Donating blood

[pne]

I went and donated blood again yesterday.

Nothing spectacular, except that the nurse who took a drop of blood from my fingertip to test my haematocrit was rather cute, and the doctor took quite a while to show up. Oh, and the nurse who actually took the blood seemed rather hard-of-hearing; she "ignored" not just me but also another nurse when she wasn't expecting to be addressed.

Perhaps I should make a userpic for donating; I'm planning to go again in June, and possible also in August and/or October (which I got tentative dates for, at least a calendar week, though the exact days and the venue are still TBD).

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

When I was younger, I was planning to donate to find out my blood type. But I didn't get to and now with the mysteriously ill it doesn't seem like putting my blood into the blood supply is a good idea. As far as we know, I'm not contagious, but I think I generally want sick people with unknown problems to not donate blood.

[ubykhlives.livejournal.com]

Although you didn't know you were doing it, thank you for the reminder! I haven't given blood since before my spinal surgery, and it's about time I started again...

[pne.livejournal.com]

I think I generally want sick people with unknown problems to not donate blood.

*nod* and they do have a big questionnaire they make you fill out about possible health problems, and have a doctor you can discuss concerns with, to try to prevent ill people from donating blood.

Though what you could do is give just a little bit -- like how it happened on my first time, and to a young lady (probably just turned 18) last night: my veins and hers were too small to accommodate the big needle, so the nurse used a smaller needle and only drew a small sample of blood. Enough to test it for various diseases and to determine the blood type (and send us a donor pass), but the blood wouldn't be given to anybody else.

You could ask whether they do that where you live, too.

[leora.livejournal.com]

But the free testing and typing is so they can get your blood to use it. It seems like taking advantage of them to try to get that without actually donating.

[crucially.livejournal.com]

I am banned for the rest of my life to donate blood on account having lived in Africa. I find this odd.

[pne.livejournal.com]

If I had visited my relatives more often, I would have been banned, too, for spending more than six months (cumulative) in England between 1980 and 1995 (or something like that).

Yeah.

Though the "Africa south of the Sahara" (is that what it was for you? that's what was on my questionnaire) is presumably for AIDS? I thought you could detect HIV antibodies after "x" number of months, so why would they give you a lifelong ban for having lived there, rather than, say, a year-long one?

[crucially.livejournal.com]

Lesotho

[pne.livejournal.com]

Ah, sorry for being unclear.

I was wondering whether they disqualified you for having lived in "Africa" or having lived in "Africa south of the Sahara" -- i.e. whether the criteria your local unit uses were the same as the ones here, or broader.

[crucially.livejournal.com]

Not sure, I've just been told to not bother.

Both in Sweden and in the US

[rozallin.livejournal.com]

How often are you permitted to give whole blood in Germany? Here in the UK we have to wait 16 weeks between donations, so we can only give blood three times a year (I gave blood for the first time on the 8th January, next appointment is 30th April).

[pne.livejournal.com]

How often are you permitted to give whole blood in Germany?

The recommended time between donations is at least 12 weeks, but the minimum is 8 weeks.

And the maximum amount you're allowed to donate is limited to 2000 ml a year for women and 3000 ml a year for men (or 4 and 6 donations of 500 ml each, respectively).

[volantwish]

In the US, they ask about whether you've been to Africa at all. I don't know if they narrow it down further in interview if you check "yes."