I have a question about something emacknight said in the OP over in this thread, but since addressing it there would be a major highjack I thought it better to start a new thread. This is the first time I’ve ever started one, and I’m not sure it’s in the right forum, but GQ is my best guess, though it may turn into a GD or something (in which case I’m sure the mods will just move it on over).
Anyway, this is what emacknight said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Any cites? Personally I had always sort of assumed, and I don’t know why really, that people die of blood loss because it screws them up too much so that once they get a transfussion it’s too late, or they die on the table before one can be done, but that there’s actually not a real shortage of blood donors (well, maybe for rare types, but that’s a slightly different issue).
As for organ transplants, I’m fairly sure what emacknight said on that count is true, which is why I am considering becoming a donor. My only hold-back on that one is my paranoia of doctors not doing quite everything they could to do to save me if I was injured badly and someone needed my organs. Severe paranoia, I know, but knowing doesn’t stop me from fearing!
And as for bone marrow transplants, I was under the impression that it’s not such a clear cut thing as blood (ie, no “my marrow type is X negative” or something like that) but rather that only people closely related to you could be compatible. I didn’t know random people could just walk into a hospital and donate bone marrow (I know, I’m sure the process is probably more complicated than that, but you know what I mean).
So, are there statistics? Cites? Does anybody know for sure? Inquiring minds (well, mine at least) want to know!
You’re right that it’s rare for people in hospital to die of blood loss, but it does happen, and from what I know it tends to cause physicians to ‘conserve’ their stock. In general though, they always need blood. Hope this helps.
That’s funny, I signed my donor card for exactly the opposite reason. I figured if they saw I wasn’t an organ donor, they’d keep me alive just long enough for all the kids on the list to come down and take shots at me. To each is own I guess.
The idea of being an organ donor gave me the creeps. Then I grew up nd signed the card. The loss of a life long friend who needed a liver transplant woke me up.
I don’t donate blood because of medications that I take. But I’m wondering if that would prevent me from donating bone marrow. Are there any docs out there who know?
This is certainly a worthy subject for a first thread!