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Blood (without the gore!)

Blackswanwood

Blackswanwood

Old Oak
Joined
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Location
North Yorkshire
Name
Robert
I had an appointment to make a blood donation yesterday and while it seemed busy one of the nurses told me they had actually experienced a lot of “no shows” due to the rain 🤷‍♂️ and that the shortage of blood supplies reported in the news over the summer had only slightly abated.

Hopefully no one reading this will ever need a blood transfusion but being realistic at some point some (or someone close to them) will. That blood obviously comes from donors.

Please, if you don’t give blood and are eligible to do so do it. Here’s the link to register and pick when and where is convenient.

https://www.blood.co.uk/

For most people travel time will be negligible and I find it usually takes about an hour from going in to walking out slightly lighter!

This isn’t a post to say what a good boy I am for giving blood … far too often over the years I judged myself to be too busy and didn't do it. When I look back I now realise I wasn't and made the wrong choice.
 
I've given blood 54 times so far (according to a quick check of the site), but not for a few years now. I know I should do it again, but I stopped after the fourth time they closed the local donation centre. It used to be that I could give blood a short walk away. Then it became a couple of miles away, then a handful of miles away, then 8 miles away and only ever on a day I was consistently busy with other commitments so I had to cancel stuff to give blood (I never understood why they didn't vary the day of the week). Then that centre closed as well and it became 10 miles away and again on a day that was awkward for me and I got fed up with how difficult they were making it and I stopped.
 
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You missed the cup of tea and biscuit off. They always give you a cup of tea and biscuit after.
 
PAC1 said:
You missed the cup of tea and biscuit off. They always give you a cup of tea and biscuit after.
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That was the only reason I started to go , mobile van used to come to work so it was also at least an hour off work too😀.
I had worked my way up to a silver badge before we moved here. To they still give them out?
Sadly I am not allowed to give blood here because I lived in the UK during the BSE crisis. A daft decision according to every doctor and nurse I have spoken to about it. As far as they were aware it is tested after donation as it is in the UK.

I see Steve has encountered the same problem.
 
I gave blood for a few years, but I then had a bout of being turned away........4 times in a row I turned up to give blood and they rejected it for a variety of reasons. One of them was answering "yes" to "have you had sex with anyone in Africa?" Explaining that it was with my wife whilst we were on holiday didn't make any difference. I'm afraid I gave up at that point.
 
Shamefully I've never given blood or even been requested by my surgery to do so. I don't even know whereabouts to go locally to give the stuff - Rob

 
Fully support blood donation and at last count had donated 160 pints (500ml).

I stopped for about 20 years due to lots of medication at that stage. Started again when we moved to Pretoria and got rejected a couple of times due to low iron.

Being over 70 I could only donate every 3 months.

When the kidney sh1t was diagnosed, had to stop. Went for 3 lots of 1 litre iron infusions (you sit in the same area as the cancer patients, sad to see the young children).

The last visit to the Kidney Spec – good news, you can now donate blood again, but only twice a year!

We also get biscuits and juice or coffee. If you are on a lucky day you also get a pressie! Cooler bag, beach chair, toiletries bag, canvas shopping bag with nice thick rope handles that I use when shopping. Somewhere I have the medals for 50 and 100, the 150 was an evening function in winter and we don’t go out at night.

We also have the benefit of receiving blood free if required (wife and myself).
 
My contributions stopped I'm ashamed to say shortly after achieving a Gold Badge because of move of location and not bothering to sort a new routine out.
 
Hmm, I can’t remember whether I have told this story before.

I can’t give blood – medication and probably about 40% proof – but my partner uses quite a lot, not for vampiric reasons, but to feed the mossies (malaria research).

There was a deal with the blood people, that if the students, docs and post docs contributed, they could have a certain amount of bags of blood a week. All worked fine. More given in than went out. And then an admin person said: ‘no, this is wholly irregular, we can’t do this’. So, the arrangement stopped.

The blood is now sourced from America (one of the southern states, where they pay for donations). And a few months later my partner got a letter from the blood people asking why all the people had stopped contributing.

Who has lost out?

As an aside there were a few batches of imported blood in which the parasite wouldn’t flourish. A few months after the big cheesy whatsit (Trump) said take chloroquine (anti-malarial) to avoid covid. Southern states. Mmm. No connection, actually, but you could make up a good theory about it.
 
Tiresias said:
........A few months after the big cheesy whatsit (Trump) said take chloroquine (anti-malarial) to avoid covid. Southern states. Mmm. No connection, actually, but you could make up a good theory about it.
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Yebutt, chloroquine hasn't worked for at least 3 or 4 decades now. My first trip to India (or was it Africa) I used chloroquine and paludrine. That would have been late 70s......and I don't think it was working properly even then. You'd know more than me (and of course way more than Trump).
 
I'm in my 70s and have been donating since 1970, on and off. I donate every three months. I can't encourage you enough to donate, and if for legitimate reason you can't, try and encourage the young people around you to start donating. It's quietly satisfying to receive the email that tells me where my blood has eventually been used.

I'm O Neg, so they call us First RespOnders, because anyone can be given O Neg.

Blackcurrant squash and an Orange Club.
 
Tiresias said:
Hmm, I can’t remember whether I have told this story before.

I can’t give blood – medication and probably about 40% proof – but my partner uses quite a lot, not for vampiric reasons, but to feed the mossies (malaria research).

There was a deal with the blood people, that if the students, docs and post docs contributed, they could have a certain amount of bags of blood a week. All worked fine. More given in than went out. And then an admin person said: ‘no, this is wholly irregular, we can’t do this’. So, the arrangement stopped.

The blood is now sourced from America (one of the southern states, where they pay for donations). And a few months later my partner got a letter from the blood people asking why all the people had stopped contributing.

Who has lost out?

As an aside there were a few batches of imported blood in which the parasite wouldn’t flourish. A few months after the big cheesy whatsit (Trump) said take chloroquine (anti-malarial) to avoid covid. Southern states. Mmm. No connection, actually, but you could make up a good theory about it.
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I suppose the counter view is that every slot of NHS resource used for a purpose other than to put a unit of blood in their blood bank is a loss. For clarity that doesn’t mean the research done by your partner is not important.
 
I used to donate as well. Fell out of the habit when I moved to Switzerland for some reason. Shall look into it and find my blue book.
 
O Pos here (second most sought after 🤣)

My mum was a huge advocate and for years I procrastinated with the best intentions. Finally I did it a few years back and gave my 13th point last Friday.

I can’t fix all the world’s ills, but I can do my little bit.

Ref tea and biccies, personal fave is the little ‘cheese’ sandwich biscuits!
 
CHJ said:
My Father was "O" neg. and it was his stories of being called in to give Live Transfusions (Arm to Arm) at short notice in the 1930's and during WW2 that convinced me to start donating.
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Wow. Did they really do that? How did they make sure it flowed from donor to recipient rather than vice versa or no flow I wonder.
 
Blackswanwood said:
I suppose the counter view is that every slot of NHS resource used for a purpose other than to put a unit of blood in their blood bank is a loss. For clarity that doesn’t mean the research done by your partner is not important.
Click to expand...

But the point is they have suffered a net loss in blood contributions. Without the professor telling you that you have to donate, the level fell back to what you might expect from students. Practically zip.

I must admit that I feel a bit morally ambivalent about paid for blood from the States, or anywhere (well, which sector of society do you think it will come from). But what can you do?
 
Mike G said:
Yebutt, chloroquine hasn't worked for at least 3 or 4 decades now. My first trip to India (or was it Africa) I used chloroquine and paludrine. That would have been late 70s......and I don't think it was working properly even then. You'd know more than me (and of course way more than Trump).
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Yes, you are right, the efficacy of chloroquine and its derivatives has been declining, and is under review. But it is still recommended in some areas and for some individuals. I believe Trump actually said he was taking hydroxychloroquine, an associated drug. Still bollox though. My last paragraph was a glib repetition of that rare thing, a parasitologist attempt at humour. No one really thought the inhabitants of Tennessee (or where ever the blood came from) were mainlining the ‘quine. Drinking bleach, possibly.

And this is entirely divergent, but they used to use malaria (p.vivax) to cure syphilis. The heat of the fever killed the spirochete. But you had to have loads of quinine to tame the malaria. Just one damme thing after another.
 
Tiresias said:
And this is entirely divergent, but they used to use malaria (p.vivax) to cure syphilis. The heat of the fever killed the spirochete. But you had to have loads of quinine to tame the malaria. Just one damme thing after another.
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A very large portion of gin helps absorb the quinine,
 
Malc2098 said:
I'm in my 70s and have been donating since 1970, on and off. I donate every three months. I can't encourage you enough to donate, and if for legitimate reason you can't, try and encourage the young people around you to start donating. It's quietly satisfying to receive the email that tells me where my blood has eventually been used.

I'm O Neg, so they call us First RespOnders, because anyone can be given O Neg.

Blackcurrant squash and an Orange Club.
Click to expand...
Are you still donating as when I looked into it 65 was the cut off. I have no idea what my blood type is. Probably BS….bog standard
 
Tiresias said:
...... I feel a bit morally ambivalent about paid for blood from the States, or anywhere (well, which sector of society do you think it will come from). But what can you do?
Click to expand...
The blood scandal of the 80s came from buying blood sourced from prisoners in the US. Frankly, we ought to have learned our lessons about importing blood.
 
Mike G said:
The blood scandal of the 80s came from buying blood sourced from prisoners in the US. Frankly, we ought to have learned our lessons about importing blood.
Click to expand...

I think the reference from @Tiresias to imported blood is in respect of feeding mosquitos for malaria research as opposed to use by the NHS.

According to the NHS England website “We may sometimes share blood with other UK nations under mutual aid arrangements and occasionally import very small quantities of very rare blood for named patients when there is no UK donor available.”
 
RogerS said:
Are you still donating as when I looked into it 65 was the cut off. I have no idea what my blood type is. Probably BS….bog standard
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When I reached 65, they said so long as I was still fit to donate. I presume that is so long as I met all the other 'qualifications. Who Can Give Blood

That may be because of me being O Neg, because I get emails and messages virtually begging me not to miss my appointment because they need that blood type.

They're desperate for blood. I'll keep going as long as I can.
 
I used to give blood as often as I could but often missed sessions having just returned from dodgy foreign climes, and then the next session would be months away. I never understood why I couldn't just turn up somewhere reasonably local and donate.

Nowadays I can't give blood for other reasons and am right now bored out of my brains receiving my first ever blood transfusion!
Having given previously, I don't feel too guilty about taking some now, just bored! Another two hours to go - currently reading the page numbers in Wood turning Mag🥱😀🥱
 
Well. It's all changed. There are 10 venues within 10 miles of us and the nearest is a mile away. All on-line booking now, not the little blue book. Very straightforward.
 
Malc2098 said:
When I reached 65, they said so long as I was still fit to donate. I presume that is so long as I met all the other 'qualifications. Who Can Give Blood

That may be because of me being O Neg, because I get emails and messages virtually begging me not to miss my appointment because they need that blood type.

They're desperate for blood. I'll keep going as long as I can.
Click to expand...
Well, I tried to sign up and the computer said No. Please call this number....
 
RogerS said:
Well, I tried to sign up and the computer said No. Please call this number....
Click to expand...
So call the number.

Because I'd moved around the country and in least three of their regions, pre-computerisation, when I moved down to Devon, I rang the number. I didn't know, and they couldn't find out, how many times I had donated in those different regions, but still took me on on a mutually agreed possible number. It wouldn't surprise me if they would take anyone on over 65 if they were reasonably fit and fulfilled the other qualifications. I am never youngest at any of my sessions.
 
I received a text overnight to tell me that my blood had been used at Kings College Hospital.

In itself perhaps a useless fact, but I thought I’d share it to bump this back to the top on the off chance anyone had thought they’d give it a go but it slipped their mind.

Here’s the link again

www.blood.co.uk

Home

Register to be a blood donor, give blood and save lives. Find out more about blood donation.
www.blood.co.uk www.blood.co.uk

Robert
 
My donor number is no longer recognised, details are erased after 5 years if no donations received. I can’t register online from here as I do not have a UK address. I can call them and they will set me up and come to an agreement as to the number of previous donations, 27 and I would be able to give blood in the UK but as someone pointed out earlier walk ins are no longer allowed and the chances of me being any where near a donation centre on my visits go the Uk are slim. I’ll give it a go though and see what happens.
 
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