Giving Blood to the American Red Cross

[Tim Hodgson]

My wife and I gave blood to Red Cross and we are waiting for our antibody test results.

It required an appointment. They were really well organized. It was done at a hotel. The hotel provided free valet parking (but I tipped the valet $5).

They had a very linear process, but a single person (phlebotomist) is assigned to you for the entire process.

Take your smartphone. You will need to answer 47 (somewhat repetitive) questions prior to meeting with your phlebotomist. You want to do that on your smartphone rather than on paper. Give them your email. They will email you your results along with your blood type (I am B+ . . . who knew?) along with a blood-type card you can print out and put in your wallet, and your Red Cross donor I.D. number. Once you get your donor I.D. number, download the Red Cross blood donor app. and it will keep all the info for you. And will prompt you when you are eligible to give blood again.

I am going to give blood again. Probably the double donation. Sometimes an injured person needs more than one thing of blood, and it is best to have two things of blood on hand from one donor in those circumstances. [Edit: For double donations Bring a Sweater! because, apparently when they take out the platelets during a double donation, they pump your plasma back into you and it is colder going back in than when it came out which results in a very cold feeling. Which we are probably used to from skiing Big Sky -- Hmmm, maybe bring a parka . . .]

Highly recommend.

 

[scott43]

Been donating for twenty years. One of the few truly altruistic things you can do.

 

[Tony]

I used to give blood regularly, but I lived in England for a year starting in 1980 and the American Red Cross no longer allows me to donate because I could have been exposed to Mad Cow disease. There is no test for it.

My wife and I did something altruistic recently. We both signed up to participate in a Phase 3 trial of a COID-19 vaccine. We could have gotten injected early yesterday, but had plans last night and next week, and today is our third day in a row of record heat, so we are waiting until 8/25. And while we did it for altruistic reasons, we found out they will pay us $119 for each appointment for up to 6 appointments (if trial runs for 2 years).

I'll eventually post more detail in the Covid-19 thread. As part of the trail we will be tested for both the virus and antibodies, but will not receive the results. And the trial could end early if another vaccine makes it to wide-spread distribution first.

 

[dbostedo]

The last few months I've been donating platelets, as the Red Cross center here said it's harder for them to get enough platelet donors, compared to blood. Pretty good setup they have, with Netflix and blankets. (Platelet donation can take 1-3 hours.) After the first go-round, that took almost 3 hours, they said I'm a super-donor (i.e. they can get enough platelets more quickly), and the last few donations have been under an hour and a half. If you have the time, you might want to ask which they need more at the place you donate.

 

[mdf]

I used to donate regularly when it was easy -- blood drive at work. Red Cross quit sending a collection team when we got too small.
I have to admit I haven't done it since.

 

[scott43]

I fill that blood bag in like five minutes. They love me! And I apparently have high iron count as well which they also like. Unfortunately I'm not O-.

 

[coskigirl]

I’m about due for my next donation.

 

[Pequenita]

I’m too small to donate blood, but I’m part of a Duke study on whether RHR and sleep amounts (and other things) correlate with Covid infection. I gave them my Garmin data, which of course may have now been hacked.

 

[Tricia]

@AKMINK donated blood and got her antibody test. It came back negative.

 

[skibum4ever]

DH and I donated blood recently and our antibody test was also negative. I was sick in late February but it wasn't Covid. I knew I wasn't sick enough for Covid as I only missed two ski days.

I was frustrated a couple of weeks later because I had decided to donate plasma for the first time. Two Red Cross volunteers stared at my right arm and decided that I did not have an adequate vein. They were willing to probe and TRY to make it work, but I had a bad feeling about the process. I was bummed but decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

So I will have to stick with whole blood donation.

 

[RiderRay]

Been donating since I was 17 (my dad went with me and had to sign). That's 50 years.

 

[skibum4ever]

Been donating since I was 17 (my dad went with me and had to sign). That's 50 years.

I was 14 when I donated for the first time. I had walked over to the hospital with my mother who planned to donate. They rejected her because she didn't weigh enough. I didn't have that problem (!) so I donated in her place.

 

[Bad Bob]

Been donating since 95 whenever it has been possible. Those vampires at the Red Cross have the best follow up system I have ever seen. You do what you can.
Over the years have tried to make a point of asking the phlebotomist if they donate blood, have been astounded how many say no, and for some of the silliest reasons. That doesn't matter, just seems surprising. I am about do now.

 

[Tricia]

Its been several years since I have attempted to donate blood.
I was turned away several years ago because I am hypoglycemic.
I am not sure if the reason was because my low glucose is bad for blood recipients or if taking blood from me puts me at risk if my glucose is low at the time. Either way, I probably should try again and see what happens.

 

[bbinder]

I try to donate on a regular basis - I’m working on my fifth gallon lifetime

 

[Tricia]

I try to donate on a regular basis - I’m working on my fifth gallon lifetime

Question to you, is your daughter able to donate?

 

[graham418]

taking blood from me puts me at risk if my glucose is low at the time

Bingo. They can't have the liability of anything happening to you while you are under their care. I have the same situation because of my heart valve. Even though I have given blood with it, the last time the questioner said no, can't give blood despite having done so before after answering the same questions. Even with a doctors note they wont take it.
Which is disappointing to me , because i would always go of a bloodletting before a ski trip out west.
A long time ago, an old-timer in Colorado told my dad a tip for us sea-dwellers. Give blood 4 weeks before you go to ski at altitude. By getting rid of the old red blood cells you stimulate growth of new fresh cells , which absorb oxygen better than the old.
Old wives tale or not, it never hurt!!

 

[ksampson3]

For those that have issues giving blood, I find that donating platelets is a much less "taxing" process. Whenever I donate blood, I always feel wiped out for a couple of days. Not so with platelets. I don't know why, but I get up from the table after platelet donation and feel fine. It must be less taxing on the body because they allow follow on platelet donation after 2 weeks. I think that you have to wait 6 weeks for blood donation. Just my 2 cents.

 

[bbinder]

Question to you, is your daughter able to donate?

Meryl can and does. The two times that Daria attempted she developed severe swelling at the phlebotomy site and felt quite ill. We did not feel That it was a “diabetes issue” but I have suggested that she give up on donation. Marcia has chronic low hematocrit, so she is out.

 

[Tricia]

Meryl can and does. The two times that Daria attempted she developed severe swelling at the phlebotomy site and felt quite ill. We did not feel That it was a “diabetes issue” but I have suggested that she give up on donation. Marcia has chronic low hematocrit, so she is out.

I gave blood a very long time ago, but they didn't take much blood when I passed out. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia, so I was rejected after that and it was suggested that I am not a good donor.
I wasn't sure if it was because they don't want hypoglycemic blood or if they were concerned about my health, but it sounds like its more of a concern for me, not my blood.