Why aren't you donating blood?

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

I've a medical condition that means I can't at the moment, long term but probably not permanently.

The staff I've dealt with at clinics have always been lovely but the wait can be a bit much. Most of them seem to be closed at the weekend too which is stupid given the low numbers who donate.

Also I followed the Irish blood transfusion service on social media to keep an eye on when and where to donate and very frequently at about 4.30 on Monday the 5th or whatever I'd get a notification "clinic today 12pm to 5pm!" I dunno what good they think that is, realistically people need a couple of days notice.

RiderOnTheStorm

suicide_circus wrote: »

faint every time. nurse told me to find some other good works to do.

I tried a few times. Fainted every time. Nurse said my body didn't react well to drop in blood pressure. Got a letter from blood doner clinic a week after last attempt thanking me for the blood but please dont ever cone back.

Weird. I was sure it was holding hands with a monkey that would rule me out...

retro:electro

scuby wrote: »

They take it from harmochtomotosis patients for a few years now

That’s not the reason they won’t take it, it’s cos of my allergies.

Kevin Finnerty

Was told I couldn't work the following 24 hours due to my working at heights. Disappointed but someones gotta pay the bills.

.......

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote: »

It'll be in local papers (and available online for country wide search). The two first inside pages of the paper will have all the names and then photos of dying patients. The message is clear. And the tax will rise year on year.

Youre going to fit 3 million+ names in the first 2 inside pages of a local paper?

Qrt

mzungu wrote: »

He meant a year off sex as opposed to a year off being gay.

That’s def it. Like, I’m no nun (far from it), but I’m always responsible and look after myself. Meanwhile a woman could have multiple sexual partners per day, all unprotected, and still be grand to donate. Strange.

storker

I'm ineligible because of the time I lived in the UK. Otherwise I'd be happy to donate. Mad Cow disease had no effect on me at all.

Best wishes,

Napoleon Bonaparte

Eoin

ryanch09 wrote: »

I was born in the UK during the BSE scare in the 90s, so I'm not able to donate, otherwise I absolutely would

Me too - it seems that CJD still can't be detected in a test, so maybe it's reasonable.

It's easy to say when you can't, but I would donate if I was allowed.

Martina1991

sugarman wrote:

They could easily setup services in more Hospitals, Clinics, Health Centers, GPs etc.. around the country and/or increase their mobile service 10 fold.

Money and staff are the barriers there.

trishasaffron

Glad you asked.

Last two times I tried to donate they rejected me, once because blood count was .5 off target and once cos I'd been to dentist in previous 3 weeks.

ArrBee

Clinic availability is the issue for me.
I've thought about it over the years, but it's not easy to make it happen outside of cities when you have to work.

There needs to be initiatives to make it as easy as possible for people to contribute, or some other benefit to offset the cost of donating.

Effects

Your Face wrote: »

I got blood taken a few times. More than once they messed it up.

So not anymore.

How did they mess it up?

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote: »

Excluding those with medical conditions, every Irish adult should be donating blood. It's a disgrace that so many don't.

What's your excuse?

I refuse to have my very special and sought after blood being used to save criminals.

RhubarbCrumble

I went to donate before. The cut off point is that you can't weigh under 50kg. I was 49kg and the rudest, most ignorant woman I've ever met snapped the head off me in front of everyone and gave out to me for wasting her time. I walked out and never went back.
My other half used to donate, but after incompetent blood takers 3 times in a row, he's had enough.

blastman

OP, do humanity a favour and don't donate anything, ever. We'll ensure your name won't be published on any list, don't worry...

Ten of Swords

I'm healthy and have an uncommon blood type. But I'm in a relationship and really like sex, so yeah...

IBTS is out of luck

Do you want to publish my name and details for being gay? (1/10 btw)

Plumbthedepths

I'm O neg and give blood, however if the idiocy of what the OP suggests were introduced I would ensure my donation was not fit for use.

ImARebel

Your Face wrote: »

I got blood taken a few times. More than once they messed it up.

So not anymore.

Also me - I ended up with the vein breaking and the blood leaking out under the skin. my arm swelled up like a balloon and I was black and blue for weeks afterwards. i went back they shrugged and said it'll heal

time before that I was like a pin cushion trying to find a vein .. again black and blue afterwards

never again...

Abba987

I can't because of 2 medical conditions.

Is the list exhaustive? Dentist visit prohibits you donating?
A year without sex if your gay but not if your straight?

Do the UK have the same restrictions as us on people who were there during that period can't donate ?

Back in the day before I was middle aged and sick I remember it being an ordeal to get to a clinic and donate. Weekend hours and a lot more locations are needed. If only there was a spare billion or two floating around

Effects

Ten of Swords wrote: »

I'm healthy and have an uncommon blood type.

Uncommon as in it's unlikely to be needed or uncommon that you're a universal donor?

Rubberchikken

have given many many times. have a rare group so even more welcome.
havent said i wont be donating- dont know where you heard that op:)

jim o doom

Why I don't donate - multiple operations and resultant transfusions, regular tattoo getting and various other eh hobbies make me an unsuitable donor.

If we were going down the road of naming and shaming, the paper would have to add about a hundred extra pages, because there's a lot less people donating than there is avoiding it.

Even if a person isn't donating due to a fear of needles, which I suffer from, do you think it's acceptable to force them to donate if they don't want to?

The concept of bodily autonomy would suggest it is wrong to force a person to do anything with their body, that they are uncomfortable with being done, and I agree with that concept, regardless of how many lives are saved by donations, my own included.

ozbackineire

I would love to donate but I cant as I have been to a country in the past 18 months that is on the prohibited list.

The Pheasant2

They took a sample for testing from me before I could donate and they never got back to me; mustn't be interested.

In any case my blood type is AB negative, only about 3% of the population can even receive it

valoren

B_ecke_r wrote: »

who would complain about wait times during work hours?

Not complaining just pointing out that I am in and out in about an hour. That's not long.

ohfa6muwtsvkc1

....... wrote: »

Youre going to fit 3 million+ names in the first 2 inside pages of a local paper?

Yeah good man. Or we could do it like they did when releasing tax avoiders names, published in the people's own local papers.

ohfa6muwtsvkc1

Blazer wrote: »

Christ another newly registered idiot op posting shiite.
The government should name and shame these idiots in real life.

I bet you're the kind fo lad who thinks age equals seniority :rolleyes:

Blazer

....... wrote: »

Youre going to fit 3 million+ names in the first 2 inside pages of a local paper?

I’d say he’d be lucky to fit his big thick numbskull head inside it.

Blazer

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote: »

I bet you're the kind fo lad who thinks age equals seniority :rolleyes:

Err that’s why old people are called seniors.
You know and young people are called juniors.
Now why don’t you trot off back to your crayons and colouring book and leave the grown ups here to talk.

Plumbthedepths

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote:

I bet you're the kind fo lad who thinks age equals seniority

Better to be an old fart, than a young sh*thead. Which are you?

ohfa6muwtsvkc1

Blazer wrote: »

Err that’s why old people are called seniors.
You know and young people are called juniors.
Now why don’t you trot off back to your crayons and colouring book and leave the grown ups here to talk.

Ha! So you do think that.

"I'm better at football cos I'm older than you"
Blazer says that's sound logic.

Spaz

Last time I checked I owned my blood and donating was optional. None of this "more tax" bollocks.

GrumpyMe

B_ecke_r wrote: »

Organ Donors too.

can't understand why someone would not want to donate their organs

Not as straight forward as you might think!


http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_services/blood_and_organ_donation/organ_and_body_donation.html


"In all cases, the medical team requests the next-of-kin to donate the organs of a deceased person. In practice, the consent of the next-of-kin is accepted as valid and a refusal by the next-of-kin is not contested."

retro:electro

I don’t think donating is something that should be incentivised by paid systems or tax deductions. It should always remain an altruistic act. Incentivising it would mean we need a higher standard of screening and giving financial rewards would increase the chances of doners being dishonest about their history and risk factors.

mzungu

Qrt wrote: »

That’s def it. Like, I’m no nun (far from it), but I’m always responsible and look after myself. Meanwhile a woman could have multiple sexual partners per day, all unprotected, and still be grand to donate. Strange.

Ten of Swords wrote: »

I'm healthy and have an uncommon blood type. But I'm in a relationship and really like sex, so yeah...

IBTS is out of luck

That's changing over in the UK. They reduced it to three months a few years ago but now there are moves to just cover risqué sexual practices which would be a much fairer way to do it. Also, blood screening is far better now than it was in the 80s when the ban was first introduced so the risks of a patient getting contaminated blood have now been greatly reduced.

You can understand why the checks and balances are in place, but thankfully things seem to be progressing pretty quickly so it won't be too long before the ban on MSM will be lifted altogether.

brightspark

I donated for about 30 years, sometimes the clinic times coincided with a cold, dental visit etc so I think I only gave just short of 40 times. (living in the country so they clinics only happened 2-3 times per year, but I think they are more frequent now).

I had an unrelated allergic reaction and was given a couple of shots of epi-pens so I am now unable to give again.

To those who complain about it taking a couple of hours...can you honestly say your time is more valuable than someones life?

ArrBee

retro:electro wrote: »

I don’t think donating is something that should be incentivised by paid systems or tax deductions. It should always remain an altruistic act. Incentivising it would mean we need a higher standard of screening and giving financial rewards would increase the chances of doners being dishonest about their history and risk factors.

I don't think individuals honesty should be the line of defense for safety.
Even if it's not incentivized, I'd like better precautions than "I'm sure they are telling the truth because, why would they lie?"

Ten of Swords

mzungu wrote: »

That's changing over in the UK. They reduced it to three months a few years ago but now there are moves to just cover risqué sexual practices which would be a much fairer way to do it. Also, blood screening is far better now than it was in the 80s when the ban was first introduced so the risks of a patient getting contaminated blood have now been greatly reduced.

You can understand why the checks and balances are in place, but thankfully things seem to be progressing pretty quickly so it won't be too long before the ban on MSM will be lifted altogether.

Yes I understand it fully, I have made a few posts on this topic in the past so I know where they're coming from but as usual Ireland is behind the curve on this. The lifetime ban on men who had ever had a sexual experience with another man (including just oral) was only lifted in January 2017 and replaced with a 12 month deferral period, this has been cited as 'international best practice' but in reality it still prohibits most if not all gay men from donating blood.

There have been campaigns in other European countries to reduce the deferral period to 90 days which sounds like what you're talking about, I wasn't aware they had gained any traction in the UK, that's interesting.

lab man

Frances Fresh Soreness wrote:

She received so much type O Negative that the hospital sent out a text alert for O Neg people to donate.. To those people and the doctors & nurses of Beaumont Hospita I'm eternally grateful.

Often have got that call

lab man

sugarman wrote:

Make Mon-Tues 6am-2pm for example giving people a chance to give before going to work.

Ant do that for fear of people fainting

eviltwin

Used to donate a lot but last few times I waited for the guts of two hours to be told no thanks. It kinda put me off.

Flibble

Can't donate due to receiving regular acupuncture treatments for the last decade.

There's a massive slice of the population excluded for exactly that reason.

wench

ArrBee wrote: »

I don't think individuals honesty should be the line of defense for safety.
Even if it's not incentivized, I'd like better precautions than "I'm sure they are telling the truth because, why would they lie?"

Its not, but removing the most risky from the donor pool makes sense.

No test is 100%, false negatives can happen.

Wheeliebin30

Frances Fresh Soreness wrote: »

Feb 14th 2018 my daughter took ill and was brought to Beaumont Hospital with internal bleeding, an artery had ruptured. The blood loss resulted in a cardiac arrest.

Blood donations saved her life.

She received so much type O Negative that the hospital sent out a text alert for O Neg people to donate.. To those people and the doctors & nurses of Beaumont Hospita I'm eternally grateful.

As a diabetic I can't donate, but to anyone here who can ~ thank you, you really do give the gift of life.

Even typing this now and remembering the day chokes me up.

Would they not have to test the blood etc before giving it?

wench

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

Would they not have to test the blood etc before giving it?

They would be appealing for people to replenish the stock, not to use immediately.

cajonlardo

I worked in big firm and the blood service sent out a team to take donations

I couldn't believe how few of my Co workers volunteered. Then a guy told me to stop asking questions.
He said that what I didn't realise was how many were using recreational drugs.

Back in the early 80s when I was a young soldier a truck load of us were rounded up and brought to the centre.
We weren't told where we were going and weren't asked if we wanted to donate. Just shown in and told what to do. I assume we could have refused but no one objected - tbh it was good craic
That was my introduction to donating.

daheff

what this thread needs is info on how to actually give blood, rather than OP going off on a rant about it.

About giving Blood
Can I give blood


Find a clinic

Plumbthedepths

cajonlardo wrote:

Back in the early 80s when I was a young soldier a truck load of us were rounded up and brought to the centre. We weren't told where we were going and weren't asked if we wanted to donate. Just shown in and told what to do. I assume we could have refused but no one objected - tbh it was good craic That was my introduction to donating.

More than likely a complete waste of resources, regular donors will make sure their blood can be used.

LirW

I suffer from Anemia, I have very bad iron levels the very most of times and my GP advised against it in my case.

Martina1991

lab man wrote:

Often have got that call

Aa colleague retired back in September after 40 years of service. At her retirement she shared a story about one time there was a patient having a major haemorrhage and were running out of units with her blood type.

They had to call the guards and get as many donors as possible. The service has come a long way. It will keep improving but we need donors.