I was going to post these in the other blood donation thread, but I ended up with so many questions that I thought it would be better to start a new thread. So here goes…
Do blood banks add anything to the donated blood to lessen clotting? I know the blood is stored in air-tight bags, but doesn’t some clotting occur? And, if they do add anything, what impact does that have on the recipient?
How long can donated blood be stored? I seem to recall that plasma can be stored for a longer time, but longer than what and how long?
Can anyone that has ever had Hep B (me) ever donate…even if it was over 25 years ago?
Do people with high blood pressure observe any benefit…even if only momentarily? (One benefit might be that they fill up the bag quicker and therefore get the needle out of their arm sooner.) But seriously, does blood donation lessen hypertention to any significant degree?
It’s an extremely bad idea to get medical advice off the net regardless of how well intentioned your peers are. Call the red cross and ask them.
I’ve given plasma before and IIRC the bags were labeled that they had an anti clotting ingredient. My faulty memory says “citra” something but not sure. The clotting issue is probably more important then because the red cells have to go back in.
They don’t call me the colonel because I’m some dumbass army guy.
I can’t call. I only have one phone line and my computer is using it right now.
Yep, that’s a joke. Sure I could call them, but I don’t want to waste their time over this. I wasn’t looking for medical advice, just some general info that I’ve been curious about for a while.
I’ll answer the tough one - yes, they still give cookies and juice. Nutter Butter cookies, to be exact. The juice is the 100% artificial flavors and colors, 10 lbs. of sugar added variety.
The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik
Lisa, I’m sure your body parts are a lot more interesting before you die … uh, never mind.
Anyway, what does the CMV negative or positive mean. Is it the same as the rh factor or entirely different.
CMV is cytomegalovirus, the bug that causes mono. Many, many people are carriers of this virus- you can be infected and not ever know you’ve had it. Babies can’t have blood that is CMV positive because it can make them sick. CMV also causes birth defects.
Do they check out the CMV +/- when you give blood, or does that come later. I mean is this a quick screening thing that should have noticed on when I gave blood or does this come later in the process to where you would have to ask.
Rysdad, I’m not sure what the procedure is for blood stored from donations, but when blood samples are drawn for testing, different chemicals may be added to prevent coagulation. It depends on what type of test is to be run - some require serum, which means the blood must be allowed to coagulate. Other tests require whole blood or plasma, so an anticoagulant must be used. There are several substances used for this, as certain substances may interfere with certain tests; the ones I know of are EDTA (ethylene-diaminetetraacetic acid), sodium citrate, and heparin, with EDTA being the most commonly used.
I don’t usually disagree with Holly, but need to clarify the following:
CMV does NOT actually cause the infection termed mono or mononucleosis. It belongs to the same family of viruses that includes EBV, or Epstein-Barr Virus. EBV is the virus that causes mono. CMV can cause a mono-like illness, with many similar symptoms such as lymph node swelling, fevers, liver inflammation, and severe fatigue/exhaustion, but can be distinguished from mono by testing blood for antibodies against different viruses.
These 2 virus belong to the herpes family that also includes herpes viruses, and varicella (Chicken pox/shingles). All of these viruses have in common the ability to remain in your body indefinitely in a latent state & reactivate later. Cold sores & shingles are examples of what happens when the virus reactivates.
CMV-free blood is needed in newborns because their immune system is not well enough developed to fight the virus off, and it can cause severe complications for them, including encephalitis which can cause permanent brain damage.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
JimB:
I didn’t know I was CMV negative until they sent me my blood donor card in the mail. An enclosed note told me that only one in six people are CMV negative, and that my blood was needed for infant transfusions. I gather an adult has nothing to fear from the virus.
Among PROVEN associations, healthy non-pregnant adults have little to fear from CMV. CMV, like EBV, has been implicated & exonerated as the causative agent for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (which has many features in common with mono) several times over the last 15 years or so. Adults with HIV are also at risk for severe complications from CMV (Adrenal gland destruction, eye damage leading to blindness) due to their immune system’s inability to mount an adequate defense. If a woman’s first exposure to CMV occurs during pregnancy, the baby may have birth defects, or be born with an active infection. People taking steroids, or transplant recipients taking anti-rejection meds (immunosuppressants) are also at risk for getting a more severe infection than usual.
Most adults, though, as Holly mentioned, when first exposed to CMV, either do not become ill, or become mildly ill with a syndrome that does not seem unusual enough or severe enough to prompt them to see a doctor. Undoubtedly, some people do present with fevers, muscle aches, swollen lymph glands & are simply told it’s a virus - go home, get some rest, and eventually you’ll get better. A small percentage get so nauseated, and lose so much weight, or stay ill for weeks that doctors do investigate further & find new antibodies against CMV in the person’s blood.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
Oh, by the way: last time I donated, I was told that there was an anti-coagulant in the bag (and possibly in the needle as well; the nurse mentioned that it might sting a little because of that).
Blood types are actually a little more complicated than O, A, B, AB and Rh + or -, but in general anyone can take O-, and AB+ can take anything (I may have gotten the signs backward, in which case someone will undoubtedly correct me shortly).
But seriously, does blood donation lessen hypertention to any significant degree?