off to bleed...

[jay]

Received a phone call from the local blood bank at Stanford... they have a patient with an aneurism and need donors (especially O-positive, like mine). So I'm off to bleed... nearly reached 6 gallons cumulatively over the past 20 years. But in the not-so-distant future I'll be permanently deferred, due to cumulative time spent outside of the US (last months' trip pushed me nearly to 5 months, and permanent deferral happens at 6 months). But at least I'll have contributed what I could, when I could.

[Update: never mind the restrictions, I should be able to continue donating for awhile. The guidelines have changed: instead of a cumulative 6 months abroad, it is now either 5 years total abroad *or* three cumulative months in the UK.]

Comments

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

What's the point of a permanent deferral like that? *boggles*

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Because they're worried about CJD ("mad cow" disease) in British beef from the late 80s-early 90s, and it is easier for the CDC to simply defer whole classes of people than actually test donors for CJD.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's almost as offensive as their permanent deferral of bisexual men or people who have slept with bisexual men.

-J

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

It certainly penalizes anyone who travels much, or who has lived in another country. You'd be deferred because of your stay in Northern Ireland, I think. I'm not sure why they can't just test for CJD and then re-certify... sigh. You'd probably have noticed if you'd developed mad-cow disease by now...

I also note that Canada is considered part of the US for the purposes of defining "foreign country", it is not subject to the 5 year limit.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow, six months cumulative *ever* and you're permanently deferred?

I guess I've been permanently deferred since I was in my early twenties and I just didn't know it. (O'course, I have also slept with bisexual men, so They Don't Like My Kind anyway.)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

See the update above... the guideline has changed to something a bit more reasonable (5 years cumulative, except 3 months in the UK).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ah, so I'm probably permanently deferred only on the one count, then, instead of both. I've been out a lot but not five years.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

(nods) I've led a sheltered life, hence no deferrals for any other reasons ;).

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

I wonder if you would still be eligible in Canada or Spain or some other country where you spend time?

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Hm... I don't know if anyone takes donations from non-residents... worth checking.

[geekchick]

Considering how often I hear about a "desperate need" for blood donors, they sure do seem to put up a lot of barriers to letting people who want to donate actually do so.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

The two are IMO related... the donor pool keeps shrinking, in many places to the point where it loses critical mass and is no longer seen as a common social contribution, out of mind even for eligible people.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'm disqualified, too, at least for now. But deyo (who's barely less at risk than I am) is O-, and gives when he can.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

I think you'd have to wait a year between dates... which is unlikely. (smile) The closest I've come to that kind of deferral was when a student intern got me drunk in Houston and nearly convinced me to follow her to a tattoo parlor, which would have meant a 12-month deferral (and profound embarrassment, afterwards).

[western-slope.livejournal.com]

Good for you about donating. Its too bad about those who want to do so but aren't allowed.

But the one's who get on my nerves are the large number of folks who ARE able to donate but don't bother. Its not like its all that difficult or painful or even inconvenient. (A number of SF conventions put on blood drives in honor of Robert Heinlein. So folks don't even have to go far out of their way to donate.)

I've always been of the attitude that if I don't donate, it may not be available when I or my loved ones need it. (A bit selfish, perhaps. But an effective motivator nonetheless.)

Poe
(Who's somewhere around the ten gallon point cumulatively)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

(nods) as well as donating on behalf of those who aren't allowed to do so for themselves and their loved ones. As well as having a completely guilt-free excuse to sit afterwards and munch chocolate chip cookies in the recovery area... ;)

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

thanks for being a donor. I used to give when I could, but have been barred from doing so for most of my life. Its a shame, given that I've got really nice veins and no needle squick factor.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Actually, I find the little hemoglobin piercing on a fingertip much more painful than the big needle into the arm... more vs. fewer nerve endings, I guess.