Do Something Amazing- Give Blood

psychopathbabble

Too_Bloo wrote: »

My wife and I both had our donation refused because we have been to a "at risk" area. We were told that it would be at least a year before we could donate again, we`re scottish, is the English transfusion service less strict or have we been misinformed? Could anybody clarify?

We haven`t donated for over a year now and really miss that feel good factor we get when we make this small but important gesture.

Thanks.

I rang them and they told me 6 months for both Dominican Republic and Tanzania/Kenya so I guess it depends on where you have been and the level of risk?

You could always try the helpline to see if they say different. Maybe the person you spoke to gave the wrong information? (previously information I have given has caused the person to go and ask someone else when donating) I just told them where I had been and the date I came back when I called them and I'm 99.9% sure they said 6 months but I asked for a reminder letter to turn up when I'm eligible again.

gemski82

I recently receievd 4 units of bood in hospital due to a post op emergency and me losing lots and lots of blood :-(! i am so dissapointed that i did not donate beforehand and am even more dissapointed to find that i can now never donate any blood !!

i am so grateful to everyone that donates blood and the amount of lives that are saved every day because of what you do, you are all amazing and should be very proud of what you do and have done... i never thought i would need a transfusion but it just shows that when you least expect it you may need it!

keep doing what you do, and to all those A+ it could have been yours i had and i cannot thank u enough:T xxx

Rikki

gemski82 wrote: »

I recently receievd 4 units of bood in hospital due to a post op emergency and me losing lots and lots of blood :-(! i am so dissapointed that i did not donate beforehand and am even more dissapointed to find that i can now never donate any blood !!

i am so grateful to everyone that donates blood and the amount of lives that are saved every day because of what you do, you are all amazing and should be very proud of what you do and have done... i never thought i would need a transfusion but it just shows that when you least expect it you may need it!

keep doing what you do, and to all those A+ it could have been yours i had and i cannot thank u enough:T xxx

You can't pick and choose which blood group you thank.

Its nice to hear from people who have received blood. We don't do it for praise but its nice to know every pint helps.

Dizzie77

gemski82 wrote: »

keep doing what you do, and to all those A+ it could have been yours i had and i cannot thank u enough:T xxx

That could've been some of mine that you had!! :beer:

I've recently got donated my 25th pint - which, incidentally was the quickest pint I have ever donated! (4mins 58 secs!!)

I started donating as soon as I was old enough to, as my niece was born with lots of heart problems and had lots of surgery when she was a baby.
My parents are both regular donors and I would really encourage anyone to donate if they are able to.

There have been some times that I wasn't able to donate - due to surgery or health problems, but you do get a sense of "goodness" about you.

I have considered donating platelets and bone marrow, but at the moment, I don't think I could sit still long enough for platelets and I'm too fat to donate bone marrow :mad:

Hopefully I will never need to have a blood transfusion, but if I do - I hope that there will be enough for me...!!
:rotfl:


Well done everyone who donates....very proud of you all!!

sillyvixen

gemski82 wrote: »

I recently receievd 4 units of bood in hospital due to a post op emergency and me losing lots and lots of blood :-(! i am so dissapointed that i did not donate beforehand and am even more dissapointed to find that i can now never donate any blood !!

i am so grateful to everyone that donates blood and the amount of lives that are saved every day because of what you do, you are all amazing and should be very proud of what you do and have done... i never thought i would need a transfusion but it just shows that when you least expect it you may need it!

keep doing what you do, and to all those A+ it could have been yours i had and i cannot thank u enough:T xxx

my best mate recieved over 15 units of blood when she had an emergancy cesarian go wrong - she is devistated she cant donate any more - but all who donate (cant due to surgery) are the reason she and her lovely daughter are still here today.

thanks to all who give blood for saving my best friend and her daughter!!!!

vegankris

I used to donate regularly until I had gastric bleeding and needed to receive a donation myself(thank you to all who donate!!) so I'm not allowed to anymore.

It seems daft to me to such a rule in place- if that other person's was good enough to donate, and mine used to be good enough to donate, then where's the danger in taking my blood now? All this seems to acheive is preventing those who want to donate the most from doing so.

I also think the ban on gay men donating is completely archaic and should also be lifted.

torbrex

vegankris wrote: »

I used to donate regularly until I had gastric bleeding and needed to receive a donation myself(thank you to all who donate!!) so I'm not allowed to anymore.

It seems daft to me to such a rule in place- if that other person's was good enough to donate, and mine used to be good enough to donate, then where's the danger in taking my blood now? All this seems to acheive is preventing those who want to donate the most from doing so.

I also think the ban on gay men donating is completely archaic and should also be lifted.

The rules for donors is always under review and changes do happen.

It sometimes seems that some of the rules are well out of date and sometimes even a bit silly but please bear in mind that the people on the receiving end of the blood are so ill that they need a life-saving donation of blood, the doctors and nurses want to be as sure as they can be that the donation that is given to the patient will not do them any harm.

vegankris

torbrex wrote: »

The rules for donors is always under review and changes do happen.

It sometimes seems that some of the rules are well out of date and sometimes even a bit silly but please bear in mind that the people on the receiving end of the blood are so ill that they need a life-saving donation of blood, the doctors and nurses want to be as sure as they can be that the donation that is given to the patient will not do them any harm.

I'm well aware that the decision to refuse donations from certain people is nothing to do with most doctors and nurses who are just following instructions.

The rules have been under review for far too long now IMHO. They are spending lots of time and money advertising how important blood donation is, but still not getting around to reviewing archaic rules after years of campaigning and pointing out the poor logic of these contraindictions from gay support groups etc. If they simply allowed those people who they currently refuse to donate they'd likely have a lot more blood donated than the advertising generates.

I cannot understand why this has not already been reviewed, or what's taking them so long.

Bob63

NBS doesn't just ban men who have sex with men (MSM). It bans anyone who has, has had exposure to, or is at high risk of exposure to HIV or Hepatitis. There is a huge body of evidence about MSM transmission of HIV & Hepatitis. Why should. The MSM ban isn't anti-gay, it is no different to banning any other donor in a high risk category and makes complete sense to me.

vegankris

cheesy.mike wrote: »

NBS doesn't just ban men who have sex with men (MSM). It bans anyone who has, has had exposure to, or is at high risk of exposure to HIV or Hepatitis. There is a huge body of evidence about MSM transmission of HIV & Hepatitis. Why should. The MSM ban isn't anti-gay, it is no different to banning any other donor in a high risk category and makes complete sense to me.

Gay men in monogamous relationships who practise safe sex are not a high risk category though.:mad: