Give Blood!

[kellen]

I have a rare type as far as mac rumors members. IDK if that is a good thing or not lol

No such thing as a bad blood type for donations. Obviously O is great as its universal as far as blood. However if you are AB, then you are the universal donor for plasma and platelets.

Everyone can use your blood no matter what your type is.

 

[NakedPaulToast]

I must have really good blood. Everytime they test it I get an A+.

 

[thespazz]

I must have really good blood. Everytime they test it I get an A+.

Ding ding ding! haha!

O+ here. Would donate blood, but it puts me out of commission for a few days and can't have that with my MCAT coming up.

 

[Doctor Q]

O+ here. Would donate blood, but it puts me out of commission for a few days and can't have that with my MCAT coming up.

Why is your recovery that long? Are you donating double units and it should be single units? Are you too close to the bottom end of the weight scale? Are you getting too dehydrated? I don't mean to be nosey but I'd like to know what causes this.

 

[KingSleaze]

I thought I was permanently deferred after my diagnosis of Cancer. During my deferral, the FDA rules changed, and 5 years after my diagnosis, I was once again allowed to donate blood.
Lately, I've been doing platelet donations (apparently a much needed item for Cancer patients) every 2 weeks.

 

[Doctor Q]

I thought I was permanently deferred after my diagnosis of Cancer. During my deferral, the FDA rules changed, and 5 years after my diagnosis, I was once again allowed to donate blood.
Lately, I've been doing platelet donations (apparently a much needed item for Cancer patients) every 2 weeks.

Sounds like they've made the rules more reasonable. Congratulations on your survival or recovery.

 

[KingSleaze]

Sounds like they've made the rules more reasonable. Congratulations on your survival or recovery.

I've survived the recovery. The organ that was infested with Cancerous tissue was excised, and then masive quantities of radiation administered to kill off any Cancerous cells that may have escaped during the surgery. Almost 12 years ago now.
After they allowed me to start donating blood again, the rules were further changed to only a one year deferral. But I've had to have my name removed from the bone marrow registry....

 

[Doctor Q]

The government moves like molasses

The "Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability" of the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services met this month to review the guidelines over blood donors qualifications.

Instead of acting to change the policies now, they recommended more studies/research on better donor questionnaires, current risk factors, how changes to eligibility worked out in other countries, and whether "pre-testing" could be used to medically screen donors who might otherwise be ineligible.

I'm not expecting it to go quickly but I think eventually they will change the guidelines to better match the real risks today, not what they thought 30 years ago.

link

 

[Doctor Q]

Change.org, the petition site that is often in the news these days, has had a Repeal the FDA MSM blood ban petition going for about a year. I learned about it from the MSM blood donor controversy Wikipedia page.

They currently have over 3,000 signatures. I wonder if and when they'll reach their target of 100,000 signatures on a letter to the U.S. government's executive and legislative branches.

Restrictions on donor eligibility vary by country. See the wiki page for a list.

 

[katt]

i'm A+. i have been a blood donor since i was in high school. it's been a regular activity for us in the family. we love to help and it feels great to do it.

 

[Doctor Q]

Boston

Because of yesterday's bombings in Boston, the Boston Red Cross has issued a statement saying they have enough blood in the local supply at the moment but that they still encourage people to donate because the need is constant. Tragedies like this often lead us wonder what we can do to help, and this is one way.

See the list of Boston donation centers.

MacRumors will be running its fourth annual blood drive in the month of May, but don't wait to donate for that reason. If you do donate blood and take a photo of your arm bandage you can post it during our blood drive to help spread the word about the need for blood donation.

There's a Change.org petition to the FDA, about the MSM restrictions, that in less than a year has gathered almost 10,000 signatures. The cause also has the support of many public officials and politicians, including Secretary of State Kerry, who wrote to the FDA about it. The lifetime MSM ban in the U.K. was eliminated a year and a half ago.

 

[Shrink]

Just signed the petition.

Will be giving blood at nearby site in MA soon.

OT: Change.org is a very interesting site. I urge everyone to sign this petition, and then sign up to receive email notices from Change. org. You won't agree with every one you get...but it's still worth signing up.

Sorry for the OT...

 

[Doctor Q]

The MacRumors 2013 Blood Drive has begun and I hope regular blood donor will participate. To date at least 100 forum members have noted their donations in our past blood drive threads and I hope we can keep up the pace. If you donate this month, please post about it in the MacRumors 2013 Blood Drive! thread.

This year we also have a Blood donor eligibility thread for discussions of the rules and the controversies about them, so this thread can get back to talking about the experiences of donating.

 

[Doctor Q]

Study says it's OK to reward blood donors

News story

Earlier studies typically have suggested that economic incentives decrease donors' internal motivation to give blood for the common good. They also suggested that rewards might attract riskier blood donors carrying viruses and infectious diseases.

Now field-based evidence from large, representative samples is available on actual donations, with results that clearly refute the previous findings, the authors write. Economic rewards do have a positive effect on donations, without negative consequences on the safety of the blood.

In the new studies, the incentives were not framed as "payment" and thus may have been perceived as tokens of appreciation, which can reinforce rather than undermine donors’ intrinsic motivation, Macis says.​

It's interesting that handing a donor a coupon that saves a few dollars gives a different impression than handing a donor a few dollars. I know that some donor centers give out small goodies or offer promotions like these Baskin Robbins certificates with the clever name:

​

 

[Keukasmallie]

One hundred thirty-one pints and counting

I'm O- and CMV. The CMV means there is a childhood disease that most people have had, but I haven't had it, so my blood is universally acceptable for babies. According to the RC, I'm a "valuable" donor.

I started donating blood in the Navy long ago. Interesting story about my first donation: I was in the pay line and when it was my turn to get paid the marine guard asked me if I was giving blood, I answered, No. He said go to the end of the line. When I made it to the front the second time, I had seen the light and the wisdom of giving blood.

 

[jdylan]

I tried to give blood a few months back, but apparantly I can't because I'm gay. Oh well, more for me.

I can't give blood because I was in the Army in Germany in the 80's, and took a week trip to London in 1992.

And then I went on a few trips to Vietnam, Philippines and Cambodia.

I'm in excellent health, very fit, workout and jog, but when I walk into the blood donation center, they look at my paperwork and flip out as if I was a walking syphillis sore.

So...whatever.

 

[Doctor Q]

After my sister reached 50 donations, she was a bit disappointed that she got no special recognition, so I bought her a donor T-shirt.

That was a post I made in 2007.

My sister has now reached 400 platelet donations. I guess I'd better buy her another T-shirt!

I have a friend who has also made over 400 platelet donations. It's hard to believe how dedicated some donors are.

 

[MacDawg]

I'm scheduled to give for the first time tomorrow at 2:00

 

[Doctor Q]

How did it go?

 

[Keukasmallie]

One mo' time

I'm O-, cmv, and today I gave pint 135. I used to do double red, but the Red Cross convinced me that whole blood donation was more valuable right now since I never had cmv my blood is a universal product for babies.

Give blood, keep score, eat cookies!

 

[Timelordprime]

MacRumors 2014 Blood Drive?

Will there be a MacRumors 2014 Blood Drive?

 

[Doctor Q]

Will there be a MacRumors 2014 Blood Drive?

Yes. In May, as tradition dictates.

 

[malman89]

Cool necro for a good cause. I should donate (O+) as it's been too long since my last donation.

I used to do it fairly regularly in college since the Red Cross and another company would hold at least one (each) per semester. It was so simple to just walk into the student union, sit down for 10 mins, and donate. I've never had an issue donating.

Lately I've had no excuse as a local Red Cross branch is about 1/3 a mile down the road from my most recent/current employer.

 

[Doctor Q]

A new article titled The Most Precious Blood on Earth describes a blood type I never heard of before. It's called Rh-null and fewer than 50 people on the planet are known to have it!

If one of these people needs blood, only another Rh-null person can provide it. The article describes the amazing logistics required to get get blood from one Rh-null person to another when they live in different countries.

 

[Doctor Q]

Here's some interesting news.

A number of businesses were recruiting young donors (e.g., donors age 16 to 25) to donate blood plasma, then charging megabucks to give the plasma to adults, claiming it could cure, treat, or slow down aging, memory loss, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and/or PTSD.

This week the U.S. FDA issued a safety alert that said, in effect, that such practices have not been scientifically tested or proven to work and that they may, in fact, do harm.

One of the companies in that business, named Ambrosia Health, had been charging $8000 for each unit of plasma! Their webite now shows that they have stopped this practice as the result of the FDA's announcement.

Donating blood, platelets, or plasma at a regular donation center is still a life-saving act, even if nobody is going to make a huge profit from it.