Are you a Blood Doner?

whassupp2

I donated for the first time recently and was told by one of the staff of the great shortage in blood donors to meet demands.

Just wondering aswell if there are any long term affects to giving blood??

Guy:Incognito

I have received a donation before

I went a few years ago and couldnt donate as I had recently got a tattoo. Been lazy and never went back. Keep meaning to though.

Ice_Box

No

There are no long term effects of giving blood.

What I hate about giving blood are the queues. There simple isnt enough staff to handle the demand so there is no point blaming the general public. Last time I gave blood loads of people left because they were sick of waiting.

Oryx

No

Yes, but they dont always take it cos i get anaemic

oh, and im a universal donor (O neg) so my bloods good for anyone.:D

G&T

No

Think everyone eligable should have to give blood.
I give every time i can.
The waiting around is a pain but imagine you or someone in your family having to wait for surgery if there was no blood available.
Every time i donate i think of it as saving someone's life and that to me is worth the hastle,
If you havn't done it i hope this will give you something to think about.
Also your body make's a new pint up in no time so you have new cell's fighting off infection,im never sick and i think donating has something to do with it.

445279.ie

No

Made my 10th donation recently and got a nice little gift in the post

Always think the worst part is the prick on the finger to test for iron levels :eek:

Zaph

No

rebel72 wrote:

Always think the worst part is the prick on the finger to test for iron levels :eek:

People always say that but it's never bothered me.

Dave!

No

zaph wrote:

People always say that but it's never bothered me.

I had that done and it didn't bother me either......

Gave my first donation a few weeks ago, gonna make it a regular thing.

I was asking the nurse about why so few people donate (the IBTS site says only 3% of the population do) and she was saying that one of the main problems is travel. If you go to places like South America, South East Asia, Africa, etc., then you have to wait months before you can donate because of the risk of picking up diseases there.

There's also the whole "if you spent more than a year in the UK between 1980 and 1996", then you can't donate ever.

Ruu_Old

I am in Ireland but my blood isn't good enough for the Americans so I'm not allowed donate. (mad cow ban thingy)

lucernarian

I wish there was an option for those who are excluded from giving blood.

A question, how do you find out what type of blood you have?

Nehpets

Stupid question but ... how do I give blood exactly? Like where do I go etc etc?

ballooba

I am not a kebab!

spurious

In Dublin, the main clinic is at the junction of Westmoreland St and D'Olier Street - up on (I think) the 2nd floor.

I went in last year ready to give blood and couldn't because of some medication I'm on. It's actually quite a small group they can take blood from now, when you exclude the people who have lived in England, gay men, people on blood pressure and similar medication and all the other excluded groups.

Mossy Monk

I have received a donation before

No.

sunnyjim

Yep. Did it once. Fainted after. Going back next week

Zaph

No

You can find out here if you're eligible to give blood or not.

Oral Slang

No

Nehpets wrote:

Stupid question but ... how do I give blood exactly? Like where do I go etc etc?

Log on to IBTS.ie and look up locations. There are some fixed ones & then they have mobile units that travel around to different schools, halls etc.

I gave blood for the 2nd time about 3 weeks ago. Have low blood pressure though, so nearly fainted both times. I absolutely hate that sensation, so will probably wait a while b4 I go again. Before I gave blood, it was the needle I dreaded, but now its the half an hour afterwards. They keep you ages if they think you might faint, so not good if you're in a hurry.
Happy I can donate though, everyone should try donate if they're eligible.

Zaph

No

Make sure you eat properly before you go as it reduces the risk of fainting.

Oryx

No

Do you still have the option of a glass of Guinness afterwards? (I only take tea so I cant recall what else they give you now)

philstar

No

yes i did it, but only the once, as i made a complete tit of myself.

because being the woss that i am i nearly passed out half way through, cause when i looked over at the bottle full of blood i started getting queasy and the nurses stopped the procedure.

i just have to toughen up a bit i think:o

whassupp2

No

KtK wrote:

Do you still have the option of a glass of Guinness afterwards? (I only take tea so I cant recall what else they give you now)

ya they still have guinness

crazy_dude6662

spurious wrote:

In Dublin, the main clinic is at the junction of Westmoreland St and D'Olier Street - up on (I think) the 2nd floor.

I went in last year ready to give blood and couldn't because of some medication I'm on. It's actually quite a small group they can take blood from now, when you exclude the people who have lived in England, gay men, people on blood pressure and similar medication and all the other excluded groups.

actually its only if you had gay sex (with or without a condom) so if your gay and a virgin you can give blood all you like.

i plan to give blood when im old enough to.

Tar.Aldarion

I'm 'anti-anaemic' to put it simply, a genetic disorder that is quite cool. So yeah, donate.

Dave!

No

Ye can only donate every 3 months apparantly. It takes that long for your blood to..... something.

wyndham

I have received a donation before

Ice_Box wrote:

There are no long term effects of giving blood.

What I hate about giving blood are the queues. There simple isnt enough staff to handle the demand so there is no point blaming the general public. Last time I gave blood loads of people left because they were sick of waiting.

Agreed, I went to give blood to a mobile clinic before near where I live. It was about 8pm and they said there would be a 2 hour wait. So I said i'd go home and come back but was told they wouldn't admit people after 9pm so i left it. Figured they obviously weren't as desperate as they make out for donations.

oleras

No

dont it 5 or 6 times about 6-7 years ago, got a piercing and couldent and never went back, it was the waiting around that annoyed me the most, if they are that desperate why not have a service in a hospital where you can go at anytime night or day, and as for running out, that aint gona happen, they buy it in when they run low iirc.

robinph

I have received a donation before

I know they won't take mine for multiple reasons so I've never gone to the bother of offering it to them, I like the idea of free Guinness though. Had a few pints taken for some drug study or something I years ago though but never got any free drink after that.

oleras

No

#Elites wrote:

why cant gays donate blood?

:rolleyes: ......... would you like to catch "Gay" after a transfusion........ *






* yabada yabada joke

BendiBus

No

I tried to give once, but when the nurse inserted the needle, it split my vein nearly the length of my arm! :eek: A doctor had to be called over and I had to wear a pressure bandage from my wrist to my elbow for a couple of weeks! But even so, I've oficially donated. Must try again soon.

spurious wrote:

It's actually quite a small group they can take blood from now, when you exclude the people who have lived in England, gay men, people on blood pressure and similar medication and all the other excluded groups.

I don't think blood pressure or its medication makes you ineligible to donate.

Collie D

I have received a donation before

G&T wrote:

Think everyone eligable should have to give blood.

Should have to? No way, man. I don't gve blood, I can be harvested for whatever they want once I die, would probably even donate a kidney whle alive but just too much of a wuss when it comes to blood. Even reading this thread make me feel queasy.

Vorsprung

No

G&T wrote:

Think everyone eligable should have to give blood.

Sure why not take a kidney while they're at it, we can do fine with one

I've donated a fair few times, used to try to do it every 3 months but haven't had the time lately, think I tried on the last bank holiday but they were closed. Will defo try over the next couple of weeks

Dave!

No

Ahh come on! I wouldn't advocate making it compulsary, but being afraid of needles or blood is a bit of a silly reason not to donate if you're eligible!

Black Swan

No

Yes, every now and then (when in Ireland, but the USA will not allow me to...)

Collie D

I have received a donation before

DaveMcG wrote:

but being afraid of needles or blood is a bit of a silly reason not to donate if you're eligible!

I know it's silly but I'm afraid my mind is made up. My choice

Oryx

No

A needle phobia is not silly. Its a big deal if you have one.

But for anyone who is slightly squeamish or uncertain.

You can look away.
The blood is collected below you where you usually cant see it.
After the initial jab, you dont feel much of anything.
They give you tea and biccies and make a fuss of you.
The nurses are hawt
You get to save lives without doing feck all.

biko

No

Used to donate plasma but stopped a while ago.
Would like to start again actually.

burnedfaceman

No

i give blood as often as i can, never know when you might be the one needing to recieve a transfusion. i think its grand apart from the iron test which stings like hell. the view from cafe on westmoreland street down o connell street is worth a pint of blood alone

Dave!

No

KtK wrote:

A needle phobia is not silly. Its a big deal if you have one.

Of course it's a big deal to the person with the phobia, just like flying is to someone with that particular fear, but if you need to (or more importantly, want to), you could do it.

But unless you need the blood it's not top of your agenda.

hairyfairy00

No

Went a few months back to donate and wasn't allowed to because i suffer form migraines, i was really disappointed. My dad's been donating for years and i used to love going down when he gave blood, hmmmm free crisps and biscuits

delta_bravo

No

#Elites wrote:

why cant gays donate blood?

thats a bit stupid...its not like straight people are any different

Probably that the ibts regard them as having a higher risk of having infected blood. Thats not the only limitation., You can never donate if youve been to prison either, or had sex with a prostitute.

NicsM

hairyfairy00 wrote:

Went a few months back to donate and wasn't allowed to because i suffer form migraines, i was really disappointed. My dad's been donating for years and i used to love going down when he gave blood, hmmmm free crisps and biscuits

I'm the same (migraine) tried to donate a few months ago back in college but apparently the two kinds of medication I'm on mean I can never donate. My aunt works for IBTS and she's always reminding us to give blood.

Corruptedmorals

I can't, I'm under the minimum weight. I'll do it when I'm fatter...used to faint every single blood test ever, but I'd do it if I had a bottle of Lucozade.

watsgone

Not allowed to due to medical condition,
I do volunteer at the centres giving out drinks etc after

The_Conductor

Ineligible due to a medical condition.

CathyMoran

I can not give blood due to a medical condition. When I recently had major life saving surgery I recieved 6 units of blood in total - thank you to all those wonderful people who donate blood.

spurious

BendiBus wrote:

I don't think blood pressure or its medication makes you ineligible to donate.

The medication certainly does. I think it was the ACE inhibitor was the one on her list, or it might have also been the beta-blocker. I was quite surprised as I thought they split the blood into its constituent parts but apparently if they do, it makes no difference.

Gran Hermano

Blood doner? I though they used lamb traditionally, must be a new
trend in Abrakebabra

RandolphEsq

No

I became a donor recently, its no trouble at all giving blood. Although I did feel a bit light headed as I donated but that was only because I was nervous and thinking about all the things that could go wrong(hitting an artery etc.)

philstar

No

i have needle phobia too.....as a kid i used to hate it when my mother did the knitting....:D

Canis Lupus

I have received a donation before

I can't donate in Ireland cos I was bor in the UK and you have some law about nt being able to donate from such and such a year which I fall into. Having said that I'm in the UK now and I still can't bring myself to donate. Something makes me freak out about giving my blood away.

ali.c

No

Yup give it as often as they'll take (had a few rejections for low iron). Figure i can give it and someone has too and i dont have any issues with needles or anything. So all good!!