Why aren't you donating blood?

Mrcaramelchoc · 05-03-2019 4:40pm

****ers told me i couldn't.

ryanch09 · 05-03-2019 4:41pm

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

Ush1 · 05-03-2019 4:41pm

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote: »

I don't know what's wrong with you guys and your understanding. let me rephrase.

Let's imagine (yeah, imagine) that whatever your particulars right now, the following is true (again, in your imagination people)

- you're healthy
- you;'re not donating

If all the above was true (remember imagine), then do you think an extra tax per month would want you to change the situation? C'mon people, you can do it!

Imagine all the people...
Giving blood for tax exemptioooooonnns...

is_that_so · 05-03-2019 4:42pm

amcalester wrote: »

The Brits operated on me a few years ago so my blood is tainted.

Also, I hear they take a pint? That’s nearly an armful.

If you've lived in the UK for any length of time you can't donate. That rules out a lot of people, including me.

ohfa6muwtsvkc1 · 05-03-2019 4:42pm

Ush1 wrote: »

Imagine all the people...
Giving blood for tax exemptioooooonnns...

Great argument guy

victor8600 · 05-03-2019 4:43pm

I donate, there are so many people who cannot donate (young, elderly, pregnant, lived in UK in 90s, gay etc), so whoever can should do it regularly.

B_ecke_r · 05-03-2019 4:43pm

valoren wrote: »

I do it every 3 months through work. It's win-win. A free detox and you help someone. Last donation went to Waterford Hospital.
Wait times are on average under an hour.

You can't donate at weekends as it's closed and most people are free at the weekend.

who would complain about wait times during work hours?

arybvtcw0eolkf · 05-03-2019 4:43pm

Autosport wrote: »

I donate and I often receive texts when they are looking for O negative blood

My daughter was saved by type O Neg donors like you, thank you.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 05-03-2019 4:43pm

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote: »

Fine. But if you're healthy maybe you should be made to do a couple of hours hospital porter duty per month in leiu of blood? And we can have your organs when you die.

Meanwhile, back in the real world....

Ush1 · 05-03-2019 4:43pm

Judson Squeaking Patient wrote: »

Great argument guy

I'm not your guy, buddy.

....... · 05-03-2019 4:43pm

Naming and shaming only works if people feel ashamed of the thing they are being named and shamed for.

Who has the time to even read the list of almost everyone in the country to see if someone they know is being named and shamed for not donating blood!!

And who cares if your name is on it? So is the name of practically everyone else in the country!

binana · 05-03-2019 4:44pm

I've donated blood 3 times and I've been told not to push myself to do it anymore as I'm not an ideal donor.

Tight veins, borderline iron levels, and low blood pressure. It takes the max time to barely pass the minimum donation and they see me as a massive fainting risk. I'll probably continue to try giving blood but with less frequency, maybe once a year rather than every 3 months.

Lu Tze · 05-03-2019 4:45pm

I've been on medication for a good few years now but the end is potentially in sight in the next year or so.
I'll be donating afterwards once allowed, everything that could go wrong when inserting cannulas etc. has already happened, including getting an artery instead of a vein, so no fear left at this stage!

Raven_k42 · 05-03-2019 4:45pm

Spent 15 years in UK so no longer eligible. I have rare blood-type too and often got calls from Pelican House in the old days.

Over the last few years I've driven up to Newry on several occasions to give blood. Seems somewhat odd every time - can't donate in Dundalk but a few miles up the road !!.

Do we ever "import" blood ?.

K

tcawley29 · 05-03-2019 4:45pm

The rampant recreational drug use would have an impact on this too as I believe you have to wait 6 months after your last dose to donate. That rules out a lot of the youth today

Martina1991 · 05-03-2019 4:46pm

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.

Just want to say its not just doctors and nurses that are involved major haemorrhage cases.

In the blood transfusion laboratory there are medical scientists cross matching units of blood, plasma, platelets and other blood products for patients. Their work is critical as one minor mistake or error can be fatal.

In most hospitals at night and on weekends there is one person working in the blood transfusion department.

Last night on call, a woman had a major haemorrhage during a c section. It took about 12 hours and at least 20 blood products to stabilise her with that one person being responsible for her receiving the right products as soon as possible right throughout the night.

Tom Mann Centuria · 05-03-2019 4:46pm

Raven_k42 wrote: »

Spent 15 years in UK so no longer eligible. I have rare blood-type too and often got calls from Pelican House in the old days.

Over the last few years I've driven up to Newry on several occasions to give blood. Seems somewhat odd every time - can't donate in Dundalk but a few miles up the road !!.

Do we ever "import" blood ?.

K

Some blood products are imported from the US of A.

_Kaiser_ · 05-03-2019 4:46pm

Not donating (don't even know my blood type - which is probably a reflection of rarely being in a doctor's office anyway) and I don't have the time or inclination to spend hours doing it.

Would be even less a fan of the heavy-handed tactics being advocated here.

MarkR · 05-03-2019 4:47pm

13 times so far. Tried last week, but I had a stomach bug the week previous, so didn't meet the criteria. Free crisps and chocolate are a plus.

ohfa6muwtsvkc1 · 05-03-2019 4:47pm

....... wrote: »

Naming and shaming only works if people feel ashamed of the thing they are being named and shamed for.

Who has the time to even read the list of almost everyone in the country to see if someone they know is being named and shamed for not donating blood!!

And who cares if your name is on it? So is the name of practically everyone else in the country!

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.

05-03-2019 4:50pm

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

I'm English, your anti-Brit Blood transfusion service won't take my blood.

^^^^^^ what he said which is a shame really as I donated blood when I lived in England.

Seems like an outdated rule at this stage.

dogmatix · 05-03-2019 4:50pm

Sadly I suffer from Hemophobia and Trypanophobia so having someone siphon of a pint of my red stuff every now and again would be hell on earth.

But it is a worthy cause. So I was thinking, if as they say “laughter is the best medicine” then maybe the government should set up an agency called say “An Bord medically-funny” or whatever it is in Irish and I could scribble down a few jokes or maybe some funny pictures of Tommy Cooper or clowns and post them in every few months in lieu of my blood?

Sebastian Dangerfield · 05-03-2019 4:50pm

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 think the government should start a campaign to shame people into doing it. I'm not against (provided it was set up right) a public name-and-shame list of those who don't donate and haven't proven that they can't/or given a proper excuse.

And then there'd be blood lakes alongside the butter mountains and sugar hills and t'would go bad. Or our blueshirt government would sell the excess to our EU brethern. And sure wouldnt all and sundry come looking for our lovely celtic blood and then, sure, isn't everyone claiming to have Irish blood and the foreigns would be in atop a'us in no time.

No, no. Things are fine as they are.

GLaDOS · 05-03-2019 4:50pm

I've donated several times before and will donate again but it's a bit of pain tbh. I don't work in the city centre so usually have to wait for one of the mobile clinics (usually college campus as I'm in academia). Waiting times are horrendous so if I can't afford to take 1-2 hours out of my working day its not happening.

Pkiernan · 05-03-2019 4:50pm

I'd gladly give blood if I could request that it go to people on the top rate of income tax.

is_that_so · 05-03-2019 4:52pm

MarkR wrote: »

13 times so far. Tried last week, but I had a stomach bug the week previous, so didn't meet the criteria. Free crisps and chocolate are a plus.

Ah, the Guinness days!

arybvtcw0eolkf · 05-03-2019 4:52pm

Martina1991 wrote: »

Just want to say its not just doctors and nurses that are involved major haemorrhage cases.

In the blood transfusion laboratory there are medical scientists cross matching units of blood, plasma, platelets and other blood products for patients. Their work is critical as one minor mistake or error can be fatal.

In most hospitals at night and on weekends there is one person working in the blood transfusion department.

Last night on call, a woman had a major haemorrhage during a c section. It took about 12 hours and at least 20 blood products to stabilise her with that one person being responsible for her receiving the right products as soon as possible right throughout the night.

I didn't know that, I'm not a medical person but I'll never forget that day in resus and a doctor pulling no punches in telling us how critical our daughter [my son's]/sister was.

At one stage we were allowed into resus to see her, it was fairly obvious that a battle had been fought to save her.

I'm actually going to close the laptop here and take a breather.

amcalester · 05-03-2019 4:53pm

is_that_so wrote: »

If you've lived in the UK for any length of time you can't donate. That rules out a lot of people, including me.

Yeah, I tick a few of the exclusion boxes.

Martina1991 · 05-03-2019 4:53pm

Tom Mann Centuria wrote:

Some blood products are imported from the US of A.

Plasma can be frozen and stored for up to a year.

Red blood cells have a shelf life of around 35 days.

Platelets have a shelf life of 5 days so some products are not ideal for importing.

_Kaiser_ wrote:

Not donating (don't even know my blood type - which is probably a reflection of rarely being in a doctor's office anyway) and I don't have the time or inclination to spend hours doing it.

You're attitude here comes across as selfish. You may not have the time but some patients do not have much time.

Please consider donating. The IBTS site has a quick quiz to see if you're eligable to donate.

demanufactured · 05-03-2019 4:54pm

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 think the government should start a campaign to shame people into doing it. I'm not against (provided it was set up right) a public name-and-shame list of those who don't donate and haven't proven that they can't/or given a proper excuse.

Even though I have a rare blood type, they always tell me they have too much.

Why aren't you donating blood?

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