Palantine, if it is really so embarassing, consider this: copy your blood test results and wear them as a pin, during blood drives. Combine them with a little slogan; “I am for clean blood!”.
[rings bell]Unclean, Unclean![/bells]
Peace, it just makes you feel bad when you have something that could help others and you’re not allowed to share it. I always think of William Hurt’s line to Susan Sarandon in “Lorenzo’s Oil”–“You, and your poison blood!”
I guess I understand their reticence, but I’m not sure you can be banning whole swathes of people on little evidence on the one hand and laying guilt on the entire population during the news about how short blood supplies are on the other.
If it’s not so desperate, then why are they on the news every other week saying that the blood level is so dangerously low???
Huh. I had elevated ALT levels (although apparently testing completely negative for hepatitis of any sort), but was told in a letter “thanks but don’t ever come back.” Did they change the policy?
I tried to explain it already: blood bankers are overcatious. They do not want to save somebody’s live and then kill her with a new disease. Besides, there are crowds of greedy lawyers around. Do not forget where you live. They do need blood: only 5% of eligible people are as good as you are and donate blood. But when they appeal for blood, they do not mean: any blood, at any price. Would you take tainted blood, if told: “Listen you already test positive for hepatitis, take this blood, it’s also is positive for unknown reason”. Be considerate.
Palandine, sorry for the joke. I understand the frustration.
Seriously, consider contacting a research institution. They may have less stringent requirements.
Peace.
[[A person who responds to hepatitis B (HB) vaccine will become HBsAg seropositive (will have antibodies against HB surface antigen) just as a person who has been infected with HB virus will have them. If the blood bank tests only for HBsAg (which is what I suspect they do), they will be unable to distinguish a person seropositive as a result of immunization from a person seropositive as a result of infection and they will, I gather, discard the blood (unless they want to use the HBsAg antibodies).]]
You can still give blood if you were simply immunized against Hepatitis B. Just let em know that. I don’t think it shows surface antigen, does it? Anyway, the blood bank asks if you were vaccinated against Hep. B, and if you were they note that and still accept your blood.
As for the blood banks being cautious… they may be today, but they weren’t in the late 70s/early 80s when it appeared that HIV could be possibly a bloodborne pathogen. They denied it when the concern was raised until it was obvious that a number of people were infected via transfusions.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by JillGat *
**[[A person who responds to hepatitis B (HB) vaccine will become HBsAg seropositive (will have antibodies against HB surface antigen) just as a person who has been infected with HB virus will have them. If the blood bank tests only for HBsAg (which is what I suspect they do), they will be unable to distinguish a person seropositive as a result of immunization from a person seropositive as a result of infection and they will, I gather, discard the blood (unless they want to use the HBsAg antibodies).]]
From what I gather, blood banks don’t routinely test for (just?) anti-HBsAg antibodies. In fact, if they did, they’d either be throwing out an awful lot of blood or they’d have to take everyone’s word on the vaccination question(Hep B vaccination is now universal as far as the American Academy of Pediatricians is concerned, so in the near future, a majority of the population will have anti-HBsAg antibodies).
Fortunately, your local blood bank can rule out actual exposure to actual virus (as oppossed to vaccine exposure) by routinely testing for anti-HepB core antigen antibodies. If you have these babies, then there’s no way your only exposure was via the vaccine (unless you are a false positive-not enough time to open that can of worms)
There are lots of other more esoteric HepB serologic markers (core antigen, surface antigen, HBeAg, HB DNA, anti-HBeAg) In fact, questions about these are favorites on exams for 2nd year med students.
I agree with Peace that blood banks would prefer to err on the side of caution. In the case of serological signs of previous Hep B infection, however, their caution is well warranted. Not only can acutely infected (and contagious) individuals move on to chronic infection (carrier state-still infectious) but there are reports of convalescent patients (no longer infectious) spontaneously relapsing.
Hope that helps
I think this was beaten to death. One last remark, it was touched upon already. There are more tests than HbsAg. So, by doing the whole battery of tests, a BB can distingwish between an innocent immunised person and a dangerous carrier. But the AABB, for instance, is a charitable organization. It cannot afford to spend money working up every qiestionable donor, to satisfy her altruism. There are research facilities (they do not use as much blood) which may use human blood for “high tech” reearch or simply to study its flow qualities for the development of new blood equipment. Your blood will be used for “noble”, at least usuful, purposes. Find this facilities in your area. Some of them are industrial companies, they make profit, they will even pay you for your blood.
The place I ::cough cough:: donate ::cough cough:: plasma at will permanently defer you for ALT or Hep antibodies, for being in England for more than 6 months, for having sex with a Haitian hooker while taking opiates, etc.
One time this loudmouth came in, and after they plugged him in, he started talking about when the has the flu or cold, he always comes and donates, because it ‘cleans up my system’ and he no longer has the bug. While I realize this will probably severly weaken the flu or cold, I’m sure he still has it. It’s also a VERY icky and trashy thing to do. I’m pretty sure they marked his folder “Nuh-uh!” after he said that.
–Tim
yep - that’s exactly the point I was trying to make. I don’t think that at this point in my life I’m a risk, but if the banks are that cautious, ok, I can’t do anything about it. But - I used to be a proud donor, and now I’m an ashamed pariah. “Aren’t you going to give blood?” “About how often do you donate?” etc… These comments make you feel crummy, and not being able to do something like donate blood (which a lot of people are too queasy to do, or are afraid to do) makes me feel bad. I used to wear my regular donation as a badge of honor. Now, I slink around in shadows of dark alleys. Well, not quite, but I don’t like this status.
CC, I tried to “console” you before: do not feel bad about youself, it’s not your fault. Doing so would be childish. Like being ashamed of having “Adolf” as your first name. I woold like nothing more than to play music in front of little innocent children, to keep them happy, but I have tin ear.
Peace
CC
Lots of people are needle-phobic. This is an easy way to avoid having to discuss the whole shebang if the blood donor topic comes up