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Plea....donate blood


Ottakee
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A plea to all of my WTM friends (esp. those of minority and mixed races).....if you are able, please donate blood. Someone we care about is in the hospital awaiting a blood transfusion but they are having trouble finding a match as he has a lot of antibodies due to sickle cell and so many previous transfusions. You never know, you just might be the match for someone in need and an answer to their prayers.

 

My son started donating last spring and was contacted by the Red Cross that he was match for someone who was more difficult to match so now he is on the regular schedule for donations. Every unit counts....and while you are at it, sign up to be a bone marrow donor as well. Just a quick and painless cheek swap and another potential way to help save a life.

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I wish I could. I donated twice before they changed the rules. This rule now excludes me:

 

 

You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames

  • From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany

 

I check back periodically to see if they ever change or remove it.

But, interestingly, I am on the bone marrow donation list and they did not rule me out because of this.

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Yes, please.  My Dad has had numerous red blood cell transfusions and I remember how much difficulty they had matching him for the first time.  It goes beyond the A,B,O + - stuff.  He almost died at the time. 

 

I had no idea.  After a quick google search, I found this chart that lists dozens of blood types I had never heard of.

 

OP, I pray that they can find blood for your loved one quickly.   :grouphug:

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What's the deal with having lived in Germany???

 

 

It is now tagged on with those who lived in the UK or France during the 80s, Mad Cow.

 

http://lolako.com/tag/why-those-stationed-in-germany-in-the-1980s-cannot-donate-blood/

 

It is interesting to me that these things change periodically.  At one time, if you had lived in Africa in the 80s, you could not donate blood.  And if you had ever slept with anyone who lived in Africa in the 80s, you couldn't give blood!   

 

I can't donate.  There is always something on the list that fits what I can't donate.  I lived for 6 months in England in the 80s.  I lived in Africa for the first 18 years of my life (left in the mid 80s), and I have had Hep A and Malaria.   One or more of those things is always on the list.

Edited by DawnM
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I wish I could. I donated twice before they changed the rules. This rule now excludes me:

 

 

You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames

  • From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany

 

I check back periodically to see if they ever change or remove it.

But, interestingly, I am on the bone marrow donation list and they did not rule me out because of this.

 

Living in Europe during that time period doesn't exclude someone from the donor list because in the cases of stem cell transplant usually the need is so critical and immediate that it far outweighs the risk of possibly developing CJD down the road.  When my family member had a transplant he had to sign off a stack of waivers and one of them was being informed that his donor lived in one of those regions during that time period and that he was aware of and understood the risks. When the stats aren't in your favor to make it through even the next five years, CJD becomes a very low consideration. 

 

Thanks from the bottom of my heart to those of you who are blood donors and are on the bone marrow registry. I'm not able to donate due to a family member with CJD but my husband is an 8+ gallon blood donor.

 

Ottakee, I'm sorry your loved one is back in this situation. It's gut-wrenching enough even without complicated blood typing. 

Edited by Pippen
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Living in Europe during that time period doesn't exclude someone from the donor list because in the cases of stem cell transplant usually the need is so critical and immediate that it far outweighs the risk of possibly developing CJD down the road.  When my family member had a transplant he had to sign off a stack of waivers and one of them was being informed that his donor lived in one of those regions during that time period and that he was aware of and understood the risks. When the stats aren't in your favor to make it through even the next five years, CJD becomes a very low consideration. 

 

Thanks from the bottom of my heart to those of you who are blood donors and are on the bone marrow registry. I'm not able to donate due to a family member with CJD but my husband is an 8+ gallon blood donor.

 

Ottakee, I'm sorry your loved one is back in this situation. It's gut-wrenching enough even without complicated blood typing. 

 

 

I wish they would put this on the website!  I don't have any rare forms of blood, so maybe I am not looking in the right place.....is it there?

 

I am on the bone marrow list.

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It is now tagged on with those who lived in the UK or France during the 80s, Mad Cow.

 

Interestingly, if you had a blood transfusion in the UK or France you can't donate, but if you spent less than 5 years in NL or Germany for example and you had a blood transfusion there, you're still a-okay to donate in the US. Even though, obviously, the blood donors in NL and Germany are from NL and Germany and usually have lived there more than 5 years since 1980 (my dad just went to donate last week in NL, and has spent 36 years in NL since 1980).

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I don't totally understand the antibodies thing at all but that is a critical component here. As of late last night no blood had been found. We are praying that someay be found soon and that the doctors can discover WHY the blood is needed.

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Interestingly, if you had a blood transfusion in the UK or France you can't donate, but if you spent less than 5 years in NL or Germany for example and you had a blood transfusion there, you're still a-okay to donate in the US. Even though, obviously, the blood donors in NL and Germany are from NL and Germany and usually have lived there more than 5 years since 1980 (my dad just went to donate last week in NL, and has spent 36 years in NL since 1980).

 

That makes no sense.

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Oh that is so bad.  I can't donate because I have so many autoimmune diseases.  I guess it is likely someone would get one of those on top of what they had already.  My dh was a donor for many, many years.  Then they said because he has Gilbert's Syndrome, a complete benign condition of slightly higher bilirubul he would need a doctor's okay.  He never went and got one.  Now that he is out of the military and has a regular doctor, I will suggest that he get that note and go back to doing it.  My son has donated blood.  My daughters have not because both get faint from blood draws regularly.

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I would love to donate but my blood pressure is often too low (my regular is in the 90/60 to 100/70 area) and I had a bad experience with my arm being bruised for over a month. They would love me to because dh and I both O+

 

The website says you're good if it's at least 90/50 when you're there.

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I feel so bad I'm not a blood donor, but they won't allow me as I lived in the UK during the 'mad cow' thing.

Me too. I have to confess that I donated even though I physically hated the experience. I have always been on the lower weight limit and I would faint every single time, in addition to be very slow. My dh couldn't either to start with anyway because he was lucky enough to get malaria both in Asia and Africa. Both of us are O+ so it's unfortunate.

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I would love to donate but my blood pressure is often too low (my regular is in the 90/60 to 100/70 area) and I had a bad experience with my arm being bruised for over a month.

 

This happened to me many years ago when my BP was 90/54. They didn't turn me away, and I had a horrid experience. That probably wouldn't be a problem at this point, but I had too many cumulative bad experiences with people not being nice to me at the blood bank and/or being completely incompetent. One time, the person drawing my blood played with the needle in my arm over and over after noticing that if she touched it "just right," it would vibrate in my arm. 

 

They also used to tell me that they hit a valve, and that's why it took me so long to donate (my arm would go cold and numb, etc.). A regular phlebotomist told me that was bunk. I have veins that would bleed just looking at them.

 

I would definitely donate if I could go to a lab with competent people instead of a blood bank. 

 

My DH stopped donating after each and every visit took about two hours even if he was one of only one or two people in the entire blood center donating, and the people running the place seem to be sitting around. He just doesn't have time for that. 

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I wish I could. I donated twice before they changed the rules. This rule now excludes me:

 

You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames

  • From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany

I check back periodically to see if they ever change or remove it.

But, interestingly, I am on the bone marrow donation list and they did not rule me out because of this.

I'm in a similar boat from having lived in Europe; the concern is mad cow disease as they apparently cannot screen for prions.

 

I'm O+ so would be a good donor, but haven't been able to donate since college (before the new rules).

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What's the deal with having lived in Germany???

For US military folks, the issue is that military commissaries in Germany got their beef--including ground hamburger--from the UK during the period in which some UK need was contaminated from mad cow disease.

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Great thread, OP.

 

I hope that this thread encourages people to donate blood and blood products; thank you to all who do. Within the first few days following DD's birth, I received over 60 units each of blood and plasma and over 280 units of platelets. But for the donations of strangers I never would have met my daughter.

 

As for the rules, I must say that, as a recipient, I am glad that the FDA is strict with the regulations of donors. I think they do an excellent job of keeping our blood supply safe.

 

I hope that your friend gets the treatment he needs.

Edited by JoJosMom
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Beginnng this week and through New Year's are really important weeks to donate. Many do anted blood products have a three week shelf life and we are in a time of year when donations are low due to the holidays. My son needed a total of ten units of blood over New Years week a few years ago. We are forever grateful for those who took the time out of their holiday schedules to donate. Blood donations truly do save lives.

Edited by TechWife
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They were not able to find a match for them but did find something close and had to use that. Still hospitalized and stable but on meds to hold down reaction to blood that wasn't a match. Prayers are that if hemoglobin is stable this morning they will be released with close medical monitoring.

 

Yes, if possible, donate blood.

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