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What is your blood group?

  • O +

    Votes: 69 22.7%
  • O -

    Votes: 25 8.2%
  • A +

    Votes: 63 20.7%
  • A -

    Votes: 12 3.9%
  • B +

    Votes: 20 6.6%
  • B -

    Votes: 4 1.3%
  • AB +

    Votes: 13 4.3%
  • AB -

    Votes: 5 1.6%
  • Don't know

    Votes: 93 30.6%

  • Total voters
    304

Shaun.P

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 14, 2003
1,601
24
Omicron Persei 8
A couple of months ago, I decided to give blood for the first time. I walked into the blood bank in Glasgow, filled out a questionnaire, got my iron tested on copper sulphate and then gave a pint of blood. A couple of minutes after the nurse took the needle out my arm I felt very light headed, and warm!
A couple of weeks after this I got my donor card through the mail which determined that I have A- blood which is quite rare. Even after having a negative experience the first time [after feeling a bit ill after it], I decided that it was worth giving it if I only experienced 15 minutes discomfort.
So on Saturday there, I gave blood for my second time. I had nothing to eat and nothing to drink apart from around 300ml of water. When the nurse asked me before I gave blood if I had anything to eat and drink today I lied and said yes. I gave blood and after the needle was taken out and your told to sit on the chair to rest for a few minutes, my head started feeling really heavy and it was an effort to keep it up. At the same time, I also began to feel really warm all over my body. I also felt dizzy and for a few seconds felt sick. I put my head right back in the chair but it didn't help much. All I realy wished for was to be unconcious so I wouldn't have to experience the horrible feeling I was experiencing! Anyway after about 15 minutes, I felt OK. But those 15 minutes were the worst I have ever felt in my life. Part of me thinks though that I should be selfless in trying to give back to the world by going through this horrible feeling everytime I give blood, and I like the idea of giving something back to society - helping out in a way. But I'm not damaging myself by doing this am I?

The whole reason I'm posting this is just to see who else gives blood. What blood group you are. Has anyone had any negative experiences? Does anyone here really want to give blood but they are afraid?

Funnily enough the first time I gave blood I was terrified I would get a letter through the mail telling me I had HIV or something. Not that I've been doing anything unsafe to warrant getting an infection, but it was just an underlying fear and it completely put me off giving blood for years!

Shaun
 

j26

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2005
1,708
559
Paddyland
I'm O- the universal donor, but they don't want my blood as I lived in the UK for a while and could have Mad Cow Disease.
 

j26

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2005
1,708
559
Paddyland
Yep, because I lived in the UK for over a year, the Irish Blood Service won't accept my blood.

The ban was brought in around the time of the Mad Cow Disease scare - the Blood Transfusion Service was badly burnt a couple of years before after giving several people AIDS and was taking no chances.
 

yellow

Moderator emeritus
Oct 21, 2003
16,018
6
Portland, OR
Strangely I've asked most of the doctors that I see regularly what my bloodtype is and none of them know and it's not in the charts they have.

Oh, and can't give blood becasue of the meds I take.
 

b0tt094

macrumors 6502
Sep 2, 2006
402
0
I would but Im not 18, I probably will then. I dont mind needles, I have already given enough blood for medical reasons to fill a little plastic 2 inch pool (I just relized how disturbing that sounds:p)
 

PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
right now i can't.
hasn't been a year since my last tattoo. but i think i'll wait for the year to be up, give blood and then get more tattoo work done.
 

prostuff1

macrumors 65816
Jul 29, 2005
1,482
18
Don't step into the kawoosh...
I have given blood once and that was back in high school for the blood drive. I ended up feeling exactly like you describe. I have not given blood since mostly because of the sick feeling. I do plan on giving blood again though soon. When i first gave blood they asked me my weight and told me that i was close to a, "you should be above this weight before you give blood" line. I am still close to that weight but i am a little heavier, so I am going to try it again. I know what to expect when i go next time so i will make sure to eat and drink a lot.

Giving blood is a good thing and something that should be done by more people. It not like our body won't make more.
 

mkrishnan

Moderator emeritus
Jan 9, 2004
29,776
15
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
I give regularly, in the past via the Red Cross, and now via LifeSouth, because Red Cross does not collect here. O+

When the nurse asked me before I gave blood if I had anything to eat and drink today I lied and said yes. [...] But those 15 minutes were the worst I have ever felt in my life. Part of me thinks though that I should be selfless in trying to give back to the world[....]

FearFactor, I have to ask... do you not see the pattern here? I'm not sure why you have to see it as selfless sacrifice of your comfort. This is a lot less likely to happen if you actually do eat and drink before giving. Do you know what I mean?
 

Kashchei

macrumors 65816
Apr 26, 2002
1,148
5
Meat Space
Yep, because I lived in the UK for over a year, the Irish Blood Service won't accept my blood.

The ban was brought in around the time of the Mad Cow Disease scare - the Blood Transfusion Service was badly burnt a couple of years before after giving several people AIDS and was taking no chances.

I'm in the same boat and the irony is that I'm a vegetarian. So even though I lived in England for over a year, a businessman on a weekend trip to London undoubtedly had more exposure to Mad Cow Disease and they aren't banned. This really ticks me off since I would like to give blood but am permanently banned.
 

Sutekidane

macrumors 6502a
Jan 26, 2005
936
1
I tried to give blood a few months back, but apparantly I can't because I'm gay. Oh well, more for me.
 

livingfortoday

macrumors 68030
Nov 17, 2004
2,903
4
The Msp
I think we should make this one of those polls where you can see who voted for what. Just in case I need a new organ ever.

And I can't give blood for six months due to the tattoos... and the demons.
 

Stadsport

macrumors regular
Nov 9, 2006
162
0
O+ here, but I can't give blood because of Teh Ghey :)

I don't know what my blood type is, but I also am infected with the gay, and therefore cannot donate blood.

Wikipedia said:
Other donor characteristics are also taken into account: starting in 1985, the American Red Cross and Food and Drug Administration policies prohibit accepting blood donations from gay/bisexual men, specifically from any "male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once,"[5]

This is, of course, despite the fact that a straight guy can literally roll off a hooker and walk into a blood donation clinic.
 
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