Red Cross Blood Donations

[mishellyshel]

You also cant donate if your pregnant, right??

 

[eroomlorac]

You also cant donate if your pregnant, right??

Correct. No donations until, I believe, six weeks after delivery.

 

[Bethany2386]

Well, I never received a card after I donated. That seems weird, but maybe since they couldn't use it because I couldn't give enough, then they didn't test it. I have always wondered what type I was, but I will call my Dr. office and ask them. Maybe during the times that they pulled blood they did it... No harm in asking.

 

[lauralynne]

Mine is B-. (My husband teases me about being "Be Negative"). HAHAHA.
I donated first in high school. (And had to have Rhogam shots with each pregnancy at 28 or 32 weeks, then again w/in 24 hours after delivery.)
One tip I was given about donating blood was to have it drawn while you were reclining or laying down. Always have a snack immediately afterwards.
The needle itself is just a poke, well, it always has been for me. Pretty painless.

 

[Becky]

My husband donates often. There was a time when he got a card saying they could not use his blood. He was taking a medicine that caused something weird to happen to the blood. He quit giving for a long time.

Now, he has been moved to another drug and is giving again. His blood is fine. He actually wanted to give the week after his surgery and I had to tell him to stay home!

 

[SusieJJ]

I tried to donate each time I was eligible last year. We actually get 4 hours off from work to donate blood and the red cross comes to the building, so it's convenient for me! Once I couldn't donate tho, because my iron was too low. They require 13, and mine was 12 something. I had blood work done and it was 12 something but that is normal for a woman. Anything above 12 I was told was normal, so I'm not sure why they require 13 to give blood! I think I gave 4 times last year, but tried to give 5. My vein is easy to find, so I haven't had any trouble. The only time I had a less than fabulous experience was when the nurse didn't wait for the iodine to dry and shoved the needle in, that stings! I always get wicked nervous, but it doesn't hurt. Just kind of stings for a bit. My arm always feels like it's falling asleep. Its quick tho. I usually just go home after and rest for the afternoon. I know they charge for it, but it makes sense to me. Not only for the keeping and testing of the blood, but the other stuff the red cross does. The aid they provide for disasters and stuff.

 

[Melissa]

I heard that the red cross "sells" blood to the hospitals. I was told that if a person donates directly to a hospital then the costs are less.. Is that true?

 

[AZChins]

http://www.slate.com/id/2149359/

I found that and a few other articles. Apparently they do sell it, but they are non-profit so it's sold for enough to cover their operation costs.

 

[Riven]

I do actually know what all goes into it.

The number was that 32% donate and only 8% of that is usable if I remember correctly, and I believe it was on one of the Red Cross sites. I tried to find that site again with no luck.

That link ( bloodbook ) differs from the Red Cross limitations, and if you ask me is ridiculous. For example according to them I could never donate because I get acupuncture ( I'd have to wait a year after having it done and that won't be happening)... According to that list if I have my ears pierced or a tattoo I can't donate for a year either... these needles are, or should be just as sterile as the ones the blood banks use, if not you need to find a new tattoo person.
Oddly enough I could donate if I'm on anti-depressants, but I can't if I have eczema... If I take diet pills I can donate, which to me is odd because diet pills are not regulated by FDA and could possibly have some issues there, but hey whatever.

I don't trust most "non-profit" groups... this is a prime reason why..

Mark Everson was the CEO and he was compensated $280,637 for the period May 29, 2007 through November 27, 2007.

Highest Paid Executive: Marsha Evans, Former President and Chief Executive Officer
Compensation*: $1,183,811

off the BBB site.

I am not saying in anyway, not to donate blood, I chose not to because I don't want my veins torn up, they use bigger needles for donations, than for clinic draws, and they only hit me properly 20% of the time with a small needle. Blood is needed, and I truly think that people take advantage of that, especially when a "non-profit" organization can afford to pay it's higher employees so much money.

 

[AZChins]

Non profit organizations do have employees that need to be paid. They often run the organizations like businesses to keep them efficient and running properly - that can mean having to spend a lot of money on hiring the best and brightest. Those CEOs and presidents could probably demand a much higher salary at other companies.

I don't understand why people get offended about these things. Without the blood services of the Red Cross there would be blood shortages. There really is no reason to get upset about it.

 

[SusieJJ]

I can honestly see both sides of the argument. I choose to donate because I benefit from an afternoon off from it, I haven't had a bad experience, and I believe it helps my karma! If it's not an inconvenience for me and it's not hurting me then I don't mind doing something to potentially help someone else in the world. If I could donate to someone directly for no cost to them I definitely would do that instead, but I don't know how/where to do that, so I just donate to the red cross.

 

[Twizted]

Thank you to everyone for your responses and advice! Like I said, I don't know anyone who has donated so it's nice to hear when things go well and the few times when they don't.
If I do end up deciding to try and donate it shouldn't be too hard.. it seems like there are quite a few places that will take a donation at least once during the weekend around here, and I even know where an AMC Donor Center is as we pass by it occasionally.

The only thing I would be concerned about is getting a donation rejected because of the fact that I'm not the healthiest eater.. but they have a list of high iron foods on their website so I'd probably have to make sure I eat plenty of that beforehand, since that seems like one of the most common reasons for being deferred.
Thanks again, everyone.. Despite the AMC being so well known it has definitely made me more open to possibly donating after hearing that so many of you have.

 

[threewingedfury]

I doubt that your blood would be rejected due to the food that you eat. I'm a pig - I eat a lot of fast food, and there has never been any problem with my blood.

 

[Melissa]

According to that list if I have my ears pierced or a tattoo I can't donate for a year either... these needles are, or should be just as sterile as the ones the blood banks use, if not you need to find a new tattoo person.

For this its not just the sterile needles. But the after care of the "wounds." And since some piercings dont heal with the hole for 10 months or like a tongue ring.. I dont think they ever really heal(someone let me know if they do). People can get infections which spread to the blood. That's from not cleaning properly at any point in time after the actual piercing to the time it completely heals forming the hole. Nothing to do with the needle (sterile or dirty) itself.

And for diseases such as HIV if that is a concern you should only have to wait 6 months to test positive. Not the year that they require you to wait. Although I have heard and read of cases of people not testing positive for up to twenty years.

 

[equus_peduus]

I've donated a handful of times, no issues. Seems like I probably have decent veins, else I've always managed to get good phlebotomists - I've never had an issue with having blood drawn for testing or for donating. I forget my blood type offhand, but I only know mine because we did the test in a lab class I took. It's written down someplace.

Testing before donating would require the donor to make two visits and two needle sticks, or one really long visit and two needle sticks (one to get blood to test, and one to actually give a unit of blood). My guess would be that most people wouldn't go at all, or might go for the first but never get around to the second.

As for as the iron level thing - I expect that part of it is not to make sure there's enough iron in the blood for the recipient, but for the donor. Iron is needed to make new red cells, so if you don't have quite enough, they are probably going to recommend you not donate. This may not be the same as what's considered a minimal normal level of iron.

If you're interested in blood types, you may be interested to know that the Japanese have a blood type personality profile (similar to zodiac personalities...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_types_in_Japanese_culture

 

[alpayton]

I don't have anything big to add to this discussion for the simple reason that I cannot donate anymore. I have pernicious anemia and take B-12 shots. They still won't take my blood. Oh well...guess it's more for me.

 

[Brittney]

I donate when I don't have fresh tattoos

Only bad thing is I get way too nauseous afterwards and I just have to go home and sleep it off which ruins my day.

I can't donate this year, as I got a tattoo in March. I asked, they said no. Oh well, maybe next year.

 

[kendra]

I used to donate regularly, it's always gone well for me. The first time I gave I passed out but every other time I donate I have just gotten sort of dizzy.
Once in a while I was rejected because I can swing to being anemic, but then again it's always fun to hear a nurse tell me to go to Nations and get a hamburger- that's always a good prescription!