This is cool, but be aware that in the ER, we don’t ask you your blood type. And we don’t check you blood type in your records if you need a transfusion. We draw a brand new tube of blood, send it to the lab, and they check it.
Even on horrid traumas that receive immediate blood transfusions, we don’t check the record. We check the blood. And we give them O- or O+ until we know.
This is to be super safe.
No one wants to hear “we gave Joe a life threatening hemolytic reaction bc the computer record said he was AB-, but he’s not.”
Also, there are far more things to check than just ABO± typing. There are a lot of antibodies, and you better get it right.
Lastly, yes, your blood type can change. I have given patients enough blood to change their blood type for awhile - until the new stuff wears out and they make enough blood to have their natural type show up again. That’s partly why, in most US hospitals, a blood type measurement is only good for 2–3 days.
O negative is the universal donor for whole blood, although O positive is the most common type, so very high demand for donations. I’m a 5-gallon O-positive donor myself.
Depends where you live as that rule has been lifted in some places.
In the UK, if you are in a monogamous relationship longer than 3 months, you can donate. In the US, they unfortunately require 3 months of abstinence, but do not simply make it a lifetime ban anymore. Yes, they have more progress to make.
That’s kind of true and kind of not true. Yes, three months of abstinence… but there’s a whole host of conditions and situations that can move it all the way to still lifetime, and many states refuse via state law to even allow that. It’s complex and dumb.
It couldn’t be less important. It’s a fun activity, sure (unless you find out that your child isn’t actually your child). But important? No.
No hospital will ever rely on your stated blood type to give you a transfusion. Ever. In fact, they won’t even rely on their own blood test if it isn’t in the last couple of days. It’s a safety thing.
And beyond transfusions there is just no difference to anyone’s life knowing what blood type you have
I was a blood and plasma donor for years, but has become much more difficult now depending on what country I am living in at the time.
UK - sorry, don’t want your blood, you are type 1 diabetic
Australia/NZ - Sorry don’t want your blood, you lived in the UK for more than 6 months during the Mad Cow Disease period (despite being a vegetarian)
Japan - Sorry, your Japanese is not good enough to donate blood
USA - sure, give as much as you want.
I’d happily be giving again if possible, I think I got to about 80 donations over 4 countries before it became too hard.
