Please consider giving blood -- help save a life

[Ormond]

I have linked below to a video about the nationwide blood shortage in the USA that the Red Cross has declared. 40% fewer people are giving blood than did a few years ago. Some of this is because blood drives have usually been held in the USA in workplaces and churches, and since the pandemic with many people working from home and church attendance down, there just aren't as many people who are regularly in spaces where they can personally be asked to give blood. I have been giving regularly since they got rid of their complete restrictions on gay men giving a few years ago. If you are over 17, there is no age restriction -- I know a woman who gave blood a couple of years ago at age 100. It is even more important, though, to consider giving if you are still in your 20s or 30s to get yourself into the habit of doing it. Now it is true that once you get into the Red Cross data system you will get lots of calls and/or emails about donating, precisely because they are desperate these days. But there are very few other things people who don't work directly in health care can do where you know you are helping to save someone's life and/or health by doing it.  

So -- have you ever given blood? If you are not in the United States, how does blood donation work in your own country, and is there a present shortage in your nation? 

Here is the video news clip:

 

[ljkeane]

You just reminded me I needed to book an appointment to give blood.

I've given blood for a while but it's a bit more difficult here in the UK than it used to be. I used to get a letter telling me when there was a session at my local centre and I could just turn up on my way home from work and do it. Then it got to the stage were you had to book an appointment when you got the letter, eventually it reached the point were by the time you got a letter there'd be hardly any appointment slots left and they appear to have given up sending out letters now. I'd assume it's probably just general strain on NHS resources but you do have to be a lot more proactive about it these days.

[Tears of Lys]

@Madame deVenoge

But surely that can't be true, the weight restriction.  My brother-in-law, who is nowhere near a healthy weight, gives blood regularly.   He does have a somewhat rare blood type, so maybe that's why.  But are you sure?

[litechick]

I think that under 110, you would have to give a half pint.  Presumably, larger bodies carry a larger supply.

The last time I donated, they were pushing for platelet donations which you can do more frequently.  My veins were somehow unsatisfactory and I just stuck with the whole blood donation.

I love donating blood because I don't have much money and I feel like it's something I can do to help other people which only costs a little time.

edit:  I think platelets you only do half as often--a 'more bang for the buck' situation.

Edited January 15 by litechick
that's probably wrong

[A Horse Named Stranger]

7 hours ago, Tears of Lys said:

@Madame deVenoge

But surely that can't be true, the weight restriction.  My brother-in-law, who is nowhere near a healthy weight, gives blood regularly.   He does have a somewhat rare blood type, so maybe that's why.  But are you sure?

Chats is talking about min weight. It's 50 kg (whihc should be around 110 lps).

HUman body has 4-6 litres of blood. Less weight means less blood (essentially). Blood donation one unit = 500 ml (0.5 l for the muricans).

Call me a sexist, but I assume your brother-in-law is more on the other end of the spectrum, when you talk about his weight issues. There's no upper limit for that, in theory. In practice there might be equipment issues. E.g. mobile blood donation units have an upper weight limit of 160kg (~350lps), because that's as much as their stretchers can carry.

 

Edited January 15 by A Horse Named Stranger

[Erik of Hazelfield]

I give blood in Sweden. There’s a bus coming by very close to my office a few times a year and I get a notification in my phone and by email. I often book a slot but it’s not really needed because there are so many free ones.

Every time I need to fill out a digital form and the requirements are quite tough. No new sexual partner for the last six months, no travel to many countries where blood diseases are common, no drug injections, no male-to-male sex (that one’s controversial) and so on. Also you can’t be sick. If you show symptoms of a cold the next day (or for any other reason) then you call them and they discard the newly given blood, no questions asked. 

A very cool feature is that I will often get a text message after a week or so saying my blood has now been used to help a patient. This is far more reward than the cookie and little present (teddy bear, umbrella, coffee mug, that sort of thing) that I also get. 

I’m pretty thankful that despite all the ways our public service has gone to shit over the past few decades, this one is still awesome.

[Ormond]

1 hour ago, Erik of Hazelfield said:

I give blood in Sweden. There’s a bus coming by very close to my office a few times a year and I get a notification in my phone and by email. I often book a slot but it’s not really needed because there are so many free ones.

Every time I need to fill out a digital form and the requirements are quite tough. No new sexual partner for the last six months, no travel to many countries where blood diseases are common, no drug injections, no male-to-male sex (that one’s controversial) and so on. Also you can’t be sick. If you show symptoms of a cold the next day (or for any other reason) then you call them and they discard the newly given blood, no questions asked. 

A very cool feature is that I will often get a text message after a week or so saying my blood has now been used to help a patient. This is far more reward than the cookie and little present (teddy bear, umbrella, coffee mug, that sort of thing) that I also get. 

I’m pretty thankful that despite all the ways our public service has gone to shit over the past few decades, this one is still awesome.

Yes, Sweden's restrictions do seem to be a bit more stringent than those in the USA now.  In the USA the gender of one's sexual partners is no longer an issue. From the Red Cross site here are the sex behavior restrictions:

Under the FDA’s individual donor assessment guidance, there are no eligibility criteria related to men who have sex with men. Any individual, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who has had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months, and also had anal sex in that timeframe, will be asked to wait three months to donate blood from last anal sex contact. Individuals who have had anal sex in the last three months may be eligible to donate as long as they did not have sex with someone new or with multiple partners during that timeframe.

Also, I have never been told that if I develop cold systems the day after donating I should call them about it. 

We do now get emails telling us where in the USA our donation has been used, which does turn out to really help motivate people to donate again.

 

[Pebble thats Stubby]

I don't give blood because I don't bleed very well.

after serveral stabbings they eventually get if started then withing 1 -2 mins blood will stop flowing.  

after taking up lots of people. trying both arms a few times and over an hour spent on the trolley they managed to get about 100ml.  I was politely told never to come back.

 

This was many many years ago now.

 

I know this is still a problem as I have lots of differculty when it comes to blood tests.  It takes a lot just to fill a needle.

[lacuna]

I've been donating blood more or less regularly since 2008. They told me it was my 25th donation sometime last year, iirc. It's usually either platelets/plasma/red blood cells they want. The apheresis takes about twice as long as a regular whole blood donation, but that's no issue for me.

In addition to all the other rules, 'men who have sex with men' previously had to wait 12 months after a new sexual encounter. That's now been reduced to 6 months, same as for everyone else.

[HexMachina]

On 1/14/2024 at 6:42 PM, ljkeane said:

You just reminded me I needed to book an appointment to give blood.

I've given blood for a while but it's a bit more difficult here in the UK than it used to be. I used to get a letter telling me when there was a session at my local centre and I could just turn up on my way home from work and do it. Then it got to the stage were you had to book an appointment when you got the letter, eventually it reached the point were by the time you got a letter there'd be hardly any appointment slots left and they appear to have given up sending out letters now. I'd assume it's probably just general strain on NHS resources but you do have to be a lot more proactive about it these days.

There's an app, and email notifications, and you can also sign up to have them call you when you are next due to give blood, and they'll find the first available appointment in your area - they've always been pretty good at doing that for me, even after my temporary exclusions (i had insufficient iron when they did the finger prick which barred me for....I don't remember if it was 6 or 12 months but one of the two). I find those tools very useful anyway