Donating Blood is Not so Easy

Every day thousands of people undergoing surgery or suffering from medical conditions such as cancer, hemophilia and clotting disorders need blood. Blood banks always need blood. There is never enough.

1/3 of the US population meets the standards to donate blood, but less than 10% actually do.

Severe winter weather has affected blood supply all over the country this year, as well as the strict screening tests that ensure donated blood is safe. Despite the shortage of blood, some well meaning donors get turned away.

With blood always in demand, blood banks worry that the intense screening process scares off potential donors. Sometimes false positive results show problems with donated blood when there are none.

The testing process that screens out HIV and hepatitis can give off false positives. The potential donor then gets letters from the blood bank and the health department telling him his blood will not be used, but come back and try again in eight weeks.

Angered and unnerved by the process, less than 10% of the would-be donors ever return. The blood bank in St. Petersburg, Florida sees about 10 false positives a week for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis. This is not the kind of news you want to find in your mailbox. One person's bad experience with the blood bank can turn others off.

If you weigh at least 110 pounds and are not sick or pregnant at the time, you meet minimum standards to donate blood. You must be at least 17 years old and pass a health and physical screening.

Some temporary reasons you may not be eligible to donate blood

-You test false positive for HIV, hepatitis or a sexually transmitted disease.

-You got a tattoo or body piercing in the last 12 months.

-You are taking certain medications such as antibiotics, Accutane, Proscar. Avodart. and

Coumadin

-You recently have been sick.

-You recently had surgery or a serious accident.

-You had an abortion or miscarriage recently.

-You traveled to a malaria risk country less than 12 months ago.

-You had a baby recently.

-You received blood, plasma or other types of blood components within the last year.

-You had a heart attack in the last year.

Some permanent reasons why you cannot give blood

-You have used illegal drugs with a needle, even once.

-You are a hemophiliac

-You are a man or woman who has had sex for drugs or money since 1977, even once.

-You test positive for HIV, syphilis or hepatitis.

-You are a man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even once.

-You have had certain types of cancer.

-You had babesiosis (a malaria type disease) or Chagas disease (a tropical parasitic disease).

-You have taken Tegison for psoriasis.

-You have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

*There are several other reasons that make one unable to donate. Check with you Red Cross Blood Donor program for more information.

How you can help if you're not eligible to donate blood.

-If you are temporarily not eligible, call and make another appointment.

-If permanently unable to donate, you can volunteer your time at the blood blank.

-You can invite your friends to donate.

-You can also organize a blood drive at your job site.

Sources:

http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/eligibility-requirements/what-to-do-if-y...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mONKT/is_6_25/?ai_112943261/

St. Pete Times