Do you donate blood to your local blood bank? If you do, how often? If not, why not?
I used to, but I’ve been excluded ever since I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
No, because I’m apathetic
Yep. I do it three times a year or so when the Bloodmobile comes to my work. I have to wait longer between donations because I donate whole cells which takes longer and has a longer recovery time but is more needed.
High blood pressure and other meds rule me out. Also I had a bout with a pre-cancerous condition years ago and was briefly on chemotherapy. I was told that this by itself excluded me. Others have since told me that was not necessarily so any more after a few decades. But they just don’t want my blood with my current medical condition.
It’s interesting how many conditions do exclude many otherwise healthy people. When my mom needed a blood donation, nobody – and I mean nobody – in the family could donate. Some were too young, my sister was too small (under a certain height & weight you are ineligible), my niece had a bout of hepatitis as a teenager, all the men were on high blood pressure meds. My nephew was eligible, but after about 2 minutes of attempting to donate, his veins collapsed. I had never heard of that before, but they said they didn’t want him any more, either.
In our family currently, I think my son-in-law may be eligible.
The local Red Cross has been pretty good about not letting me forget. I’ve got a common blood type that lots of people can use, and I’m told that I’m CMV-negative – my blood is missing some anti-bodies or some such that could otherwise be difficult for people with compromised immune systems.
I can’t, of course, tell just how much good the donations have ever done, but I like to think they’ve at least done some good.
Ten gallon pin. I like giving blood, and eating cookies;)
Excluded due to body weight. I’m only 100 pounds, and I tend to get kind of sickish from something as lame as missing a meal or exercising too many days in a row, so I hold off.
I had no idea rheumatoid arthritis would exclude one from giving blood. But then again, I didn’t know sarcoidosis would, until I was diagnosed with it.
The sarcoidosis was many years ago, and I am no longer deferred on that basis. However, I am always on the borderline for hemaglobin. Sometimes I pass. Sometimes I don’t.
Excluded for having had Hepatitis A in 1975. A stupid, irrelevant exclusion, but oh well!
I was stationed in Europe for two years in the 1990s - therefore they don’t want my blood. I used to donate quite a bit.
Nope, I’m on blood thinners. They don’t want my precious bodily fluids anymore.
Moo many mad cowz!
Yes, although it’s more like once every ten weeks or so.
Haven’t they changed some of this a bit? I thought it was 5 years in Europe now, unless it was the UK which I think is still 6 months. I think it depends on who is doing the taking, I know that some ask totally different questions, and some only ask about the UK as I used to have to carry a list of countries I’d been to but haven’t had to pull it out lately.
I try and donate 3-4 times a year now. I was giving 5 or so times a year, but my iron was getting low and the doctors think it might have been because of my donating.
I have tried several times but my blood doesn’t have enough iron in it.
I have tried, but they say I don’t have enough iron. I take supplements, but still not enough iron.
I’m gay so I am not allowed, despite not having HIV or any other diseases
I had a really bad first experience (the impatient nurse hurt me by moving the needle around several times and left me massively bruised for over a week) and have never gotten up the courage to do it again.
I donated blood four times a year until 2 years ago, when I got rejected, I’ve been doing it for about 38 years. I got rejected because my pulse fluttered, which turned out to be caused by a heart problem which could have killed me at any time. (I had my annual checkup only a few weeks before.) So I got paid back for the gallons I donated.
I need to get the form for my doctor to say I can donate again, and I’ll restart.