MacRumors 2011 Blood Drive

MacRumors · May 2, 2011

MacRumors is pleased to announce the second annual MacRumors Blood Drive, for the month of May 2011. We encourage our forum members and site visitors to donate blood or platelets at any collection center. Our goal is to increase the number of donations by those in our online community. We also ask donors to post in our Blood Drive thread. Saving a life is its own reward but accepting recognition as a donor helps spread the message to others. Please donate, then let us know.

Most blood drives are specific to a physical organization at a particular location. Ours is online and worldwide. Please help people in need of life-saving blood and platelets in your own communities. If you are eligible to donate blood you can go to any blood collection center near you (hospital, community center, Red Cross, or independent donation center). If you are not eligible to donate see our announcement for other ways to support the drive.

Our effort is not related to a particular event. Donated blood and platelets are needed every few seconds, all year, not just when calamities occur. They save the lives of people recovering from accidents, undergoing surgery, or struck by illness. Specific eligibility requirements vary by country. For links and general information see Blood and Platelet Donation in our Mac Guides section.

Please join us in showing the spirit of our community. Details are in the MacRumors 2011 Blood Drive thread.

Apple's health and relief efforts over the years have included donations for 9/11 workers in 2001, the Songs for Sudan effort in 2004, (PRODUCT) RED participation since 2006, help for Haitian earthquake victims in 2010, and help for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami this March.

Article Link: MacRumors 2011 Blood Drive

GeekLawyer · May 2, 2011

I suppose I should point out, as is inevitable, that gay men are barred from giving blood, at least in the United States.

So, while I can't participate, my best wishes to those who can. Thank you for your sacrifice!

tbobmccoy · May 2, 2011

Good job those of you who can donate blood. The meds I take for Multiple Sclerosis prohibit me from donating, or I would. Thanks so much to all those who are donating though; it really is one of the most kind gifts you can ever give.

Shaun.P · May 2, 2011

Well done to kainjow, stridemat, ulbador and eawmp1!!!

DivineEvil · May 2, 2011

I donated once, the second time I tried to donate when the nurse heard that I have -5 dioptre on one of the eye, just torn the papers and said "sorry you can never be a blood donor"

fixmymac · May 2, 2011

GeekLawyer said:
I suppose I should point out, as is inevitable, that gay men are barred from giving blood, at least in the United States.

So, while I can't participate, my best wishes to those who can. Thank you for your sacrifice!

This is also the case in the UK. A patently ridiculous stance, given that there is a constant message given on TV and radio that there is a shortage.

roadbloc · May 2, 2011

Shame I'm unelliagable to give blood.

tarproductions · May 2, 2011

Always donate when i can. Stumbled upon a blood drive RV the other day but was turned away due to being in a malaria zone 6 months ago (Haiti). Good on ya MacRumors!

ThunderSkunk · May 2, 2011

Aaaach. I almost got tipsy just seeing those images. ...which is weird, since I used to donate blood all the time. And saw quite a bit of it in the service, and being a mountain biker...

Oh well, none of you will get my bisexual blood either I guess. ...but just think of all that potentially homosexual blood floating around out there from years past... ticking time bombs, those platelets! The gayness! It's in the blood! lol

kenaustus · May 2, 2011

For those who cannot give blood, I understand that feeling as I'm in that group with 2 cases of cancer. Before I was diagnosed I did give a few (too few) times and wish I had given more.

For those who can give blood, I've seen the huge need. My wife had acute leukemia (ALL) and over 18 months of chemo was in desperate need of blood 10 times. Fortunately the blood & platelets were available when needed.

After that experience I felt I should have given more, but have no hesitation asking you to give a few units.

chrono1081 · May 2, 2011

I can't give blood for another few months yet since I was in some not so nice places in the world. I think a year away from such countries is the rule if memory serves me right.

Shaun.P · May 2, 2011

kenaustus said:
For those who cannot give blood, I understand that feeling as I'm in that group with 2 cases of cancer. Before I was diagnosed I did give a few (too few) times and wish I had given more.

For those who can give blood, I've seen the huge need. My wife had acute leukemia (ALL) and over 18 months of chemo was in desperate need of blood 10 times. Fortunately the blood & platelets were available when needed.

After that experience I felt I should have given more, but have no hesitation asking you to give a few units.

Sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis - is she in remission?

It is good to read real stories mentioning the need for blood.

Shasterball · May 2, 2011

Just wanted to say that this is a fantastic cause.

Socratic · May 2, 2011

fixmymac said:
This is also the case in the UK. A patently ridiculous stance, given that there is a constant message given on TV and radio that there is a shortage.

I have no problem with homosexuality, but it is a legitimate medical prohibition given the higher risk factors for blood disease. Straight men that sleep with hookers, and intravenous drug users are also banned on the same grounds. I genuinely don't believe it is a deliberately discriminatory policy, just the unfortunate scientific reality.

tbobmccoy · May 2, 2011

Socratic said:
I have no problem with homosexuality, but it is a legitimate medical prohibition given the higher risk factors for blood disease. Straight men that sleep with hookers, and intravenous drug users are also banned on the same grounds. I genuinely don't believe it is a deliberately discriminatory policy, just the unfortunate scientific reality.

I'm not gay, but I take offense to the idea of equating homosexual activity with "sleeping with hookers, and intravenous drug users". Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they sleep around, just like someone who is straight doesn't just sleep around. This is something that you should probably reflect on, in that gay people can be just as likely or not to sleep around and behave in risky ways as straight people can.

Consultant · May 2, 2011

Those macrumors members either have really big biceps or really small hands.

yadmonkey · May 2, 2011

tbobmccoy said:
I'm not gay, but I take offense to the idea of equating homosexual activity with "sleeping with hookers, and intravenous drug users". Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they sleep around, just like someone who is straight doesn't just sleep around. This is something that you should probably reflect on, in that gay people can be just as likely or not to sleep around and behave in risky ways as straight people can.

I don't think the person you are responding to was equating homosexuality with anything. If you've ever given blood, which I have many times, you would know that you have to fill out a form every time which asks you questions based on relatively high-risk behaviors, including sex-for-money, intravenous drug use, and male-to-male sex. That doesn't make them equated and I see nothing in Socratic's post that would imply s/he felt they were.

tbobmccoy · May 2, 2011

yadmonkey said:
I don't think the person you are responding to was equating homosexuality with anything. If you've ever given blood, which I have many times, you would know that you have to fill out a form every time which asks you questions based on high-risk behaviors, including sex-for-money, intravenous drug use, and male-to-male sex. They are in no way equated.

Except that the question "male to male sex" is discriminatory. It doesn't ask you "received anal sex", it asks you about your sexual orientation. Plain and simple, discriminatory and non-scientific because male-to-female sex has the exact same risks.

mattwolfmatt · May 2, 2011

Consultant said:
Those macrumors members either have really big biceps or really small hands.

It's all perspective. The biceps are closer to the camera than the hands. This is why, when taking pictures of fish, you always extend your arms toward the camera.

stridemat · May 2, 2011

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

It's an hour well spent in my opinion. At the moment I'm fit and healthy, but this might not always be the case...

I would urge everyone that if you are eligible then please visit your local centre.

yadmonkey · May 2, 2011

tbobmccoy said:
it asks you about your sexual orientation.

Actually no, it doesn't. It asks you if you've ever had sexual contact with another male (at least in Colorado and NY, the two places I've given). I've never seen anything in the process that would preclude a gay virgin.

tbobmccoy said:
Plain and simple, discriminatory and non-scientific because male-to-female sex has the exact same risks

I'm not qualified to respond to that, although apparently studies have indicated otherwise. But I'm not informed enough to take those things for granted.

jesuscandle · May 2, 2011

Please give

Blood transfusions have quite literally saved my life - twice - yet I am ineligible to give due to a past cancer.

If you can, please give. You'll help people like me live to see another Mac.

X5-452 · May 2, 2011

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

I can't give blood for a while due to some medication I'm on. Sucks because I used to give all the time. Can't wait to get back out there!!

On a side note, I distinctly remember a PostSecret from a few years back that said "Red Cross - FYI I still donate" and the picture was of 2 men kissing. I don't think it should be a screening question, but if you are gay and know that you're "normal" and safe when it comes to sex, what are the chances you get busted for lying??

tbobmccoy · May 2, 2011

yadmonkey said:
Actually no, it doesn't. It asks you if you've ever had sexual contact with another male (at least in Colorado and NY, the two places I've given). I've never seen anything in the process that would preclude a gay virgin.

I'm not qualified to respond to that, although apparently studies have indicated otherwise. But I'm not informed enough to take those things for granted.

You're only making excuses for the discrimination. Gay virgins precludes nearly the entire populace over 22 and these studies have long since proven biased. The fact remains that if two male virgins became a committed couple and wanted to donate blood, if they ever had sexual contact with each other they'd be precluded for the sake of bigotry. That's entirely unacceptable to me as a person, let alone a person that has several family members in a similar situation who would love to donate, but cannot.

But, enough of this discussion. Let's highlight those who are able to donate and do. You are heroes and those of us who will eventually receive your gift thank you

brou · May 2, 2011

I gave blood about 1.5 months ago. I can't give again for another 1.5 months.

I'm O-, so I always give double red cells. My work does a drive every 3 months.

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