College blood drive. Red Cross exsanguinated my son!

[FaithManor]

I am not super happy with the Red Cross right now. Ds has a blood type they really like to get, and has some more rare factors besides just his type that makes him even more sought after. Since he had to have three blood transfusions after the car accident, and he is very grateful to whomever donated blood that saved his life, he likes to give back. However, I guess some how in all of this, I never gave him enough direction about donation assuming that the Red Cross would always follow protocols and my son would exercise common sense.

 

MY BAD!

 

They have taken donations from him three times in 11 weeks! Not only that, this last time they took more than one pint!!! Not only that, they admitted that when they took that pint+ he was "slightly low in red blood cells" and took it anyway!!!!

 

And my son didn't tell me. Okay, he finally told me. Yesterday which was 8 days after he donated and he feels like he can't lift his arms, wants to sleep constantly, can't concentrate, has heart palpitations (constituent with anemia and for him low potassium which I thought our GP warned him about but apparently didn't - ds has had issues ever since the car accident), sleeps through meals which isn't helping anything, doesn't have the energy to cook for himself (he lives in an off campus apartment) which makes things worse,  has bruises popping up everywhere, and the bruising from the donation site not only never healed but is spreading.

 

The result? Hemoglobin of 8.2, low serum iron, low potassium, college kid with a ton of assignments due soon and only wanting to sleep, three weeks to finals.

 

Oh yes, I don't care two hoots about him being 19 years old and me not being privy to his medical information. The Red Cross local people are going to hear from a very, very, very angry mamma on Monday, and I don't like to think about what the GP is going to say to them when he sees ds's numbers. Heads are going to roll!

 

I am just floored. Really. I have never heard of anyone being treated like this by the Red Cross. Never. When I was in college I tried to donate and was turned away repeatedly with the admonition to go gain some weight and then come back or take some iron and then they'd consider it. One time dh went in to donate and had a cold and they said, Nope.

 

Moral of the story is talk to your college student about blood drives. They are noble things; they have certainly been a life saver for our son, and myself too. But being commonly held on campuses all across America, I guess we need to prepare our kids for the rare vampire that may be working for the organization and flying under the radar. This one is going to be exposed. The person who did this should be fired, and even the one before because no one should be taking donors three times in eleven weeks. They have a file on him, and he did tell her the dates of his previous donations before she hooked him up.

 

When I asked him why he didn't consider that maybe he was donating too close together his response was, "But Mom, I'm helping people the same way someone else helped me. I figured they would tell me if I shouldn't donate." Well, possibly he should have known better, but I expect better of the medical professionals who work for R.C. because they should have cared enough about his health NOT to do that to him despite needing his blood. Most 19 year olds don't have a lot of experience and medical knowledge. They should be looking out for these college students.

 

New order. No donations for two years according to today's doctor. I told him I wanted that in writing, and I wanted campus health services to be alerted because possibly they should send out some emails to the students and see if anyone else has been exsanguinated.

 

My previous boy is home for four days. He's going to try to attend class with me driving him back and forth, and so far today he's eaten two peanut butter sandwiches for me, a dark green leafy salad, a hamburger, and some oatmeal with raisins and then fully stuffed, appeased me by also eating a banana for that potassium. A steak and baked potato, and more green leafy salad when he wakes up, and almonds for a bed time snack.

 

They didn't send him for a blood transfusion since he hadn't hit 8.0 which is the cut off, and because after his last transfusion he had a very bad reaction. We'll see what the GP says on Monday. I think that they are going to have to consider it since I don't think this has leveled off yet given that he is so weak he can hardly function which makes me think it will drop again before it begins going up. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. Iron shots and B-12 have never worked very well for me.

 

 

[G5052]

Yes, I had a friend in college who had a similar thing happen. They didn't do a good job screening, and she ended up in the hospital because she gave too much too soon.

 

They may be in college, but they're still growing up too. My oldest is still learning to ask questions and what kind of information is important to provide a medical provider. I can't go to many of the appointments, so there have been a few times he's had to call them afterwards on issues that didn't get addressed in the appointment.

[8circles]

Oh, how scary!  

 

Hoping he recovers quickly.  :grouphug:

[DebbS]

I would suggest that your son talks with his professors to see if they can give him extensions on projects and maybe even allow him to take his finals sometime during the summer. If necessary you could step up a level in authority and discuss this with somebody like the dean of students.

 

I hope he recovers from this in short order.

[Carol in Cal.]

Give him Stuart's Prenatal Vitamins.  I find the iron in those very accessible, and they work fast.

 

I would sue the heck out of the Red Cross, and I never sue anybody.  That is disgusting.

[Butter]

That's ridiculous.  I was once turned away by the Red Cross because I counted wrong and was one day short of the required interval.

[FaithManor]

Stuart prenatals, I will see if I can find them. It seems like the over the counter vitamins for men were not robust in iron, b 12, or chromium which was suggested to aid absorption.

[Carol in Cal.]

That's because too much iron in men has been linked to higher heart attack risk, but obviously that is not an issue here. 

[TechWife]

My son was told not to donate for ten years post transfusion. He received quite a bit of blood though, basically his entire blood supply was replaced. Maybe that makes a difference? 

 

Red Cross says every seven days for platelet donations, every eight weeks for whole blood and every sixteen weeks for double RBC. I wonder if they thought he had been donating platelets or some combination of platelets and whole blood?? 

 

In any case, what happened to your son is ridiculous! 

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by TechWife

[Granny_Weatherwax]

:(  Wow, just wow.  I hope he recovers quickly and is able to work with his instructors about any missed work due to the complications.  

[hopskipjump]

:ohmy:  Oh wow - that's terrible! I would also be livid!

 

I hope your son has a speedy recovery from this point onward and that that particular branch of the Red Cross is read the riot act.  :mad: 

[klmama]

I'm so sorry your ds has had this experience.  I pray he recovers quickly.  Thank you for sharing this info here so the rest of us know to warn our dc about not giving blood too frequently.

[MerryAtHope]

Awful! 

 

Does he like molasses? A tbsp has 20% of a woman's RDA for iron and 43% of a man's RDA for iron (plus some calcium & magnesium).

[sbgrace]

I'm really sorry someone messed up and harmed him.

 

I have experience in iron supplementation, and I'll pass along what I've learned.

 

First, lots of stuff, including some that are high in iron and good for you otherwise, contain substances that block iron absorption. The worst of those is egg. I wouldn't advise any egg until this is fixed, or at least keep egg well away from his iron supplement. Most people know dairy and soy block absorption. But so do nuts, seeds, greens, and bright red/purple fruits! So all those should be three hours away from iron supplements (both directions) for the best absorption.

 

I like Ferrochell iron. It's more absorbable and less likely to cause GI stuff. I use Solgar Gentle Iron--it's just iron. I take it with vitamin C. I take it first thing in the morning or just before bed so I only have to worry about absorption disrupting foods going one direction on the clock.

 

I do hope he starts to feel better before long, and I really hope he can correct without needing blood.

 

[daijobu]

It looks like according to this article that the RC is having trouble drumming up blood donations, which is how it generates revenue for it's other work.  

 

I hope you son has a quick recovery!  (After donating blood in college, I nearly fainted in the shower the next morning.)

[Nancy in NH]

That is scary!  I'm so sorry your son is going through this.  I sure hope the school will cut him some slack with finals, and that you son recovers quickly.  Man, you guys sure have had a lot to cope with.  Sending big hugs your way... :grouphug:

 

 

[hillfarm]

It may be different in other areas, but in my area the American Red Cross seems to be imploding. Their beautiful chapter house has been for sale for the last eight months and seventeen counties have been grouped together rather than a chapter in each one. I have heard of problems with overzealousness in their blood collection operations here also. I fear they are overworking their blood drives as they try to right themselves financially.

You might alert a national association of college administrators or something similar, so that perhaps they would focus a closer eye on the blood drives on their campuses.

Edited April 5, 2016 by hillfarm

[regentrude]

I am sorry. How scary.

[Hilltopmom]

That is scary.

Definately approach the school about extended deadlines for his classes, as this is a medical issue (that they sort of caused, I might add)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

How is he doing?

[FaithManor]

How is he doing?

A little better. The iron and B-12 shots may have been more effective for him than they've ever been for me. He is sticking to the diet because well, I went mommybear on him, LOL. I did help him write a paper over the weekend - something he would normally never need any help with - because he was having a hard time focusing, again an usual thing for him. But thankfully yesterday he had no new assignments from his professors. The paper will be turned in today and that is the last big assignment in the class in his major before finals. They have some short essays to produce, but nothing big. Anthropology and Music are easy for him, so that just leaves German which is tough, and for which he has to study A LOT. But the German professor seems very attached to her students and last week announced she realized she had been pushing them tooo hard, and was going to put off the final from April 21st until April 27th to give them more time to prepare. She doesn't have any seniors in the class to worry about getting grades in ahead of commencement so I guess that will work. Given his condition, I think the added time is very welcome.

[FaithManor]

That is scary.

Definately approach the school about extended deadlines for his classes, as this is a medical issue (that they sort of caused, I might add)

I had a momma bear talk with student health yesterday afternoon. He is not the only student drained. This last time apparently there were numerous parent complaints, and not only that, some professors expressed concern as well. She said they canceled the next blood drive, and may switch from doing Red Cross to doing a local drive with the teaching hospital next door where their medical students/nursing students, etc. do their clinical coursework. I think that is a wise idea. The kids are giving back to their community, but local pressure can help keep the checks and balances in place.

[daijobu]

ProPublica has a number of articles about the Red Cross including this one about their financial difficulties.  I think it's time to stay away from them until they get their act together again.  

[TranquilMind]

That's horrible!

 

That is so great of your son to want to do this, yet they take advantage.

 

I'd be going off on someone (in a professional way, of course).

 

I won't have to worry about this conversation, since mine won't be doing this, for various reasons (like passing out).

[FaithManor]

ProPublica has a number of articles about the Red Cross including this one about their financial difficulties.  I think it's time to stay away from them until they get their act together again.  

Since many local hospitals do have options for donors to come in on certain days and donate, I think that locally run medical facilities hosting blood drives on campus is a much better option. The students are getting to help, but hey, it is hard to survive the court of public opinion in your own backyard than when you are a national or international outfit. So what if one locality gets mad at your for bad practices, you just move on to another. But the local hospital can't simply up and move, and needs the support of the community to operate so maybe has more of a vested interest in watching out for the donors.

[JoJosMom]

I just saw this.  :grouphug: :grouphug:  for you and your son, OP.  I am sorry that your DS has had to go through this, and I am shocked that the Red Cross would allow this to happen.  I had no idea about their organizational chaos.

 

As a person who is alive because of anonymous blood and platelet donors, I would like to say "thank you" to your son for being a donor.  Because of some of the medications that I received, I am ineligible to donate myself but truly appreciate those who do.  Please just remind him that his health comes first!

[Grantmom]

I had a momma bear talk with student health yesterday afternoon. He is not the only student drained. This last time apparently there were numerous parent complaints, and not only that, some professors expressed concern as well. She said they canceled the next blood drive, and may switch from doing Red Cross to doing a local drive with the teaching hospital next door where their medical students/nursing students, etc. do their clinical coursework. I think that is a wise idea. The kids are giving back to their community, but local pressure can help keep the checks and balances in place.

 

That is unacceptable to me, that they let it happen again, if they had a similar situation before with multiple complaints.  How long will they let it keep happening?  I would think, once is one time too many!

 

I am glad your son is doing better.  Plus, I would never expect a 19 yr old boy to know that was too many times too close together unless he had some reason to know that.  I mean, that is 100% their fault.  Poor guy!  

 

(I wanted to also say though, that I am so glad your son is doing well and thriving after his accident, and is able to be where he is today!)

[Mabelen]

Crazy this happened! Don't they ask when it was the last time you donated any longer? I used to donate in England and always was asked. You would be turned down if it was too soon. I hope your son recovers quickly and doesn't get turned off donating from the experience. It is such as selfless act. I stopped donating temporarily because my travels to tropical countries meant only my platelets would be used. At 110 pounds I have always had a hard time during the donation and decided it was not worth the effort unles the whole thing were used. Then, having lived in the UK during the mad cow disease outbreak made me ineligible, but I am very thankful to those who donate. My mom got to live thanks to blood transfusions shortly after I was born so I am very grateful. Good for you also for complaining and helping to change the arrangement at the university.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Mabelen