitis, which meant my platelets could be used for treating infants.
I really wish I could still give, but I will be on blood thinners for the rest of my life due to Factor V clotting disorder. 
ivylass, I’m already scheduled. Just got to wait to finish a course of antibiotics.
Oh, and in a hijack, did you see I did get the mammogram you asked us women to have? Don’t know what the fuss is about, there was no pain and barely any discomfort. It was more amusing than anything. Apparently having nice, big, squishy boobs gives them more to work with, and it was funny to see the tech picking up Righty and Lefty and shoving them around.
I used to give to Red Cross, but now I’m on the “on-call” list at my workplace as an emergency donor for infant surgery needs. So if a baby needs my blood, I’m ready!
I did see that post, Baker. Here’s hoping everything comes back free and clear.
13 gallons,** Sigmagirl**? Damn, I say you’ve done your part and then some!
Everybody else, thanks. I know everyone would if they could. And that means a lot.