Red Cross Blood Donations

[Twizted]

Has anyone here donated before? I haven't, but was thinking about it the other day. I didn't know much about it but I took a look at the Red Cross website the other night and read some of the info they have on there for first-timers and what would normally happen during the process. I'd probably look into it a bit more before I completely decide if it's something that I'd like to try to do, but I guess I was just wondering if anyone here had any advice on the process or anything else about it really.
It's one of those things I've always thought about doing just to "give", but I don't know anyone else that has done it before. I haven't been to a doctor in quite a while, so I haven't had a shot or had blood taken in a long time and I can't even remember how much it hurts.. which could be a good or bad thing. lol.

 

[tunes]

My daughter gives blood through her high school. She's 17 and didn't even bat an eye at it. Keep in mind, she used to run around showing everyone her wounds when she got blood drawn.

 

[Riven]

I have not because I have veins that are very hard to find and don't appreciate them being torn up by people looking for them! Very rarely can anyone hit it on the first time, even if I tell them right where it is they never listen.

Anyway, my mom is universal and used to donate, she didn't mind doing it and never thought it hurt ( suppose it depends on if you're scared of needles or not ) but quit donating because of the outrageous fees they cost for the blood to people who NEED it. When my dad was in the hospital they gave him blood, and it was something like $100 per unit that they charged him. I understand they have to store it, transport, etc. but that is just ridiculous, it was DONATED by people who want to help, but then people who need it are charged outrageous amounts.

That is her rant. Either way, I'm sure the people there have done it so many times they can do it quick and painlessly!

 

[threewingedfury]

It's actually over $400 a bag at our hospital. My husband has to get blood at least once a week.

I donate as often as I can. I have A- blood, so it's always needed since it's not universal. I've never had a bad experience from it. My husband used to donate blood but he would get pretty sick from it each time. He also takes a lot of medications and stays sick, so that could be the reason. I say go for it - it helps people and you can always donate it in someone's name.

 

[Riven]

Tiffany, I'm confused by your statement:

I have A- blood, so it's always needed since it's not universal.

My mom is O-, anyone can receive it as it will match with any type, she can only recieve O- though if she needs it. I am A+, always an over achiever I guess...

It might have been more, I don't remember, but I do remember that it was rather high for something that is donated. If you're going to donate blood I would go in for a check up, they screen the blood before it can be used, if it's not "good enough" they can't use it, if you're sick, if you carry something, etc.

 

[threewingedfury]

What I mean is that there aren't as many people who donate it because it's a rarer type, not because it's the most needed out there. Every time I donate, I'm always told that A- is low, so it's great to donate. It's not needed as much as the universal of course, so you would think there would be more in stock, but sometimes that's not the case because you get more people with universal types donating. The US only has about 6% of people who have A- blood. It's not as rare as B- or AB- (which many in my family have), but it's still needed.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type

Maybe I should have worded that differently - sorry it's late.

 

[Essentia]

I donate every time I am eligible. I am one of those people that gets lightheaded when I donate though. It's not the site of the blood or anything, just my body complaining. I just let them know about it in the beginning. They always have a candy bar or cup of juice ready in hand, and they always elevate my feet higher than my head. Other than that though, it's a really easy, mainly pain free, process.

 

[yummychinchillatoys.com]

I'm also A- or Rh- (same thing)... It just means our blood is rare and if people with our blood needs blood we can ONLY receive that type or we could get sick or even die.. That's what my doctor told me... It also means that when we get pregnant we have to have a shot to protect the baby or our blood with fight off the baby thinking it is a foreign object and kill it... We also have to have the same shot after the baby is born to protect any future pregnancies...It also runs in my family.. It skips a generation. My grandmother on my moms side had it and her grandmother had it.. So most likely my oldest daughters daughter will have it... Does that make sense?

 

[Riven]

No problem, lol. I was actually reading an article about blood types the other day and it was saying that orginally people from certain areas only had certain blood types, but as people began moving they changed....

For example ( not sure if this is the right ones or not ) but people in Northren Europe all had say A type, and so on.

Anyone can receive O- even A-.

 

[threewingedfury]

I'm also A- or Rh- (same thing)... It just means our blood is rare and if people with our blood needs blood we can ONLY receive that type or we could get sick or even die.. That's what my doctor told me... It also means that when we get pregnant we have to have a shot to protect the baby or our blood with fight off the baby thinking it is a foreign object and kill it... We also have to have the same shot after the baby is born to protect any future pregnancies...It also runs in my family.. It skips a generation. My grandmother on my moms side had it and her grandmother had it.. So most likely my oldest daughters daughter will have it... Does that make sense?

Actually, people with A- can also receive O-, remember it's universal. If you have Rh- blood and get pregnant, whether you have an abortion, miscarry or actually have the child, you should get the Rhogam shot.

^ Right.. I just missed you by a few mins ;-)

You also have to remember that O- is also kinda rare, so it's almost always scarce since it's universal. About the same as A-. They have to hold back enough of the O- for those that have O- blood since they can not receive any other type.

And I'm not complaining about the price either. Think of how much some medications cost that are needed in life/death situations. You have to have blood to live.

 

[eroomlorac]

I have not because I have veins that are very hard to find and don't appreciate them being torn up by people looking for them! Very rarely can anyone hit it on the first time, even if I tell them right where it is they never listen.

Anyway, my mom is universal and used to donate, she didn't mind doing it and never thought it hurt ( suppose it depends on if you're scared of needles or not ) but quit donating because of the outrageous fees they cost for the blood to people who NEED it. When my dad was in the hospital they gave him blood, and it was something like $100 per unit that they charged him. I understand they have to store it, transport, etc. but that is just ridiculous, it was DONATED by people who want to help, but then people who need it are charged outrageous amounts.

That is her rant. Either way, I'm sure the people there have done it so many times they can do it quick and painlessly!

I know the cost of a unit of blood probably seems unreasonable since it is donated for free but please let me explain. I work in a hospital lab and my favorite department is the blood bank. Even though the unit is donated for free, it has very particular storage requirements. Each unit is very extensively tested for syphillis, hepatitis C, Hep B, HIV and many other tests looking for any abnormal antibodies that can be harmful to a recipient. These tests are not cheap but you do want these units to be as safe as possible, don't you? These units of blood are transported from the blood drive to the blood center in temperature regulated transport carriers where each unit receives the above mentioned testing in preparation to send to hospitals for the patients. The cost of the employees who collect these units, transportation, testing, sending to hospitals and paying wonderful people like me to competently and safely crossmatch these units to patients is not cheap or free. I'm not sure you understand how involved it is to get these units safely to a patient. These units of blood must be stored in temperature regulated refrigerators that are equipped with monitors and alarms that will sound if the temperature falls above or below a specified temp range. You see, those red blood cells are living tissue, just like a kidney or a liver transplant, yes they are alive. In each donor bag is 'food' to keep those cells alive for about 35 days and other chemicals to keep it from clotting, as blood will do once it leaves the body. If those cells die in that bag from poor handling and improper temperatures, you are doing more harm than good putting those cells into a patient. And dead red blood cells have no life saving, oxygen carrying capacity and does no good to a patient. Then, there is the cost of the infusion tubing and blood filter to get this blood safely into a patient's vein. It's not like they collect these units of blood from volunteer donors and store it in a 'fridge from Sears and then hand them out to whoever needs them. Also, these volunteer units are often divided into packed red blood cells, plasma and platelets. So each unit has the possibility to help save the lives of at least three patients. The instrumentation used to separate this donated units into these separate products is expensive. Sterile technique, obviously, must be observed every step of the way. The reason why donors are asked to voluntarily give a unit of blood is to prevent the alcoholics and drug users, who sometimes have Hepatitis B, C and possibly HIV, from donating a unit of blood for money to support their habits. To me, I think $400.00 is a small price to pay to get this life saving product into someone. What price would you put on saving your life or the life of your loved ones. Many of us have been slammed with vet bills to save our beloved pets, I guess I don't understand why anyone would complain about the $400.00 unit of blood given to a family member.

Sorry, I know I went off on a rant but there is so much behind that 'free unit of blood' that you would maybe see that it really is a 'bargain' at any cost.

 

[eroomlorac]

Also Rhogam shots are only given Rh negative Moms who have Rh positive babies. Yes, in the cases of miscarriage, abortion, etc. prophylactic Rhogam is given since it is unknown what blood type the baby was.

Any unit, rare or common types, are needed and appreciated. Rare types are needed because, well, they are rare and harder to come by. It's nice to have a good supply of the rare blood types on the shelf in case a trauma comes in and that patient is a rare type and needs, say, 20 units of blood to save his/her life. It takes several blood drives to maybe get 20 units of O neg or AB neg blood. The common types are very needed, too, because, obviously those are used up most often and more quickly. Believe me, great pains are taken to not waste a single unit of blood as this is such a precious gift. As Med Tech's we are taught some extensive blood bank inventory management.

 

[addictedtochins]

My husband has to get blood at least once a week. You can always donate it in someone's name.

How can I donate in your husbands name?

 

[threewingedfury]

I'll pm you.

 

[eroomlorac]

How can I donate in your husbands name?

I'm curious, too. How CAN you donate blood in someone's name?

 

[eroomlorac]

I'm curious, too. How CAN you donate blood in someone's name?

Sorry, I missed the edit time.......particularly when one person lives in Idaho and the other in North Carolina.

 

[Riven]

I believe it's just a list that's kept.

I understand what is required for the blood to be used, I also know that it's about 10% of people who actually have usable blood. To me the process seems flawed. They draw the blood, then test it, why not test the blood before it's drawn, packed and transported?

Also ARC is a non-profit organization, you can't tell me that they give the blood to the hospital, what I'd really like to see, if the actual costs for processing the blood.

The site also says that if you donate blood that can not be used, they notify you. I know people who donate and I don't know of anyone who's ever been notified. I find that odd that with the low rate of people who have blood that is actually usable that it just happens that everyone I know who donated has usable blood.

 

[Bethany2386]

I attempted to donate in high school. First of all, the Red Cross nurses went THROUGH my vein, then once they finally got the actual vein, I could not give enough. I was so close to having the bag full and to know that they just threw it away because it wasn't enough seemed ridiculous. I had a huge knot where they poked through the vein and it hurt horribly for days and days. So, after that type of problem, I decided that I will not be donating blood ever again.

I do not know my blood type... Who would have that on file? Would my regular doctor?

 

[mishellyshel]

I have donated thru the red cross before........I am O+
Once you donate they give you a card with your blood type.
I have also had blood drawn recently that they took more than they would for donation!
If the person taking your blood is skilled it is virtually painless, even with not having the best veins. If the person is not, it could take a few times before they get it right.
Some people get lightheaded but usually the red cross provides a juice and snack and will not let you get up untl you are ok.
I am facsinated in the whole blood thing and the different types, it is very interesting.

To find out your blood type, you would have had to have donated blood or had blood taken for testing. Unless you have been seeing the same Dr. since birth.

 

[eroomlorac]

I believe it's just a list that's kept.

I understand what is required for the blood to be used, I also know that it's about 10% of people who actually have usable blood. To me the process seems flawed. They draw the blood, then test it, why not test the blood before it's drawn, packed and transported?

Also ARC is a non-profit organization, you can't tell me that they give the blood to the hospital, what I'd really like to see, if the actual costs for processing the blood.

The site also says that if you donate blood that can not be used, they notify you. I know people who donate and I don't know of anyone who's ever been notified. I find that odd that with the low rate of people who have blood that is actually usable that it just happens that everyone I know who donated has usable blood.

I think the extensive screening process of questions helps rule out people who should not be donating. I don't believe it's only 10% of the population has blood that is 'usable' for transfusion. I would believe more that only 10% of the population actually donate. Where did you get that statistic that only 10% of the population have 'usable blood'? The hospital does not get the blood for free. As with the patient, we must pay testing fees, storage fees, etc. Also, exactly like the patient, we DO get the actual unit itself for free. It is a law that a unit of blood itself cannot be bought. If you mean test the donor him/herself for all those tests BEFORE drawing the unit of blood, that would definitely not be cost effective. Blood drives are done during the day and the testing is done at the blood processing/blood bank during the night. It would not be cost effective nor time effective for the donor to sit and wait for testing results before actually donating. The blood donating process is geared towards making it as easy, safe and quick as possible for people to donate. If it were a several hour procedure, I'm pretty sure blood donations would drop like a lead balloon. Several dozen, if not hundreds of units are tested in batch every night. As quality control must be run with each run of testing, to run a QC on each patient at the donation center along with each test individually would REALLY drive the cost of the unit sky high. Do you really know what is required for a unit of blood to be able to be transfused?
http://www.bloodbook.com/donr-requir.html

I attempted to donate in high school. First of all, the Red Cross nurses went THROUGH my vein, then once they finally got the actual vein, I could not give enough. I was so close to having the bag full and to know that they just threw it away because it wasn't enough seemed ridiculous. I had a huge knot where they poked through the vein and it hurt horribly for days and days. So, after that type of problem, I decided that I will not be donating blood ever again.

I do not know my blood type... Who would have that on file? Would my regular doctor?

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Yes, it does happen. Sometimes the phlebotomist is not very experienced, sometimes the donors just have small veins. As much as I want to see those units rolling in for use, I would not donate if I ever had a bad experience. As for knowing your blood type, if you've never been tested for your blood type it wouldn't be on file anywhere. Next time you have blood drawn for any health concerns or for a physical, your doctor may oblige you by ordering your blood type to be tested. I don't know if insurance would pay for it though, as it must be justified. Even if you know your blood type, it would still be checked before any blood is given in a hospital setting. We must have it documented through testing. It is interesting to know your blood type, though. I am a B negative and I cannot donate because of some medications I take.