I want to donate blood, plz help!!!

sd123

Right, so heres the scenario, I just turned 18 exactly a week ago. I was trying to find a clinic to donate blood, and it just so happens that theres a mobile clinic coming close to where i live on monday (27 th). great news.. so i checked the list of reasons as to why people aren't allowed to donate. Reasons include colds, dental extractions, surgery, hepititis A etc. Then at the very end of the list:

Spend 1 year or more in the UK between the years 1980-1996 including living, working, or on holidays. ( indeffinite exclusion from blood donation )

The problem is that I spent the first 8 years of my childhood living in London.
Can someone tell me why this measure is in place?. Is it possible to somehow donate blood anyway, although i remain pessimistic at this stage.

DrIndy

its supposed to protect the irish public from CJD or mad cow disease although it has not been categorically proven that you can catch CJD from a blood donation.

I personally think it is silly and it excludes a significant number of potential donors.

eth0_

sd123 wrote:

Is it possible to somehow donate blood anyway, although i remain pessimistic at this stage.

Yes, take a day trip to Northern Ireland, they'll be happy to take your blood.

That rule is *ridiculous*, considering British meat was imported to Ireland during that period, you have just as great a chance of contracting CJD as someone who was living in the UK.

Tree

I think CJD infection is not only implicated in nervous tissue but white cells. While all precautions are in place to filter whitecells out of all blood products, they cannot be guaranteed whitecell free and there is a risk of CJD. I think there has been at least one case of vCJD associated with blood products.

There are a lot of ppl who are not eligible to donate for various reasons, mostly because the ppl can be assigned into risk categories for blood borne infections, such as the british ppl and cjd, and gay ppl and hiv, visitors to tropical areas and so on.

Spyral

Look dont waste your time attempting to donate blood in this country they dont want it. They send you away for the most rediculous reasons.. "well I stubbed my toe a week ago.." "sorry no cant take your blood"

tis a joke.

Kevster

I wouldn't call it a joke. What if you stubbed your toe and became infected by some pathogen? The incubation period for some pathogens can last weeks so you wouldn't feel ill for that time.


I cannot give blood either, but I would love too. The reason: I'm on an anti-inflammatory daily for Ulcerative Collitis.

axer

I would rather they played safe and not allow donations from any risk categories (no matter how small).

Love2love

I dont think its ridiculous either. Didnt something happen a few years back because such precautions where not taken???
Think about who the blame lies with if someone did get infected with your blood. That's major compensation and the country would be un uproar because people would be afraid to accept blood if something happens to them. Topped with the fact that fewer people would be willing to donate. These precautions are there for a reason, however unfair they might sound

sd123

Eh, surely there's a quick test to check for prions, is there not?
I can see why they would be so cautious, especially with a shortfall in donors already. However, why is it that i could still donate in Nothern Ireland?

Tree

Nope, no quick way to check for prions. Otherwise CJD could be routinely checked for, rather than confirming the diagnosis with a postmortem brain examination.

North of Ireland fall under british blood transfusion board, not the Irish one. Afaik the uk have set the restriction regarding cjd risk as no blood to be accepted from ppl who received a blood transfusion after a certain date. Couldnt say for definite if they accept under the same standards as the mainland uk or if they like to play it safe in the way the irish board are.

Spyral

I wouldn't call it a joke. What if you stubbed your toe and became infected by some pathogen? The incubation period for some pathogens can last weeks so you wouldn't feel ill for that time.

what happens if i have the black plague and its still incubating?

If that's the mentality then they shouldn't take blood at all !

as me ma calls it now "defensive medicine" If they really wanted to help people then they wouldn't be so particular. I can understand their concerns but they are too uptight.

axer

Spyral wrote:

If that's the mentality then they shouldn't take blood at all !

as me ma calls it now "defensive medicine" If they really wanted to help people then they wouldn't be so particular. I can understand their concerns but they are too uptight.

Will you financially guarantee them that no-one will sue them? If you would then maybe they wouldn't need to be so uptight! :rolleyes:

ScouseMouse

You think you have it bad? I have given nearly 30 donations and got a few of the awards and then they changed the rules about living in the UK.

I was born in Liverpool in 1972 and moved to ireland in 1982 at the age of ten. Because I lived there after the key date - 1980 they reject me now. I used to go in religiously and give every three months.

THEIR LOSS !!!!

Kevster

Spyral wrote:

what happens if i have the black plague and its still incubating?

If that's the mentality then they shouldn't take blood at all !

as me ma calls it now "defensive medicine" If they really wanted to help people then they wouldn't be so particular. I can understand their concerns but they are too uptight.

Oh my God, your argument lacks substance completely! Go back to school and don't speak to me until you have learned more. However, despite this fact, I would happily give every last drop of my blood for you my friend. I am benevolent beyond the comprehension of most people. In fact, one of my favourite personal quotes is: "Be selfless; always".

Kevin.

bluerose

just try to donate in some other countries:)

eth0_

Come on now, there's a big difference between Hep c and CJD. How many CJD cases have there been since the 80's? Sweet FA compared to the population of the UK. Not many illnesses have an incubation period of 20-30 years..and as I said before, lots of UK meat was imported into Ireland in the 80's so it makes the IBTS rule seem even more ridiculous.

Barring gay men is also ridiculous considering more straight people than gay have HIV/AIDS in the Western world.

Tree

eth0_ wrote:

Come on now, there's a big difference between Hep c and CJD. How many CJD cases have there been since the 80's? Sweet FA compared to the population of the UK. Not many illnesses have an incubation period of 20-30 years..and as I said before, lots of UK meat was imported into Ireland in the 80's so it makes the IBTS rule seem even more ridiculous.

Barring gay men is also ridiculous considering more straight people than gay have HIV/AIDS in the Western world.

per head of population, the gay population has a higher number of hiv carriers than the straight population. That's just simple statistics.

The main methods used for screening for hiv involve checking for antibody response, recent contact with the virus won't show up on such a test. Sadly the gay population also has a greater chance of encountering the virus.

The rules that the ibts have are to minimise the number of high risk groups for encountering various pathogens who go to donate blood. The questionaire is reasonably comprehensive for most likely ways to encounter the main pathogens.

The guy

Is there any way to check a list of requirements for donating blood on a website?

I'm 17 and will donate when I can.

axer

The guy wrote:

Is there any way to check a list of requirements for donating blood on a website?

I'm 17 and will donate when I can.

www.ibts.ie