Giving blood a must?

[Jenisi]

I like to give back to the community and a discussion about giving blood came up...

Someone dying or even suffering from lack of a blood transfusion is a very bad thing.



If it is in my power to prevent something very bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable importance, I ought, morally, to do it.


It is in my power to prevent death or suffering from lack of a blood transfusion without sacrificing anything of comparable importance.



The power I have to prevent death or suffering from lack of a blood transfusion is by giving blood every eight weeks.

I ought, morally, to give blood every eight weeks.

[AestheticDeath]

No?

They give blood to criminals too ya know.

You could be saving a child rapist, who decides to go after your kids next to say thank you.

If someone I know needs blood, and I have the same blood type etc.. and can help. I will. But Im not dispersing my blood to any old jack.

[TheEschaton]

It's not a moral obligation, I'd say, unless you were of a rare blood type or blood supplies were so low that it was a dire situation. IE, maybe during 9/11 it could of been considered moral obligation.

It's a nice thing to do, but whatever.

I'm banned from giving blood.

-TheE-

[Ignot]

If you do that then you should give bone marrow and other crap in your body that you can part with.

[Back]

I’d give my left nut for a weekend with Alba.

[peam]

Kidney foooor saaaaaaale.

[Keller]

There is a serious shortage of organs.

Give a kidney instead.

[Augie]

I give blood constantly because of my blood type (I'm O+). The main reason is because I know how serious it can be when someone doesn't get the right amount of blood.

What I really hated was when my dad went for knee surgery, I was going to give blood that he specifically would get. The blood bank at the hospital he was getting surgery at told me that there would be no way he'd ever see my blood, even if I designated it just for him. The best they would do is if I donated in his name, they would give him a pint for free without charging the $150.00 that they do when you use a pint in surgery.

That really made me mad.

[AestheticDeath]

thats wierd

[Ignot]

is o+ the one where anyone can take it? But you can only take o+?

[Kyra]

is o+ the one where anyone can take it? But you can only take o+?

No, you're thinking of O negative.

[Gan]

Not only do I give blood, but I also give platelets.

I do it because I can.

[Sean of the Thread]

I'm almost a 2 gallon donor but I doubt I'll be donating again any time soon. Anyways I never cared about the people that received my blood.. all I wanted was my juice and crackers.

[Miss X]

Give blood, join the Bone Marrow register, join the Organ Donation register. If you can, then do it. I did my research proposal for my MSc on donation, it's really so important.

Ive had two needlestick injuries in the last few months, so I can't give blood right now. :(

[Sean of the Thread]

I have serious high blood pressure so they don't haven't let me donate in the last year. I'm really hungry for sprite and crackers too dammmmit.

[Numbers]

I donate semen every free chance I get.

[Back]

I donate semen every free chance I get.

Wanker.

[Sean of the Thread]

I donate semen every free chance I get.

I thought Blacklash paid you tho?

[Ignot]

ZING!

[Back]

rofl

[Snapp]

I'd donate, but they don't like gay guys' blood.

[Sean of the Thread]

I'd donate, but they don't like gay guys' blood.

Why? Because of the whole aids thing? pfffft please.

[Augie]

is o+ the one where anyone can take it? But you can only take o+?
No, you're thinking of O negative.

Actually, both O+ and O- can only take their own kind of blood.

[AestheticDeath]

Im one of them Os.. always forget which. I am supposedly able to give blood to any other type though.. which one is that?

[Sean of the Thread]

I'm A- I think... I can't find my donor card (got an uber new wallet for Christmas) and my dog tags are in the safety deposit box. I'm 90% sure I'm A-.

[Kyra]

Actually, both O+ and O- can only take their own kind of blood.

And what I was referring to is the fact that 0 negative is a universal donor blood type. Any blood type can use O neg. :)

K.

[sst]

It's not a moral obligation, I'd say, unless you were of a rare blood type or blood supplies were so low that it was a dire situation. IE, maybe during 9/11 it could of been considered moral obligation.

It's a nice thing to do, but whatever.

I'm banned from giving blood.

-TheE-

A fellow banned blood giver here =)

I think its a good idea, however the Red Cross is a evil orginization who inflates the cost of blood. So once we tear down the evil monopoly the red cross holds over our blood stores the better.

DOWN WITH THE RED CROSS!!!!111

[Stanley Burrell]

::throws up a C::

[TheEschaton]

O- is the universal donor, which I am. I try to donate, and they ALWAYS reject me, for one or more of the following reasons:

1) I was born in a country which is endemic with malaria and yellow fever (India).

2) I lived in a country for more than 6 months in Africa in the early 80s when AIDS was breaking out, and had hospital work done there (Zambia, 1982-1983)

3) I've had sexual relations with an African native (in addition to living in Africa) for the past few years, for more than 6 months.

Every time these come up, I note that: A) I'm a sexual health educator, B) always use protection, C) get tested regularly for most things, and D) have never once tested positive for anything (including that herpes test a coupla months ago, woo!).

My cousin has something called "Bombay Blood" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Blood) and since there's only a few people in North America who have it he has to bank his own blood in case he's ever in an accident.

-TheE-

[sst]

Im just screwed cause i went to iraq.
No sexorz in africa for me.

[ElanthianSiren]

I give blood constantly because of my blood type (I'm O+). The main reason is because I know how serious it can be when someone doesn't get the right amount of blood.


I'd give it too, but I'm not allowed to, due to the diabetes. I'm also O+ :) Yay for universal doners!

-M

[TheEschaton]

Type O- (also an awesome band) is the universal donor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_donor#Universal_donors_and_universal_rec ipients)

-TheE-

[ElanthianSiren]

Oh, that's right. Type O+ is only compatable with any + type. My bad. And Type O is less appreciated for the music and more for Steele before he got fat. Mmmm.

-M

[Stanley Burrell]

Your friend has some l33t lectin binding immunity, TheE, if I am reading this abstract properly.

[Sean of the Thread]

ON a side note to all the other military men..... you can sell your plasma for more jack than others because of all the shit they injected us with.

[Sean of the Thread]

OH on another side note I've given blood many times when drunk.. and made that clear to them but it never disqualified me. Doesn't that seem like it would cause a problem possibly to whoever receives it? Maybe they just care about the bottom line?

[Ignot]

How much you get paid to give plasma and how long does it take?

[Tsa`ah]

How much you get paid to give plasma and how long does it take?

Completely depends on the area you live in and the company giving out monetary considerations for your donation.

In college it was 15-20 bucks a session, that jumped to 30 during late spring, summer, and early fall.

If you're in a college town, near a college, or if there are a lot of homeless shelters in your area ... you won't get much.

The last year I donated plasma for cash as a broke student, they changed payouts in a manner so that if you donated once a week, you were screwed. If you donated 8 times a month, you got the better end of the scale ... and they would disqualify people as often as they could if they were getting "paid" too much ... or attempting to donate twice a week.

[Skeeter]

how do I find out what blood type I am? An esay way besides just ask my doctor?

[Ignot]

i cant imagine an easier way then calling your docotr's office. maybe one of those walk in clinics? like solantic?

[Tsa`ah]

See if your local drug store has the Eldoncard, something similar, or order one.

Though the easiest way would be to call your doctor ... they probably know already.

[Skeeter]

I was thinking it might already be recorded on something like birth certificate. I've never really worried about it.

[Sean of the Thread]

They pay 70 bucks for plasma and about an hour of your time here if you were in the military.

[Tsa`ah]

I was thinking it might already be recorded on something like birth certificate. I've never really worried about it.

It really depends on when you were born. Anything before the late 80's ... probably not recorded at birth.

I've always heard arguments about how important it is to know your blood type ... mostly major blood loss. Here's the thing though, it doesn't matter if you know in any instance where you have lost a great deal of blood ... because you're unconscious. It's fine if you have it stamped on a bracelet or some other medical identifier, but if you're out of it and alone ... it's all guess work anyway. It's better if your family knows, more so than you knowing.

Almost every potential corpse rolling into a trauma center is getting slapped with o-, or they'll do a quick stick rh and pray you're positive.

[Tsa`ah]

They pay 70 bucks for plasma and about an hour of your time here if you were in the military.

It depends on the company taking the plasma and the area.

Many companies will disqualify military personnel depending on area and dates of deployment.

[Sean of the Thread]

Many will also pay you more.

[Tsa`ah]

Many will also pay you more.

No, they won't. Very few will pay a premium for GI blood. Again, it depends on the area and it depends on the company. Saying "many" will is incorrect at best.

[Jazuela]

Borderline anemia, CMV, and a few other assorted blood-related viruses/whatevers prevent me from donating. I've tried a couple of times, rejected each time for the same reasons so I don't bother trying anymore.

[The Ponzzz]

I donated plasma for 60 bucks with a friend of mine.

[Gan]

How much you get paid to give plasma and how long does it take?

I dont get paid when I donate to the Gulf Coast Blood Center for either blood or plasma (over 4 gallons to date). However, lately I've been donating at the hospital where my wife works since they've instituted a policy to give her 4 hours vacation time for every unit donated by her or her spouse.

As for length of time. I've done the one arm plasma/phresis in about 30 minutes. I've also done the double arm which was kinda spooky and it took almost 2 hours. I only did the double once though, but they had it set up where you could watch movies or bring in a movie to watch, it just sucks because you cant move your arms.

[Tsa`ah]

Time depends on a few things. HCT levels, basically how hydrated you are (since plasma is mostly water to begin with), your hight and weight (the smaller you are the less they can take, the bigger you are the more they can take .. up to 1 liter), and how much fat is in your blood (makes the machine work longer to separate the blood components and feed the remainder back into you).

When I donated, the smaller people that weren't hung over from a night of drinking were in and out in 30 minutes or less, it took me close to an hour a session.

[Gan]

Here's an overview of the types of donations that we can do here in this area.

http://www.giveblood.org/donating/donation_overview.htm

1. Whole Blood
2. Double Red Blood Cell
3. Apheresis
4. Double RBC by Apheresis
5. Thereputic Donations
6. Hemochromatosis
7. Autologus and Direct Donations (for upcoming surgery/procedures)

[Amaron]

I try to donate but I have problems with my blood iron and if it is too low they do not let me.

I also have veins that are hard to get to and sometimes I leave with up to 7 sticks in various places and no donation.

J

[TheEschaton]

[quoteAs for length of time. I've done the one arm plasma/phresis in about 30 minutes. I've also done the double arm which was kinda spooky and it took almost 2 hours. I only did the double once though, but they had it set up where you could watch movies or bring in a movie to watch, it just sucks because you cant move your arms.[/quote]

So, you can't bring pornos, huh?

-TheE-

[Gan]

As for length of time. I've done the one arm plasma/phresis in about 30 minutes. I've also done the double arm which was kinda spooky and it took almost 2 hours. I only did the double once though, but they had it set up where you could watch movies or bring in a movie to watch, it just sucks because you cant move your arms.

So, you can't bring pornos, huh?

-TheE-

Considering the conflict of blood routing on aroused men, thats probably not the best idea... and if you're doing double RBC with both arms having tubes run out of them, it really limits what you can do with the pron.

Now females on the other hand... we might need to start a study group.
:thinking:

[SpunGirl]

I'm O negative and those fuckers call me like every week begging for the stuff. I used to do it every time they had a blood drive at work just because it was convenient and got me away from the monitors for 30 minutes. The problem was the last time the guy was an absolute butcher and I would up with a huge purplish red spot under my skin for like a month.

I also get annoyed when I tell them I was born in 1980, and they proceed to ask me if I had sex with anyone from Africa in the 70's. YEAH I WAS GETTIN' IT ON.

Jenisi, I don't know how many tattoos you're up to now, but if you've had one in the last 12 months they'll disqualify you.

-K

[Gan]

Yep, tattoos and piercings in the last 12 months will disqualify you.

Along with wild monkey buttsex...

Some of the screening questions crack me up.

My favorite...

"have you ever had sex with anyone who's paid to have sex with someone else?"

[Augie]

I also get annoyed when I tell them I was born in 1980, and they proceed to ask me if I had sex with anyone from Africa in the 70's. YEAH I WAS GETTIN' IT ON.

-K

:lolwave: Yeah that one always gets me too. I actually told someone once that I was procreating with people in Africa when I was an embryo. I don't think she got the sarcasm.

[thornhappy]

I'm also type O- and used to get pestered after the first time I donated. Bloodsucking bastards..

Donating plasma is something I did on a regular basis. You can donate more often, but it takes a lot more time. Like people have mentioned, the clinics will also pay for this.

I have needle scars from frequent donation though, considering they use like a 12 gauge needle for plasma. Something to think about if you're going to donate often.

[Tsa`ah]

I still have my bullseyes 10 years after the last stick. 3 months ago I was in an argument with the attending ER physician over intravenous drug use.