so the mobile unit is coming to work on Monday and I signed up to donate. Nothing to it, right?

2/10/2007 12:56:22 PM

drinks lots of water, that always helps me.

2/10/2007 1:08:22 PM

be a man and give two pints

its easy as hell, just takes a while... but you get food and drinks

2/10/2007 1:13:06 PM

i tried to donate blood the other day but i couldn't because i'm taking medicine

2/10/2007 4:27:31 PM

^ Same. Getting rejected at the biological level was devastating to my self esteem !

2/10/2007 4:33:22 PM

Drink lots of water. And try not to think about that giant pipe they stick into your arm.

2/10/2007 5:03:54 PM

I can no longer give blood. I spent almost three years in Europe, so I'm permanently banned--possible mad cow exposure.

PS: Yes, I know--that probably explains what's wrong with me.

PPS: Drink some orange juice after and a good amount of water before and after. Water helps with blood volume and juice will help with any wooziness.

[Edited on February 10, 2007 at 7:26 PM. Reason : .]

2/10/2007 7:24:52 PM

Quote :

"be a man and give two pints its easy as hell, just takes a while... but you get food and drinks"

Donors can't just say 'I want to give a double unit'. You can decline if eligible to donate, but not every donor is eligle to give a double unit under ARC guidelines.

Roddy - if you think there's any chance your hemoglobin will be low (12.5 is the minimum cutoff), snack on pumpkin seeds, and have spinach, lentils, and beef for food this weekend

2/10/2007 7:32:45 PM

Je refuse!

2/10/2007 8:06:00 PM

I'm permabanned.

2/10/2007 8:11:24 PM

^^^LOL a reason to eat beef

2/10/2007 11:45:09 PM

Fuck the water and juice.

Have a beer after you donate

I did that and got mega hammered off of 2 beers. It was like I was asian or something.

2/11/2007 6:14:29 AM

^^^ HIV?

2/11/2007 5:46:06 PM

it says eat a healthy meal...hahahaha, that hasnt happened in forever


I drink lots of OJ, and a good amount of water.

Hmmm, what types of medicines do you take to get disqualified?

I shoulda signed up for the AM, now all i am gonna think about is giving blood right after work. I didnt want it to affect my productivity!

[Edited on February 11, 2007 at 8:26 PM. Reason : w]

2/11/2007 8:24:00 PM

the finger prick hurt worse then anything else.

2/12/2007 5:58:19 PM

Quote :

"the finger prick hurt worse then anything else."

yeah...i didn't even get to give blood because i keeled over when they pricked my finger they had to bring over the wheelchair to take me to the couch

i tried!

2/12/2007 7:12:38 PM

yep, i'm banned too for the whole living in europe thing...i wonder if they go back and destroy the 20 or so pints of A- I donated before the ban was put in place

take some friends and have a race to see who can fill their bad first...we used to take the little squishy toys you get for stress release and crush the shit out of them to get the blood flowing faster (don't know if that works)...I split the seams on one once

2/13/2007 12:48:36 AM

Quote :

"^^^ HIV?"

the possible threat of cancer.

2/13/2007 1:03:35 AM

Quote :

"yeah...i didn't even get to give blood because i keeled over when they pricked my finger they had to bring over the wheelchair to take me to the couch i tried!"

No you didn't. The finger prick is nothing-- it's over and done within half a second and is nothing in terms of pain.

2/13/2007 11:50:19 PM

One time I was donating and the lady pricking my finger fell asleep while trying to apply a band-aid. She litereally started to fall out of her chair before she woke up.

2/14/2007 12:14:58 AM

Don't we have a blood drive on friday?

2/14/2007 12:25:22 AM

Quote :

"I can no longer give blood. I spent almost three years in Europe, so I'm permanently banned--possible mad cow exposure. "

Man, that shit never made a bit of goddam sense to me.

I even heard from people studying abroad from Europe that when they go back they'll be ineligible to give blood b/c they were in America.

But yet you can hop back and fourth between here and Japan giving blood all you want.

2/14/2007 12:28:22 AM

I'm giving on the 27th, it's the first day I'm eligible again

[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 2:53 PM. Reason : ]

2/14/2007 2:52:54 PM

I've tried a few times...the first time I got woozy and they had to stop early, the next couple times they took forever to find a damn vein I need to work out so I can have big popping veins and they wont have to prick me 5 times in each damn arm

2/14/2007 3:09:52 PM

Quote :

"the possible threat of cancer."

guess that means I can never give blood again then...

2/14/2007 8:25:47 PM

Quote :

"I got woozy and they had to stop early"

You were lucky they were paying that much attention to you. In my experience, they just kind of stick it in your arm and come back 10 min later.

2/14/2007 8:40:07 PM

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/04/converting_one_blood_type_to_a.php

Quote :

"Relying on bacterial enzymes, scientists have developed a way of converting blood from groups A, B and AB into group O, which can be safely transfused into any patient. The blood cells from groups A and B have one of two different sugar molecules -- known as antigens -- on their surface, which can trigger a powerful, and potentially deadly, immune response. AB blood has both types of antigens, while group O blood has neither. Groups A, B and AB can only be transfused into patients with compatible blood types, while type O, rhesus negative, can be given to anyone. After a search of 2,500 fungi and bacteria the researchers discovered two bacteria -- Elizabethkingia meningosepticum and Bacterioides fragilis -- contained potentially useful enzymes. The team found that enzymes from both bacteria were able to remove both A and B antigens from red blood cells, effectively converting them to type O blood."

neat!

4/9/2007 9:47:23 PM

what are some of the restrictions for giving blood? ive been wanting to give blood for quite a while but every time i see signs i forget about it and a blood mobile only comes to my town once a month - is there like a tattoo restriction or piercings? or people who take hypertension meds?

4/9/2007 10:00:08 PM

^check the red cross website, there are several restictions but the vast majority of people are eligible.

There is absolutely no reason not to donate blood.

4/10/2007 11:31:10 AM

Reason: ~10 years in Europe, and I was in Germany during Chernobyl.

4/10/2007 11:38:12 AM

^if you are eligible, that is

4/10/2007 11:41:14 AM

I was always told in high school by the blood mobile that I couldnt give blood because of my tattoos (yes I love my tattoos, and I have too many) but the red cross site says you can donate as long as they were done in a state with regulated tattoo shops - yaaay!

4/10/2007 11:41:58 AM

can you give blood if you have handled human brains?

4/10/2007 11:50:42 AM

Quote :

"You were lucky they were paying that much attention to you. In my experience, they just kind of stick it in your arm and come back 10 min later."

I flagged someone down when I started to get nauseas, and I was looking pretty pale too...

4/10/2007 12:44:49 PM