So I gave blood for the first time today...

[Patrick]

Not NEAR as bad as I expected it to be.  A bit woosy from the loss of blood, but I'll survive.  But the questions that I had to have asked were way worse than the actual bloodletting.  They asked questions like:

"Have you every had sexual relations before?"

"No"

"Have you ever recieved money, drugs, or alcohol for having sexual relations?"

"Uh duh I just told you I didn't have sex so why are you asking me again?"

I actually didn't say that, but I thought it.

And then they had the ones like:

"Have you been out side the country in the last three years?"

"No"

"Have you been to Africa in the past three years?"

"I thought Africa WAS outside the country?"

Yeah those were weird.  And did you know that the American Red Cross discriminates against Homosexual males?

Question:

"Have you ever had sexual relations with another male?"

Apparently you can be straight and lesbian and still donate blood, but not gay?  I thought that was odd.  They even went so far as to say:

"Have you been in CONTACT with someone who has had sexual relations with another male in the last three years?"

Paranoid much?

And then there was the problem of the fact that they over booked the day so I had to wait about three hours before they got me on a table to pour out part of my soul into a bag.  And my friend Kristin couldn't donate because she was .1% below the mandated iron level.  And she was JUST over the legal weight limit too, 111lbs.  I felt sorry for her.  And my other friend Taylor's veins were to small so they couldn't take blood from her either.  It was sad.  And they ran out of pizza when I got finished and I had missed lunch so... I'm hungry.  Going to go eat now.

But yeah thats my five marks on Donating Blood.

[PastMember]

They didn't ask if you'd had a tattoo in the last year? The last time I gave blood they asked that.

I remember the first time I gave blood... it was when I was a sophmore in highschool and I went to give blood cause I didn't have my homework done and it would let me miss the class with a great excuse. I gave the blood, but then I had to fake being too woozy to go to class cause I wasn't. It didn't even faze me.

[Patrick]

They asked me if I had a tattoo but I didn't find that one as weird as those other ones.

[Eimi]

Yeah, the homosexual male question is because of AIDS.  I wasn't allowed to donate for a year once because when I was in Mexico on a missions trip, my friend and I both stepped on the same nail on the work site.  Since technically our blood mixed (her having stepped on it first) I couldn't donate for a year because of the fear of hepatitis.  And now every time I donate I have to explain the story each time because of the question "Have you ever been told not to donate for any reason?"

But I don't know, I don't mind them being overly cautious.  I mean, how many people got "bad blood" back in the 80s?  I'd rather answer a bunch of stupid questions THERE than laying on an operating table wondering where it came from...

[Bree]

I'm not allowed to give blood ever because I'm terribly anemic. :( So sad!

And I agree, Patrick. I'm getting tired of the santa had smilies too! I'm gonna try'n replace them with the old ones. ;)

[PastMember]

And did you know that the American Red Cross discriminates against Homosexual males?

Question:

"Have you ever had sexual relations with another male?"

Apparently you can be straight and lesbian and still donate blood, but not gay?  I thought that was odd.  They even went so far as to say:

"Have you been in CONTACT with someone who has had sexual relations with another male in the last three years?"

Paranoid much?

Yep, I've heard about that -- and I wrote about it, and a few other points, too last September in an op-ed piece for Scepter: http://piyer.livejournal.com/175474.html

[Rochelle]

Yeah. The last few times I tried to give blood I got past the first barrage of questions, but filling in my place of birth always kills me. :(

Apparently military personnel who lived in certain countries during certain timeframes were fed potentially infected meat, and are not allowed to donate. They never listen to the fact that I was a baby and not even on solid foods, and that every blood test I've ever had has never shown any sign of mad cow disease...

[emma]

I have a real phobia of needles, can't face giving blood. It has a lot to do to an allergic reaction to an injection when I was a kid, I find it really hard even now if I need a blood test or anything.

But going on the mad cow thing, well my mother declared that there was only one mad cow in the house (her) and we were going to eat beef whatever!

[PastMember]

Apparently military personnel who lived in certain countries during certain timeframes were fed potentially infected meat, and are not allowed to donate. They never listen to the fact that I was a baby and not even on solid foods, and that every blood test I've ever had has never shown any sign of mad cow disease...

Mad cow disease (which is actually called creutzfeldt jakob disease in humans) can't be tested, which is why they won't take your blood if they think you may have been exposed. It mainly attacks brain tissue, and the only real diagnosis is to look at a persons brain after they have died. It also can take an incredibly long time to show up... 20 years or more after injesting infected meat. Scary huh? (All this knowledge comes from being an animal science major!)

[Eimi]

Yeah, well, whoeer had the brilliant idea of feed cow parts to cows was a total idiot.  

Now did you know that the same disease shows up in human canibals?

[Kaysea]

Just goes to show cannibalism in any animal isn't a good thing...

Mad Cow Disease really was the cows revenge, hey?

[Rochelle]

Apparently military personnel who lived in certain countries during certain timeframes were fed potentially infected meat, and are not allowed to donate. They never listen to the fact that I was a baby and not even on solid foods, and that every blood test I've ever had has never shown any sign of mad cow disease...

Mad cow disease (which is actually called creutzfeldt jakob disease in humans) can't be tested, which is why they won't take your blood if they think you may have been exposed. It mainly attacks brain tissue, and the only real diagnosis is to look at a persons brain after they have died. It also can take an incredibly long time to show up... 20 years or more after injesting infected meat. Scary huh? (All this knowledge comes from being an animal science major!)

Great... Now I get to worry about my brain rotting even more :P

But I read somewhere that Mad cow could be tested for. And that chances of getting it were pretty much nill unless you ate the brain of said animal.
I still think I should be allowed to give blood though. I was an infant on formula and wasn't even on solid foods when we returned to the states!

[Eimi]

I still think I should be allowed to give blood though. I was an infant on formula and wasn't even on solid foods when we returned to the states!

Yeah, they're not very good at taking people's words for things, are they.  I mean really, its not like you couldn't be lying on every other question.  I mean, how would they know if you've had sexual relations with a man who has had sexual relations with a man or not...

[Cali]

The first two times I gave blood I had to argue with the lady to allow me to donate.  One of the questions asked if I had ever been exposed to Hep B and I said yes because I had the vaccine.  Now this was back in the mid 90's, when only health professionals were given the vaccine and since my mom was a nurse she gave it to my sister and me.  For some reason this lady (and the one the next year) didn't know anything about the vaccine and told me I couldn't donate.  Both times I had to speak to the head lady who had to clear me to donate.  Interestingly enough, now it's a required vaccine for kids.

[PastMember]

Yeah, well, whoeer had the brilliant idea of feed cow parts to cows was a total idiot.  

Now did you know that the same disease shows up in human canibals?

It actually came from feeding sheep parts to cows... bad idea in either case. Scrapie is the disease in sheep that mad cow is derived from and it has been around for thousands of years.

And yeah, cases are a lot more common when brain tissue is eaten (which is done in many countries), but organ meats are also more likely to pass the disease than regular tissue. Its kind of interesting because in canabalistic societies it was more common in women than in men, because men ate the good meat and the women were left with the scrapes (organ meats and brain tissue)...

And you're right... I mean, what are the chances of you being able to pass it through your blood, even if by some chance you were infected? Pretty much next to impossible.