| Forum Home | ||||
| PC World Chat | ||||
| Thread ID: 66009 | 2006-02-08 00:17:00 | Are you a blood donor? | Tony (4941) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 428350 | 2006-02-08 03:06:00 | I used to many years ago until one day when I went to an awful lot of trouble to show up (they had moved premises and were harder for me to get to, plus I had to take time off work) and my donation was declined . Can't remember the exact details now but when I finally found them they told me to fill out this huge questionaire then brusquely told me I couldn't donate but to come back next month or something as they weren't taking donations that day . The receptionist/nurse or whatever she was was rather rude, totally unfriendly and not at all apologetic for all the trouble I went to to get there for nothing so I never went back . I am sure their customer relations are much better these days but I am a sook, I have had enough of needles to last me a lifetime, I don't like having blood taken from me and I am not going to pluck up all my courage and drive to the other side of town to risk that sort of treatment again . Besides, it is my daughter's blood they want to bottle - unlike me she belongs to a rare blood group so they bend over backwards to get her on the couch . :p |
FoxyMX (5) | ||
| 428351 | 2006-02-08 03:14:00 | I can't donate any longer. They changed the screening questions some time before the last time I went in to give a donation, and when they found out that I am seriously allergic to tetracycline antibiotics I was outski. I had known that for years but they had never asked before. Like Murray P, they think that there is a risk that the allergy could get passed on in a transfusion. Actually FoxyMX, I'm from a rare blood group as well, and I always imagined that my blood would therefore be highly sought after, but I was wrong. They want O positive mainly - my blood is really only useful for making into other products. It would still be useful, but nowhere near as useful as the universal donor type blood group. |
John H (8) | ||
| 428352 | 2006-02-08 03:18:00 | I donated regularly form the age of 17, and in 2000 became a apheresis (sic) donor, donating platelets every month, instead of whole blood. While I was studying at uni, it worked out well, as you are strapped into a centrifugal collection machine for approx. 2 hours. Shortly after I finished uni, though, and went to work full time in local government, my blood pressure started to rise, and I went beyond the range within which they were prepared to accept my platelets. By that stage, I had made about 18 donations in 3 years. They deferred me, until my blood pressure dropped, but a year later it was still too high for them. I've since taken my name off their list, as the effort required to get time off work, only to be deferred, was too much for no result. One day, when my blood pressure drops, I will probably go back to platelet donation. It's a shame, because I "enjoyed" it, in the sense that I was contributing something a lot of people can't, or won't, do. One platelet donation is equivalent to about 10 whole blood donations, in that it takes about 10 whole blood donations to extract the same amount of platelets from a single platelet donation. But where about 4% of the eligible population donate whole blood, an even smaller fraction donate platelets. I reckon if there are no medical/religious/practical difficulties in donating, it's worthwhile - you never know when you may need some of that blood. A bit like a savings bank. And we all know savings is good. Cheers Lizard |
Lizard (2409) | ||
| 428353 | 2006-02-08 03:19:00 | no, but only because i just turned 16 and haven't yet got round to it. | imarubberducky (7230) | ||
| 428354 | 2006-02-08 03:21:00 | I can't donate any longer. They changed the screening questions some time before the last time I went in to give a donation, and when they found out that I am seriously allergic to tetracycline antibiotics I was outski. I had known that for years but they had never asked before. Like Murray P, they think that there is a risk that the allergy could get passed on in a transfusion. Actually FoxyMX, I'm from a rare blood group as well, and I always imagined that my blood would therefore be highly sought after, but I was wrong. They want O positive mainly - my blood is really only useful for making into other products. It would still be useful, but nowhere near as useful as the universal donor type blood group. I used to think that too, but one nurse explained it really well. If 95% of the population have got, for example, A type, then statistically 95% of patients will need A type blood. The more common a blood type, the more it is needed. Effectively though, the NZBS register needs to reflect the proportions of each blood type in the population, with sufficient buffer to guard against deferrals etc. |
Lizard (2409) | ||
| 428355 | 2006-02-08 03:29:00 | I used to think that too, but one nurse explained it really well. If 95% of the population have got, for example, A type, then statistically 95% of patients will need A type blood. The more common a blood type, the more it is needed. Effectively though, the NZBS register needs to reflect the proportions of each blood type in the population, with sufficient buffer to guard against deferrals etc. Yup, that is the way it was explained to me Lizard, but I had forgotten how it was expressed. Your explanation was much clearer thanks. |
John H (8) | ||
| 428356 | 2006-02-08 03:35:00 | Nope, The scientific community have come to the conclusion that mixing Metla blood in with the general population would cause a widespread outbreak in Super humans, Muscle bound warriors with the intelligence of...uh...1000 really clever people........ Sounds like a clone of CB |
dvm (6543) | ||
| 428357 | 2006-02-08 03:35:00 | Actually FoxyMX, I'm from a rare blood group as well, and I always imagined that my blood would therefore be highly sought after, but I was wrong . They want O positive mainly - my blood is really only useful for making into other products . It would still be useful, but nowhere near as useful as the universal donor type blood group . I can't remember exactly what type my daughter is but they always phone her up when she is "due" to make a donation to remind her so they must be keen for whatever reason . They were pretty disappointed when they called the other day and she told them that she recently had glandular fever so she's not able to donate for six months or something like that . Stocks of her blood type are always fairly low apparently . Darn you Tony, I'm starting to feel guilty about not donating now . :blush: |
FoxyMX (5) | ||
| 428358 | 2006-02-08 04:07:00 | I am donor, and popular too because of my blood group being the "universal" donor type meaning it can go into just about anyone (Group O, Rhesus Pos). Only been stood done once for a year when I was involved in a vaccine trial. I've also had it marked on my records to be an organ donor if I met an untimely death and my parts are usable. :) One of the guys I work with got his 100th donation certificate last year as well. |
Jen (38) | ||
| 428359 | 2006-02-08 04:20:00 | I've also had it marked on my records to be an organ donor if I met an untimely death and my parts are usable . :) Including your face Jen? (refer the recent transplant in France) . That bit sounds spooky to me! |
John H (8) | ||
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | |||||