Yep, us walking pharmacies are ineligible.
Itās not that the screening is difficult (all donated blood is tested for HIV), but itās not foolproof, and itās definitely prone to missing early stage infections. Thatās why a lot of the questions are āIn the last six months, have youā¦ā and āIn the last year, have youā¦ā
Back when the Red Cross was in charge of blood donations here, there was a huge hepatitis scandal, so bad that they banned the Red Cross from collecting donated blood and established the independent Canadian Blood Services. I can just imagine how much worse itād be if that had been an HIV scandal instead of hepatitis.
So, I can understand their need for caution, and I respect that theyāre actually making their decisions backed with science as theyāre moving towards being more accepting of MSM donors. I doubt itāll ever be less than a yearās wait (because active MSM relationships are a risk factor, and as Iāve said, the tests are not good at picking up new infections), and people are not going to be happy with that, but I can understand their reasons for it.
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Iād even be cool, personally with five years. But āsince we discovered ADISā seems a bit drastic.
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Agreed.
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I prefer to B+ about the whole thing.
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I think I might be o-neg, but my blood pressure seems to have a tendency to drop like a rock about 10 - 15 minutes after having blood drawn. So, Iām not sure about all the other rules for donation, but since I try to avoid passing out for no apparent reasonā¦
It doesnāt help that last time it happened, I woke back up to see a gaggle of nurses in full panic mode with oxygen tanks, etc rushing to meā¦
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At least you were in a hospital. Last time I passed out, it was from pain. Setting my arm in the field. By someone who had never done it before. We were 12.
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See, now, I sorta wouldnāt mind it at least being from something obvious, like pain.
It gets rather tedious to explain to doctors, though, that āyeah, I donāt have a problem with you sticking me with that needle, but Iāll need to be laying down for a while after just in case. No, Iām not afraid of the needle. Yes, I know it doesnāt hurt that muchā¦ā
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For my own blood drawings, I usually try to go into a meditative state, and visualize being in the deep forest of British Columbia, and just imagine the mosquito bites.
By the time theyāre done, five or six vials later, Iām half-euphoric from remembering some of the best canoe trips Iāve ever paddled.
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Also, why not try and guzzle a double, tall Americano with an ice cube before going in and donating? Caffeine degrades pretty quickly in visible light.
In the U.S., the FDA changed the rule in 2015. Now gay/bi men can donate if they havenāt sex with another man in the last year. Many argue that the waiting period is still too long and not supported by the science.
And itās true, thankfully, that HIV isnāt a death sentence for most people anymore. But itās still a big deal, and something seriously worth avoiding. Itās a chronic condition that requires lifelong treatment. With the current gig/temp/part-time economy, lots of people (like me) donāt have consistent access to healthcare, so Iād rather not get infected right now, thank you very much.
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Thanks for your insight. Itās easy to get pissed off and not be reasonable. I ger the factor 8 patientās fears. I watched āThe Band Played Onā.
But seriously, thanks.
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I appreciate the thought, but Iāve tried everything I can think of. And, like I said, itās not like Iām afraid of the needles or anythingā¦ I donāt like the discomfort, but itās not a big deal for me. But a while later, when Iām not even thinking about it any moreā¦ the lights just start to go out. Itās manageable with preparation, but thereās a tendency for people who havenāt seen it to assume that Iām just nervous and if they just reassure me enough then everything will be just fineā¦
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Too-low BP is also a counter indication when it comes to giving blood. Now you know why!
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[quote=ātheodore604, post:4, topic:80041ā]The card at the bottom seems to imply some other supposed health type information related to blood-types which Iāve heard of before that all seemed extremely dubious if not outright bullshit.[/quote]Downright appalling, that. I would be inclined to spend five bucks on a kit that includes a card stating (in bright, friendly letters) that āyour blood type does not imply any particular health informationā or some such. Just on principle.
iām just curious how sterile a needle from some random amazon seller is. i love the idea of being able to find out my blood type at home, the idea of the needle worries me a bit though.
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I donate when I can; I just asked the ARC phone solicitor to put me on a do-not-call list, and no more phone calls. I get postcards and emails, which is handy as they list, say, teh next 4 drives within 10 miles of my house.
Iām in the same boat. It doesnāt help that my butcher was a bit of a conspiracy theorist, did not believe in BSE, and later (after they closed his shop) I learned he had regularly sourced beef from outside normal distribution channels. Yikes!
Fortunately, I mainly ate lamb, not beef, in those days, and while the FSE believes that lamb also carries risk of BSE transmission, the risk seems to be not as great.
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Still waiting for the HLA home matching kit so we can start our own organ transplant nights. Friday night is probably best as everyone has the weekend to heal up before the week starts again.
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Is anyone else bothered by the whole notion of blood donation when blood is typically sold to hospitals for about $200 a pint, and then hospitals turn around charge patients $350 per pint? I know there are costs associated with blood collection, storage, transport, etc but the whole system relies on the fiction of ādonationā while the donor is the only one who is donating, and everyone else is making a ton of money.
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