Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors 2013 Blood Drive

I donate as often as they let me.

I try to call and book an appointment too often sometimes and they tell me to wait longer.

Blood donors saved two of my families members lives, I return the favour to someone else.

In my opinion(just mine, remember) it's selfish to not want to give blood because you're just "afraid of needles". If you have a real reason obviously that's okay, but if you are healthy and cleared to give, god dammit do it!
 
AidenShaw said:
I would love to - but the backwards and homophobic rules won't let me unless I lie.

It makes me sad that stupid, outdated rules can deny me the opportunity to perhaps save a life.
Click to expand...

WOW.. THAT EXISTS?

I can't believe that...?

You're just kidding right? Surely they cannot deny you giving blood on a sexual orientation?
 
Shaun.P said:
A heartwarming video.
Click to expand...
Wow! A bone marrow donor in northeastern England and a little boy in Los Angeles were a perfect match, and the youngster's life was saved.

The donor, Barry Crackett, said "I don't know why more people don't do it, it's very painless. I spent a night in hospital and the next day I was away home. I was quite tired afterwards, but that was it, really. I also felt an immense sense of well-being."
 
SmileyBlast! said:
You know... The best health care is bloodless or seeks to stop blood loss as a highest priority.
Click to expand...

Given all the advancement in medicine, it's really amazing that so many people still consider blood transfusions as the only option (or even as the "gold standard").

Renzatic said:
Well...yeah. Even mediocre healthcare prioritizes preventing blood loss due to severe trauma, but even the best in the world can't get an ambulance to the scene of an accident the moment it happens. If you've got a bunch of people involved in a particularly messy car crash that's resulted in a few deep wounds, you can't just vacuum up their old blood off the ground and put it back in them. You're gonna need a fresh supply immediately on hand.
Click to expand...

In the situation you describe, one of the most important things is restoring volume. This doesn't need to be done with blood! In fact patients who receive non-blood treatment recover faster and leave the hospital sooner.

More and more people are coming to realise that bloodless surgery is actually the gold standard. The U.S. Military has been training their doctors in bloodless surgery since at least 2010.

I'm not trying to stop people from donating blood, I'm just saying don't remain ignorant of the medical facts. And when it comes to making a choice in your own healthcare, you do have a choice in whether you receive "traditional" or superior healthcare. In case anyone would like to educate themselves, I'll leave this here as a starting point: http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/programs/blood-watch/myths
 
Excellent Post!!!

cb911 said:
Given all the advancement in medicine, it's really amazing that so many people still consider blood transfusions as the only option (or even as the "gold standard").



In the situation you describe, one of the most important things is restoring volume. This doesn't need to be done with blood! In fact patients who receive non-blood treatment recover faster and leave the hospital sooner.

More and more people are coming to realise that bloodless surgery is actually the gold standard. The U.S. Military has been training their doctors in bloodless surgery since at least 2010.

I'm not trying to stop people from donating blood, I'm just saying don't remain ignorant of the medical facts. And when it comes to making a choice in your own healthcare, you do have a choice in whether you receive "traditional" or superior healthcare. In case anyone would like to educate themselves, I'll leave this here as a starting point: http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/programs/blood-watch/myths
Click to expand...

It will take time for people to catch on. :)
 
I signed up for the bone marrow donor registry. I have donated blood before (and love to) but the drives are few and often far away from my home, so it doesn't happen as often as I would like it to.
 
udontno said:
I signed up for the bone marrow donor registry. I have donated blood before (and love to) but the drives are few and often far away from my home, so it doesn't happen as often as I would like it to.
Click to expand...

Most places of any significant size have a local place that does donations every day, on a walk-in basis. A quick Google for "blood donation virginia" reveals that the American Red Cross, Virginia Blood Services and Inova Blood Donor Services seem to have donation centers all over the place:

http://www.redcrossblood.org/donation-centers/MidAtlantic

http://www.vablood.org/contact-us/donor-centers/

http://www.inova.org/get-involved/blood-donor-services/locations/index.jsp

It does look like the USA could benefit from some entity that could coordinate ALL these separate organizations, at least so that there was one website that could list all places where one could donate. Maybe that is too close to socialized medicine or something like that through.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blood_donation_agencies_in_the_United_States
 
Here's a reminder that bone marrow registries need donors from all national and ethnic backgrounds. The Be The Match Registry in the United States makes extra efforts to recruit underrepresented minorities. To sign up takes only a cheek swab. If you turn out to match someone you could save their life.

I-am-ready-to-donate.jpg

 
Registering as an organ donor

I checked if it's easy for Californians (like me) to sign up as organ donors online.

Yes, very easy. You don't even have to get our of your chair!
  1. Go to https://register.donatelifecalifornia.org/register/

  2. Fill out the form (driver's license number, gender, name, date of birth, address, and a few more fields). Pick a password you can use to update your profile in the future.

  3. Click the CONTINUE button.

  4. Answer any followup questions. For example, if you want to donate certain organs or tissue but not others, you can specify which.

  5. Print the summary. Give a copy to your family members so they know your intentions.

  6. Post in the MacRumors 2013 Blood Drive! thread to let us know that you're now an organ donor. Celebrate that you may save many lives... someday!
What if you're not in California? If you're in the U.S. go to Donate Life America and choose your state. For another country see Organ and tissue donor information by country.

become-an-organ-donor.jpg​
 
Canadian Blood Services Will Allow Gay-Men to Donate

It was announced today that a major change in the Canadian Blood Services' (CBS) deferral rules for gay-men. Currently, CBS has a lifetime ban on men having sex with men since 1977. The new policy, which is a tiny step towards eventually harmonizing deferral policies to apply to everyone equally, is to allow men to donate, as long as they haven't had sex with another man in the past five-years. CBS has indicated that this is just an initial step, and they plan to review their deferral practices as more scientific data comes forward to open up the donation process to more people. Read the press release here.
 
This is the last week of our Blood Drive. Please encourage any eligible blood or platelet donors to participate, for eligible organ donors to sign up for the organ donor list, and for everyone eligible to join the bone marrow registry.

Thanks!
 
Timelordprime said:
It was announced today that a major change in the Canadian Blood Services' (CBS) deferral rules for gay-men.
Click to expand...
I'm glad to see that they published the letters of support they got for the proposed (and now accepted) change. Given the intersection of science, government, and controversy, it's refreshing to have some transparency in the process.
 
mr_blood_drive_2013.jpg


May is over so the MacRumors 2013 Blood Drive has ended but the need for blood and platelets continues. We choose one month each year to call attention to donations, but there are people in need every day of the year.

Congratulations to the participants in this year's Blood Drive, who donated 43 units of blood, platelets, and plasma. Since we began holding the annual MacRumors Blood Drive we're recorded donations of 137 units of blood, 76 units of platelets, and 3 units of plasma, making our four-year total 216 units!

We know there are many anonymous donors in our community, and we thank them, but we offer a special salute the donors who stepped up to help us publicize the critical need for these acts of charity. See the Blood Drive Honor Roll for a list of this year's donors, as well as the forum members who heeded the call to join the organ donor registry and sign up for the bone marrow registry.

If you are a regular donor, please continue to look for opportunities to donate. If you are an eligible donor who hasn't donated before, consider making your first donation and saving a life. If you aren't eligible to donate, please support and encourage those who can. You are welcome to save, share, or help us maintain our information pages:
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back