question about giving blood

Seraphina

not sure where this should go, but i saw a post about giving blood a while back here so i figured i should go with it. gave blood for the first time yesterday. its obviously going to be sore and bruised, but are various blood spots under the skin normal?

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

Seraphina

hehehe, thats exactly what i said i looked like after i took the dressing off. they DID have trouble getting at my vein so that could have been the problem. as long as its nothing to worry about then, thanks.

thedrowner

yup completely normal they usually tell me 'the doctor just nicked the vein a bit...nothing to be worried about' and theyre right, it usually dies down after 5 or 6 days (well my biggest bruise did anyway)

i still look like im mainlining h 6 months after i gave it the last time (i really need to go give it again soon, maybe it'll have the opposite affect).

but dont let that put u off donating again

mirv

Where do you give blood?

I'd like to contribute one of these days, but I have *very* deep veins, I need to do silly amounts of exercise before I can even see the blue of them

smiles

Originally posted by mirv
Where do you give blood?

I'd like to contribute one of these days, but I have *very* deep veins, I need to do silly amounts of exercise before I can even see the blue of them

You have to be over 18. :P

<< Fio >>

mirv

You sure?
I thought they give you a pint of Guinness if you are over 18, and give you something else which I can't remember if you're not.

Gordon

I'd say that nowadays a pint of Guinness is far more expensive than a pint of human blood.

In Scotland I think they give you a cup of tea and a biscuit if you donate.

mirv

I wouldnt say so, as Guinness has little medical value compared to blood. The reason they give it is to let you recover from giving blood as it's high in iron I think.

Gordon

Gosh I didn't know blood was so expensive it seems that it is around the $150 mark for a unit :eek:

Seraphina

well i wasn't offered any guinness
they sent me to a small canteen where they had tea or coffee and a small selection of chocolate and crisps(for free)
if you need it, blood is expensive to receive but if you have ever donated, its free!
you DO have to be 18 to give tho, and there are lots of other conditions to make sure the blood is safe for someone to receive.
and dont worry drowner, im not gonna let a little bruise and a few spots stop me from giving again.

thedrowner

ive never been offered guiness but i can see fridges full of it and i wonder why they never offer it to me.

they woudlnt let me leave one day, it was so embarassing, and it was only coz id made the stupid mistake of saying it hurt a little bit (because apparantly, its not supposed to hurt at all. but it does. its totally bearable though)

im also on the bone marrow doner list *scared ****less* especially when my friend told me it was done on local, and its not.

i excercise loads and i still have deep veins, but apparantly not excercising is the reason for it.

John2002

Originally posted by Seraphina
you DO have to be 18 to give tho, and there are lots of other conditions to make sure the blood is safe for someone to receive.

There are a few conditions but I'm not sure about having to be over 18. I cant see anything that mentions an age limit on the Irish Blood Transfusion website: http://www.ibts.ie/.

Shiminay

You do have to be over 18.

I'm also on the marrow doner list (and have been accepted).

It's very important to give blood folks - it's in short supply. The financial benefits alone are most excellent too - free blood fo you and your spouse and children under 18 for life even if you only give one. Blood is very, very expensive.

I don't need to list the moral benefits. Everyone who can should. Muppets who are afraid of needles should be forced into it and get over themselves. Selfish is the only word you could use to describe these people. Like the new bunch of ads say: "I'm afraid of needles. I'm afriad of dying." Rant over

After my brother was born, my mum had lost a good bit of blood, so they fired a pint in. When my dad died, he'd been given a fair whack of the red stuff, so I give when I can as a way of saying thank you and giving some back.

Unfortunatly, I can't give for another 8 months or som because I had a piercing done (12 months delay after a piercing and tattoo).

Borzoi

Originally posted by Kharn


It's very important to give blood folks - it's in short supply

A lot of people don't realise how true that is, operations cannot proceed without a sufficient blood supply.

As I'm O-, the universal donor type, the blood bank have a habit of ringing evry 3-4months, and by Christ it's hard to say no when a nurse says that they need the blood for a particular babies operation!

But very warm fuzzy feeling afterwards. It's one of the things that helps me think that we are living in a civilization.

John2002

Can't agree with you guys more on how important it is to give blood. And it will stand to you should the occasion arise that you require blood.

I've only donated once myself but fully intend to do it more frequently in the future.

Xterminator

Does anyone know the opening hours of that blood donation place on Westmoreland St?

X

leeroybrown

People giving blood is very important.

Just remember that if you head down to the donation clinic that it can take quite a while between all the screenings, etc. so you'll need to have some time to spare.

John2002

Originally posted by Xterminator
Does anyone know the opening hours of that blood donation place on Westmoreland St?

X

This is close:

Fixed Blood Clinic, Dublin
D'Olier Street Blood Clinic, Dublin for Blood Donation

The D'Olier Street Blood Clinic is located at 1-5 D'Olier Street .
Phone: (01) 6703366 or (01) 6703617
Opens Monday-Friday (except Bank Holidays)
Monday-Thursday 9.30am to 8.00pm
Friday 9.30am to 5.00pm

thedrowner

u definately have to be over 18, when u go in, theres a list of questions u have to answer every time and one of them is are u over 18. and they also keep track of it on a ocmputer

on saying that, they never asked me for id, so i could have just been lying, but ah well.

yeah i agree with how important it is to give it, my friend got veyr sick and needed a transfusion, 4 pints in total.

i think the clinic opens till 8 every day except saturday and sunday, whens its just 6, and im not sure if it opens on sunday.

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

krankykitty

On a side note its good to see that insurance companies are no longer going to insure against "lifestyle" caesareans. I think I heard that on the news.

AHEM, Im sure a lot of women are a LOT more afraid of ChildBirth than they are of needles!!!

thedrowner

Originally posted by krankykitty
AHEM, Im sure a lot of women are a LOT more afraid of ChildBirth than they are of needles!!!

yeah but most of them arent so scared that they wouldnt get pregnant in the first place just so they wouldnt have to face the pain of childbirth

roar_ie

i find it a bit offensive you lot bantering on to people to give blood. People have their reason, like myself, as to why they don't give blood, and it has nothing to do with needles. I agree people who can should but don't say to everyone give blood.

Thanks
John

Typedef

I think giving blood should be mandatory for people aged between x and y say.

In other countries one has the notion of national service in the military, so in comparison, compulsory blood contributions (the health of the contributor being taken into account) would seem like quite a meagre contribution, when balanced against the potential of getting killed or maimed for one's country.

Oh and disagreeing with me is thoughtcrime.

doubleplusungood.

po0k

I went to donate blood about a month ago in college.
Went through the questions fine, not a bother.
Didn't have a breakfast before coming in (9am lecture - no time).
Went trhough the Iron test fine.
Was told to go get something to eat, which i did.
Saw a few of the people who'd donated, and started getting a bit faint, which I seem to do.
I don't know why, I had been looking forward to donating for about 2 months beforehand, and had been fine. I'm also not at all squeamish about a animal knocked down on the road/aniamls being slaughtered etc. and I've long gotten over any fear of needles/cuts etc.
I stood up when my name was called and was walking down to the gurney when one of the nurses pulled me over and asked me if I was allright. Apparently I was as white as a sheet.
A doctor came over and told I wasn't going to be donating that day.
"Shíte" I said.

Can a GP take blood off you?
I think they can but you actually have to pay to do so, and there's no pint of guinness.
Might give a call to the Galway branch soon, what with the asshóles drink-driving around christmas etc.

Kali

Completly off-topcic but am I the only one who sees "question about giving blo..." on the frontpage and thinks its something else?

John2002

Originally posted by Kali
Completly off-topcic but am I the only one who sees "question about giving blo..." on the frontpage and thinks its something else?

lol, but I see blood!

swiss

People have their reason, like myself, as to why they don't give blood, and it has nothing to do with needles

Indeed, some people do have their reasons for not giving blood. However, as some posters have already pointed out, these reasons are somtimes based on relatively minor grievances, for example a fear of needles. I don't believe this is good enough, people should give blood because it can save lives, and unless there is a damn good reason why one shouldn't then it is morally incumbant upon people to donate from time to time.

Personally, I cannot give blood. Not because of some morbid fear or because of a debilitating disease, but because I have been restricted under the stipulated rules. It annoys me a little, because given the choice, I would donate from time to time. Apparantly I am considered an 'at risk' category, and although I might disagree with this, I have to abide by it.

Completly off-topcic but am I the only one who sees "question about giving blo..." on the frontpage and thinks its something else?

Umm. Yes I saw that, I admit for a moment I thought it *may* have been something slightly different .

STaN

im in the same boat as swiss. I would like to give blood, but id have to lie to do so.

Do they test the blood for contaminants?

John2002

Originally posted by STaN
im in the same boat as swiss. I would like to give blood, but id have to lie to do so.

Do they test the blood for contaminants?

AFAIK with blood taken from people in Limerick, it is sent down to Cork for testing. They'd have to test it, god knows what people could have in their blood without knowing. I think it's the whole testing process is what makes it so expensive.

STaN

k...

.. and if they did find something, do they tell the donor?

John2002

I don't know to be honest but I'd assume they would or at the very least they'd inform you someting was up if you tried to donate a second time.

Shiminay

There are many reasons that people can't give blood - I know this. I can't tolerate people that won't give because they're afraid of needles is all I'm saying - it's a ridiculous phobia (most are) and personally, it's something I have no time for or won't entertain.

Men cannot give blood if they've ever had sex with another man - that's ridiculous tbh. Being gay doesn't mean you're blood is "dirty". That sort of sentiment belongs in the dark ages.

You cannot give blood if you've ever had Hepatitus - fair enough - makes perfect sense as I believe it never fully leaves your system.

As I mentioned previously - tattoos and piercings count you out for a year.

Having visited Africa is a big no no too.

One thing that I'm curious about is drugs - do they test for dope or speed or other things (can they?).

thedrowner

the reason blood is so expensive is because of all the tests that need to be done on it

yes if they find something bad in ur blood im pretty sure they tell you, but they say that under no circumstances should you give blood just as a means of finding out if u have aids, or any other disease that would show up in blood tests.

i find that theyre quite strict in the blood clinic, but then they have to be, they wont let u give blood if uve a cold, for eg, because if ur immune system is down slightly the recipient could be sensitive to it and it could cause an infection. i know a ocuple of people who have been put off by the clinics thorough questioning, but it has to be done, and the good far outweighs the bad.

my biggest problem with the blood clinic is their rules about not letting gay people donate-this is ludicrous. they base this on the fact that gay men are the most risky for passing on aids, when in fact the biggest risk group currently is heterosexual women.

John2002

Originally posted by thedrowner
my biggest problem with the blood clinic is their rules about not letting gay people donate-this is ludicrous. they base this on the fact that gay men are the most risky for passing on aids, when in fact the biggest risk group currently is heterosexual women.

On what do you base this fact? I've never heard that heterosexual women would be the largest group of HIV/AIDS carrier. I know it's not a "gay disease" but I always thought it was far more prominent within homosexual communities.

Trojan

Hi all,

Apologies for long post

I am a regular donor. Every few months here at work we ring the IBTS , about a week in advance with numbers, and they arrange mini-buses or taxies to come out to the business park and pick us up.

It drops us at the centre, and there are enough nurses to get through the numbers., takes about 1hr 15 to get through 8 - 10 ppl (it's normally a 30 min process if you're alone). We have our free sambos, bars and Guinness and either head into town from there or ask them to sort out a taxi back to the business park for us. All the transport is paid for (with the proviso that they only return us to where we were picked up from to stop people taking advantage of a free taxi service). We do this every 4 months or so (it's possible to donate up to every 8 weeks if you're healthy enough and weigh over 110lbs).

Here's the eligiblity info:

(from www.IBTS.ie )

To protect the safety of the blood supply there are many reasons why people are asked not to give blood. Sometimes people can never give blood and sometimes they are asked not to give blood for a specific time period.

Before you come to one of our clinics to donate, check if you are eligible to give blood from the list below. If you have any further queries, please email us at info@ibts.ie and one of our medical consultants will respond to you.or contact our Information Line @ 1850 731 137

Never give blood if:

* You are a male who has had sex with another male
* You have ever used a needle to take drugs of any kind
* You or your partner is HIV positive
* You have had jaundice after the age of 13 years or if you contracted jaundice under the age of 13 years which was caused by Hepatitis B or C

Do not give blood for 12 months if:

* You have visited a Malarial Area
* You have had any part of your body pierced
* You have had a tattoo
* You received acupuncture by a non medically registered practitioner
* You gave birth to a baby
* You received a blood transfusion

Do not give blood for 6 months if:
You have had Major Surgery or you have visited a Tropical Area.

Do not give blood for 1 month if:
You have had contact with infectious diseases (where you have not been previously infected) e.g.chicken pox, mumps, measles or German measles

Do not give blood for 2 weeks if:
You have recently recovered from the flu
You have just completed a course of antibiotics

Do not give blood for 1 week if:
You have a cold sore, a cold or an uncomplicated dental extraction

UK Residency
In order to minimise any potential risk of vCJD transmission via blood, the IBTS can no longer accept donations from people who have lived for 5 years or more in the UK between 1980 - 1996 including living, working, or on holidays. Please click on vCJD on our home page for more information. *(England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Scotland and Isle of Man)

Medication

If you are on short term medication please do not donate for one week after you finish the course. If you are on long term medication, please contact the IBTS before donating.

You can donate if you are on HRT or take the oral contraceptive pill

Originally posted by Kharn
it's a ridiculous phobia (most are) and personally, it's something I have no time for or won't entertain.

Agreed, but again people just need to be educated that "it's not that bad". It was a long time before I ever donated, for those silly reasons.

Originally posted by Kharn

Men cannot give blood if they've ever had sex with another man - that's ridiculous tbh.

Being gay doesn't mean you're blood is "dirty". That sort of sentiment belongs in the dark ages.

It's profiling... I don't necessarily agree with it, but I understand it.

Have a look at the US RC site, this bit is interesting: http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/blood/learn/eligibl.html#hiv

Originally posted by Kharn

Having visited Africa is a big no no too.

See above.

Originally posted by Kharn

One thing that I'm curious about is drugs - do they test for dope or speed or other things (can they?).

I do know of a smoker who donates regularly enough and they never mentioned it to her so prob clear on that front. Look again at the RC page I mentioned above - they want people who have snorted cocaine to wait 12 months before donating!

Al.

(edit: add RC links)

Kev

Why should there be a moral obligation to donate blood, if you are charged for recieving it why should you donate it for free.

How much blood is needed, if everyone who has recieved blood gave it back say five fold in the future would that be enough ?

How long does blood last ?

STaN

your blood can save a life!

if no1 gave blood there would be hundreds of thousands of deaths that could have been prevented by recieveing a transfusion.

It makes sence to give blood.. YOU could save a life and it costs YOU nothing apart from 5 minutes of your day.

Blood costs becuase they have to make sure its not swarming with the plague. :rolleyes:

Kev

your money can save a life too, why dont you give it all away.

I'm just curious about why so much blood is needed, are they drinking it, its called a "blood bank" so how about you give blood if you have recieved it, i know that if i ever recieved blood i would give back many times the amount i had recieved, if everyone did the same would that not be enough ?

Shiminay

Originally posted by Kev
your money can save a life too, why dont you give it all away.

I'm just curious about why so much blood is needed, are they drinking it, its called a "blood bank" so how about you give blood if you have recieved it, i know that if i ever recieved blood i would give back many times the amount i had recieved, if everyone did the same would that not be enough ?

Have you ever seen anyone get an operation? If it's a big one, they're gonna need blood. Think of how many people have major operations every day? Think of how many people actually need those operations (more than are available). Haveing surplus blood makes these things easier.

There's no point saying "I'll only give if someone gives to me!" That's not going to accomplish much - you should have your own stockpile incase.

Kev

Maybe you're right, i don't know, thats why im asking, i still haven't seens any actual figures.

I can't think of many people i know who have had major emergency surgery.

thedrowner

Originally posted by John2002
On what do you base this fact? I've never heard that heterosexual women would be the largest group of HIV/AIDS carrier. I know it's not a "gay disease" but I always thought it was far more prominent within homosexual communities.

its true
figures were in the paper this year
it used to be far more prominent in homosexual communities-its not anymore. I would have thought this is only natural when u consider the amount of girls there are having unprotected sex and getting pregnant, it also would make sense for a rise in the amount of people contracting aids.

i've heard (ive nothing to back me up except human biology) that just coz of the whole physics of intimacy, its easier for a guy to pass onto a girl then for a girl to pass it onto a guy, which may possibly be another contributing factor.

Shiminay

You're right downer - it's easier for men to transmit the HIV virus than women, but women *can* pass it on. As you suggested, it is because of the phyisics of the thing - the guy is leaving a deposit of infected semen in the girl.

There was a girl I knew in college who would go out an have unprotected sex almost every night of the week with different guys. I asked her once if it worried her? She said "I'm on the pill, it's OK." to which I laughed in her face - I had previously thought her somewhat intelligent...

But anyway, all these things are very much off topic.

One point of note - one of the questions on the list before you give blood is if you've had sex with a "promiscuous person" which I got a chuckle out of. It's a genuine concern of course, but the way it was phrased just seemed really funny to me

po0k

yeah, that got a few laughs, along with some of the other questions.

Tis even funnier when you're asked agian in person to verify it. Especially when the person asking could be you grandmother.

thedrowner

didnt want to start up a new thread so just thought id ask in this one
i went along to give blood today, and i wasnt allowed coz my iron was too low, only 11.5
this is weird coz mine usually sinks straight to the bottom, but anyway, if it goes below 10 im anaemic, so i need to start stocking up on iron rich foods-i'll probably end up taking multivitamins, but just so i know can anyone recommend any iron rich food.im a lacto vegetarian (no eggs).

Gordon

Originally posted by thedrowner
i went along to give blood today, and i wasnt allowed coz my iron was too low, only 11.5

Plug it in!

I think red meat is very high in iron.

Spinach is not the fabled potency in case anyone mentions it as (interesting fact coming up) the govt nutrition statistics in the olden days (60's) misplaced a decimal point on the spinach table hence showed an iron content in spinach ten times the actual amount. Hence Popeye was born.

http://www.outlands.co.nz/ironfor.htm wee link there for you. It says kidneys (bleurgh), mussels (hmm) and liver (double bleurgh) are high in Iron.

thedrowner

ahhh-when i said no eggs i also meant no meat as well...

the site is all meat..wierd. are beans any good? ick, i hate them....

banana's have a little bit, so ive bean eating a banana sambo every day, but this clearly isnt good enough-and im eating kellogs (fortified with iron and goodness and ****e) for breakfast, so i cant understand why my iron has gone from high to low so quickly. im spending a lot more time in the gym than i sued to so maybe thats it?

Seraphina

its generally a good idea for vegetarians to be on suppliments of some kind, there aren't really a whole lot of other places to get iron from.

Gordon

Red beans -
http://www.dietsite.com/Diets/EatingWell/MineralDiets/High%20Iron%20Diet.htm

I really should go and give blood some time...

thedrowner

yeah, if ur low in iron youre not allowed give it for 3 months
seems a little bit long, but they know best i guess.

red beans....ick but i will try it.
thanks for getting all those site gordon-
oh, i tried to post a message for your kittencake thingy but it wouldnt let me.