To those who give blood....

[amol]

Originally posted by: Vortex22
Gogo B+!

I'm too young to give blood, but when I turn 18 in 3½ years, giving blood and voting are two of things i wanna do

 

[chrisms]

Can you give blood if you use drugs? And if so, would it be immoral to do a lot of drugs before donating your blood?

 

[rstove02]

Originally posted by: chrisms
Can you give blood if you use drugs? And if so, would it be immoral to do a lot of drugs before donating your blood?

Doing so will result in you being told never to donate again and chances are black-flagging you to prevent further donations. Different blood centers share their "black-flag" lists, so even if you moved there is a good chance you still can not donate.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Amol

Originally posted by: Vortex22
Gogo B+!

I'm too young to give blood, but when I turn 18 in 3½ years, giving blood and voting are two of things i wanna do

Don't wait till 18! You can donate blood at the age of 17 with a signed form from your parents. They should have them if your HS ever has a blood drive.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: Amol

Originally posted by: Vortex22
Gogo B+!

I'm too young to give blood, but when I turn 18 in 3½ years, giving blood and voting are two of things i wanna do

my first time donated was when I was 17y/o. it was 3 or 4 days after my 17th birthday!

if it was o+, it could be mine! lol

donated 4 times this year, I am 1 more pint toward my 2nd gallon!

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: Cougar
I'm A+ but they gave me O+.....I guess the 2 are compatible?

A+ IN DA HOUSE

 

[DrPizza]

B-
Plus, I organized my school's first (2nd and 3rd) bloodmobiles, with another scheduled for this spring
So, I managed to get more blood donated than just my own. Free 100% test or quiz score for my students who donate.

 

[SWScorch]

I think I'm either AB or B... can't recall right now... Been meaning to donate more often, but with running 60 miles a week, it's pretty tough to fit into my schedule. There's one next month at the college, and since my first meet isn't until january, I think I'll do it.

 

[rstove02]

Just for a recap....
O+ blood types are not universal donors, only O- is

Giving O+ blood to A-, B-, AB- and O- people would not be recommended.

Here is a list of donor compatibility.

AB+ can receive O-, O+, B-, B+, A-, A+, AB-, AB+
AB- can receive O-, B-, A-, AB-
A+ can receive O-, O+, A-, A+
A- can receive O-, A-
B+ can receive O-, O+, B-, B+
B- can receive O-, B-
O+ can receive O-, O+
O- can receive O-

 

[Luden]

I'm A+

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: Azraele
Why did you need the transfusion?

Azraele,

I have sickle thalassemia (a variant of sickle cell) and I had gotten really sick a couple weeks ago so I was more anemic than usual (I was real weak...I could barely walk/stand/etc...). So, when I went to the doctor he set up the appointment right away for me to get the transfusion. I didn't want to go but I didn't really put up much of a fight since I didn't have the energy to do so.

As for me having to do this for the rest of my life...that's still to be determined. As I'm getting older (I'm 28 now) I can't cope with my condition like I could when I was 18 (I'm an old man and I'm not even 30). So I guess I'm now in the "wait and see" phase. I've had 2 transfusions prior to this one but those times I was in real bad shape. I had already been hospitalized for severe pain and my doctor basically pleaded with me to get a transfusion...again, I was to weak to put up a fight so I agreed.

I hope that answers your question.

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: rstove02
Just for a recap....
O+ blood types are not universal donors, only O- is

Giving O+ blood to A-, B-, AB- and O- people would not be recommended.

Here is a list of donor compatibility.

AB+ can receive O-, O+, B-, B+, A-, A+, AB-, AB+
AB- can receive O-, B-, A-, AB-
A+ can receive O-, O+, A-, A+
A- can receive O-, A-
B+ can receive O-, O+, B-, B+
B- can receive O-, B-
O+ can receive O-, O+
O- can receive O-

Thanks for the chart and for clearing that up.

 

[Daishiki]

A pos. i was thinking about donating platelets sometime too

 

[paulney]

O+ representin'!

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: Codewiz

Originally posted by: Cougar
I'm A+ but they gave me O+.....I guess the 2 are compatible?

A+ IN DA HOUSE

Ah...so can you lend me a couple of pint then? hehehe

 

[brxndxn]

Originally posted by: rstove02

Originally posted by: chrisms
Can you give blood if you use drugs? And if so, would it be immoral to do a lot of drugs before donating your blood?

Doing so will result in you being told never to donate again and chances are black-flagging you to prevent further donations. Different blood centers share their "black-flag" lists, so even if you moved there is a good chance you still can not donate.

I don't believe that is true. My buddies in high school all gave blood and they were heavy pot smokers. They were open to the people that took the donations that they smoke pot and the people doing the donations said it didn't matter. They said that smoking pot and donating is better than not donating. Though, they said other drug users are turned down.

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: Amol
...giving blood and voting are two of things i wanna do

lol, classic, thats almost sig material

A+ here, when I first read "A POS" on my dog tags, my drill instructor told me it stood for "A Piece of S***" I was kinda bummed, thinking he did it to mess with me, and they were my permanent tags, got them with like 4 days left in bootcamp. Heh, kinda funny looking back on it now.

 

[rstove02]

Originally posted by: brxndxn

Originally posted by: rstove02

Originally posted by: chrisms
Can you give blood if you use drugs? And if so, would it be immoral to do a lot of drugs before donating your blood?

Doing so will result in you being told never to donate again and chances are black-flagging you to prevent further donations. Different blood centers share their "black-flag" lists, so even if you moved there is a good chance you still can not donate.

I don't believe that is true. My buddies in high school all gave blood and they were heavy pot smokers. They were open to the people that took the donations that they smoke pot and the people doing the donations said it didn't matter. They said that smoking pot and donating is better than not donating. Though, they said other drug users are turned down.

Well I considered "heavy drug use" to mean something stronger than pot. In the Florida area they use your SSN number for their records. It's the first thing they ask you before they even give you a form to fill out so they can pull up your records. I have seen other people donating being flat out right refused after giving their SSN while I was awaiting my turn.

 

[TheNinja]

I'm type O- , which is great for everyone else since they can take my blood. But I can only receieve 1 type of blood. Hope I never need it. I'm guess I'm genetically a giving and selfless person.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: Cougar
I just wanted to say, Thank You. I had to have another transfusion on Saturday and this might be an ongoing process for the rest of my life (depends on how things play out). It's because of your selfless act that I have a shot at leading a somewhat "normal" life.

From the bottom of my heart....thank you.

Selfless??? WE GET A FREE SODA EVERYTIME WE DO IT , WE'RE NOT SELFLESS!!! But no problem, allthough it's highly unlikely you got my blood, since i'm not from your country.

 

[Cattlegod]

O- here, most valuable bloodtype! I give all the time.

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: Forsythe

Originally posted by: Cougar
I just wanted to say, Thank You. I had to have another transfusion on Saturday and this might be an ongoing process for the rest of my life (depends on how things play out). It's because of your selfless act that I have a shot at leading a somewhat "normal" life.

From the bottom of my heart....thank you.

Selfless??? WE GET A FREE SODA EVERYTIME WE DO IT , WE'RE NOT SELFLESS!!! But no problem, allthough it's highly unlikely you got my blood, since i'm not from your country.

Aha! You selfish, good for nothin', opportunistic, caffine junkie. I see how it is....you're too good to give blood without getting your sugar fix, huh?

Even if I didn't get your blood I know someone in your country will greatly benefit from your donation.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: rstove02
Blood type percentages based on population:

O+ 39%
A+ 34%
B+ 8.5%
O- 7%
A- 6%
AB+ 3.5%
B- 1.5%
AB- 0.5%

Only type O- are uinversal donors (i.e. anybody can receive it), while type O+ can be received by people with + Rh factors (O+, A+, AB+, B+).

Personally I am O-, being a universal donor blood type I always get letters in mail or phone call when my 2 months are up....last I checked I am over 30 donations.

If memory serves me right....type AB tends to be used for speciality things like plasma and/or platelet transfusions.

In addition, only AB+ is a universal recipient. AB- cannot have postive Rh(D) blood.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: Cougar
I just wanted to say, Thank You. I had to have another transfusion on Saturday and this might be an ongoing process for the rest of my life (depends on how things play out). It's because of your selfless act that I have a shot at leading a somewhat "normal" life.

From the bottom of my heart....thank you.

Thats awesome man! You appreciation is totally...er...appreciated. I give blood, about 2 times a year. But because I've recently learned that its good for the heart, I might be doing it more!

 

[Cougar]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: Cougar
I just wanted to say, Thank You. I had to have another transfusion on Saturday and this might be an ongoing process for the rest of my life (depends on how things play out). It's because of your selfless act that I have a shot at leading a somewhat "normal" life.

From the bottom of my heart....thank you.

Thats awesome man! You appreciation is totally...er...appreciated. I give blood, about 2 times a year. But because I've recently learned that its good for the heart, I might be doing it more!

You're doing a good thing warcrow (and everyone else who gives blood). I'd much rather I didn't need to have any transfusions but it's a good thing that there are people out there willing to donate.

I figured I'd just let you all know that your blood does get put to good use and it doesn't go to waste just sitting in some refrigerator somewhere. I'd probably be alseep by now if I didn't have some fresh blood in me...I couldn't stay awake to save my life. The transfusions won't solve all my problems but I guess if they help out even a tiny bit then that's good enough for me.