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The American Red Cross said it fell 50,000 units short of its blood donation goals in June. Supplies are at their lowest level in 15 years.
A perfect storm of events has driven blood donations to the lowest in 15 years, a shortfall so extreme that some patients may have to cancel elective surgery, medical officials say.
The American Red Cross fell 50,000 units short of its needs in June and will likely fall short again in July, it said.
If there's not enough available blood, some elective surgeries will have to be cancelled, said Danny Cervantes, a donor recruitment director for United Blood Services in Las Vegas.
"People will put off having knee replacements, hip replacements and other elective surgery," he said.
Summer is typically a bad time for the Red Cross anyway, said Kim Talkington, regional director of donor recruitment for Red Cross operations in Wichita, Kan.
"The need goes up because there are more people traveling and there's more accidents," Talkington said. At the same time, donations fall because families are out of town on vacation, she said.
And because high school- and college-age donors make up almost 20 percent of Red Cross donations, their contributions drop by more than 50 percent when school is out for the summer, said Beth Forbes, a donor recruitment representative for the agency in Quincy, Ill.
That's expected, but this year, there are additional factors.
Damaging storms created extra demand in the East and the Midwest at the same time that they dried up the supply, said Rodney Wilson, communications manager for the American Red Cross of Central Ohio.
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"The power outages and storms we experienced earlier in the month caused dozens of blood drives to be canceled," he said.
Meanwhile, unusually hot weather has kept potential donors from venturing out.
"We normally try to keep a three-day supply on hand locally, and we are down to a one-day supply," Wilson said.
"We need people to think about the need for blood, because the need never goes away. The need never, ever goes away," said Diane O'Donnell, a Red Cross representative in Oneonta, N.Y.
Ellen Russell, director of Red Cross blood services in Maine, said that even if people find it hard to get to a blood center, it's vital that they make the effort.
"A lot of people are on vacations and people are taking a lot of time off, but patients never get a vacation from needing blood," she said.
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The story omits other possible reasons. In our community, the Red Cross donor center has severely cut back its hours, making donations difficult for some regulars. Secondly, there are a lot of complaints about the frequency and timing of reminder calls from centralized system. It is so bad that I am aware of several people who are opting out.
Donate at the local hospital.
You don't need the Red Cross to be a donor.
My Parents donated Blood their entire lives. I cant tell you how much blood they gave, but I know every time it was possible, they gave. Now they cant any longer because Red Cross sent out a letter stating that if anyone lived in the Azores ( island out in the atlantic ocean , near portugal) between certain years, you could not give blood. How crazy is that. Its a shame because my mother has a rare type blood for them to use
don't feel bad, i can't give either, i was stationed in spain for 2 years and because the US Gov't imported banned British beef to its military personnel in the European theater after it banned the importation of it into the US, we might have mad cow disease. so we're banned. i don't think the ARC or FDA (it's actually their rule) understands how many people CAN'T donate now...I'd given almost 3 gallons before I got banned in 2001 (right before 9/11, no less)...
Along the same lines as the reminder calls--in my city (as I'm sure in many urban centers) they hire people to stand on the street and confront you to shake you down for (literally) blood or money right on the spot. They have such a noble pursuit, but this aggressive tactic has soured me and everyone I know on them. They have been working the same street for over a year and always seem to be acosting the worker bees (re: not the tourists) who are clearly on a limited lunch break or rushing to catch the next train home. Handing out flyers to serve as reminders to people to donate, along with a list of nearby locations where they can donate, would be welcome. Yelling at people or standing in their way in an effort to get them to spend minutes talking to you and committing is definitely not.
I used to give blood every time it was possible and so did my mother both for years. But when my brother had a vehicle accident and it was obvious that he wouldn't make it, they put another 6 units in him after the initial two and then charged my parents for it after he was dead. If they are going to waste it and charge underage children for it, even after their parents and siblings gave it, I'm not going to give it to them. If I could be assured that my underage children would not be charged for blood when I'm giving them pint after pint, I might think about it again.
Exactly. The calls have become so frequent and so intrusive that my wife and daughter have both opted out of future calls. They will continue to donate, as will I, but we do not want to be contacted by phone anymore.
I'm on a project in Bloomington IL, and this is the hours to donate. Might be an issue too! It is for me.
Whole Blood -
Monday: 3 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: Closed
Friday: Closed
Saturday: 7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Sunday: Closed
More Americans are taking medications these days that make them ineligible to donate blood.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db42.pdf
Everybody is saving up because the IRS is coming for their share.
Inconvenient hours for blood donation - many blood drives in my town end at 5 or 6, and I don't get off work until 6. I then have to pick up my son from daycare, so I can't get there until they're packing up. I'm generally off on Fridays, and try to donate then, but that doesn't apply to most people.
Ditto on the annoying calls. They refuse to leave a voice mail, so I hurry to pick up my phone, don't get there in time, don't know who called or why. Repeat times several days. If it's important enough to call, it's important enough to leave a message.
I've also been called 2 days after I've donated, asking me to donate again that week - I would think, since the donation is entered into the computer as it's collected, that they would have a real-time record of it.
I started giving blood on a regular basis back in college to overcome my fear of needles. The Bloodmobiles were on campus all the time. You have an hour between class, why not? If you got to feeling bad (I passed out in class after giving blood the second time) you were excused to go to the infirmary without getting penalized, so there was nothing to lose.
Now I have to drive to the other side of town. By the time I get there, drive around forever to find a parking place, wait at least 30 minutes just to be screened, go through the screening process, give blood and then feel good enough to drive, it's been two+ hours There's no time to give during the week and even though it's only once every few months I can't guarantee that there's going to be a weekend free and clear where I can recup for a few hours afterward. I don't have the answer but there's just no easy way.
My wife gives blood routinely and the last time she went she sat for hours because their laptop was on the fritz.. After passing he appointment time by 3 hours they got whatever glitch un-glitched and instead of taking the donors who waited 3 to 4 hours they took people who just walked in the door and told my wife she had to wait another hour or two because they did not want to keep the people with later appointments waiting.. She told the worker to F@#$ herself for being so uncaring to those who showed such devotion and patience.. She does not plan on ever donating blood through them ever again.. So how much profit does the nonprofit Red Cross pull in a year anyway.. If it is like other charities the board and chairperson pull in a few hundred k a year and get tax free status along with champagne and lobster..
Blood donors should be paid handsomely for their product, considering how much hospitals charge for it. I'm not giving mine away for free. It cost me money to produce it. Why should I give it away? The hospitals and Red Cross certainly are not. Non-profit indeed! What a ruse.
Number three, I'm sure, that because of the economy, the number of people selling their blood, rather than donating it, is probably at a 15 year high.
Let's get a few things straight: the Red Cross does not charge for blood. They charge a processing fee for the cost of collecting and maintaining a blood supply for the area where they serve hospitals. It's very expensive. Underage people cannot donate. Healthy individuals may donate every 8 weeks (unless that have been changed) Secondly, if you think they call their donor base asking them to donate again too often then blame it on the people who don't donate. Unfortunately I agree that they may be overly careful about who can donate and who cannot. The folks in Red Cross Blood Centers work very hard to try to keep a good healthy supply of blood and blood products. If all you people just want to complain then maybe you should go join up and go volunteer at a blood drive and see how hard the volunteers work to make the blood centers successful. The more volunteers and donors, the lower the processing fees at the hospitals. Thank you for all the people who DO donate often. There are actually some doctors who believe donating blood makes you healthier, since when you donate your body begins to build your red blood cells back faster, making the age of the red blood cells overall younger, but this has not been proven by any means. As far as the Red Cross centers go versus the collection organizations who pay for blood, if I ever have to receive blood in the future, I would much rather receive it from someone who donated it freely without any incentive, then from someone who was being paid to give it. Several years ago, I was a Regional Red Cross Blood Center Recruitment director. Yes, we went to our donor base, a LOT more than we would have liked, but it was so we could keep a healthy adequate supply for the 52 hospitals we completely supplied. Thank you Red Cross.
Thank you TR-563060 you made the most sense on here! I donate EVERY 8 weeks because it is the right thing to do since I am O - and in Denver Bonfils Blood Center has great hours. I think it is great they call me when my time is near as my life is busy and I need the reminder. They can also send you a text or email if you don't want the calls. They also can set up drives at your employer to make it easier...
Here is western PA, essentially every hospital receives their blood supply from the Community Blood Bank, and not from Red Cross. Despite this, Red Cross has regular blood drives in our area, and apparently this blood is used elsewhere. The Red Cross is fabulous in emergency situations, but I wonder about their blood donation and supply business. If may be that suspicious donors may not be donating. The robo calls do not help either.
This most likely indicates that the needs of your community are being fulfilled by your local blood bank... I mean, you have a local blood bank. The Red Cross is exercising the first rule of logistics: if what you're getting in a location is excess, take it somewhere where it's in need.
More people are opting for bloodless surgery because it is safer and there is no risk of rejection like there could be with a blood transfusion. Even the military is performing more bloodless surgery because the rate of healing from it is faster and without as many side effects.
This article is designed to scare people that their lives will be at risk if they don't get the blood they may need, however, the goal regarding blood is to put back the volume of blood lost and that can be done by other means. Blood is a multi million dollar business and they don't want to lose those funds.
Not to poke holes, but there are a lot of types of surgery that can't be done without some blood loss, and even small volume losses can cause shock in some people who are frail (e.g. elderly, anemic). That's not to mention all the accidents where people get horrible wounds. You can't scoop it up off the pavement and put it back in!
Name one. Major organ transplants and by-pass operations are routinely done without blood. Many hospitals now specialize in bloodless surgery.
I had very minor surgery a few months ago and I still had to give my ok to have a transfusion if necessary. There's no such thing as a 100% guaranteed "bloodless" surgery.
Bloodless surgery is great as long as everything goes exactly right. In some surgeries, even though they may be intended to be "bloodless", the doctors may want a few units available, just in case. This is even more true if the patient has a rare blood type. Where there is enough time, patients can donate to themselves.
I am one of those people who was stationed in Europe and am, therefore, prevented from donating blood, even though I haven't lived there since late 1992. Contrary to an earlier post, the ban is not because European beef was sold in the commissaries and used in the chow halls, though that is true, the ban is for anyone who lived in Europe because of the possibility you may have been exposed to European beef. Even if you are a vegetarian, if you lived in Europe, the will not take your blood.
The problem they have is that they don't know how long mad cow (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) will lay dormant in the human body (in cattle, it appears to have a gestation of 30 months to about 8 years) and there are no, current, tests that show the presence of mad cow.
As it stands now, my kids, ex-wife and I, will never be able to donate blood. When you consider the millions of military personnel who have been stationed in Europe over the last 30 years and the millions more who have vacationed in Europe, that's a huge number of people who cannot donate, ever!
I think, we really need to rethink this permanent ban. Perhaps 10 years or, if they really want to be cautious, 20 years but, don't cut us out forever.
I donate blood whenever I can. It seems like there's always a shortage -- I've never gone to donate blood and been told, "no thanks, we have all the blood of your type that we need."
I went in for a scheduled donation the day of 9/11 here on the west coast. Where normally there were 5 or so folks donating, the room was packed with donors this time. I'm sure this was going on all over the country but I wonder how much blood had to be dumped because of the surplus.
I was a regular donor until I was told that anyone who was in the military and was stationed in Europe in the 80's could not donate blood due to the possibility of being exposed to Mad Cow disease and this includes thier dependents as well.
Similiar thing for me - I moved to the US from Ireland in 1981. The Red Cross kept lowering the bar until it finally hit me in 2002.
Same here. It knocked out my husband, myself and my adult sons. Mad Cow has a longer incubation apparently than the AIDS virus.
I'm gay and can't donate unless I lie and say I'm straight.
Jdfohs, do not worry. I started donating in February for the first time in my life. I am straight and normal so I will pick up the slack for you. The Red Cross is smart by not letting gays donate. The risks of A.I.D.s is too high to infect someone. Let a true American show you how to save a life.
@ Robert Jackson: I have heterosexual female married friends, who have AIDS and got it from the husbands, who had many affairs. Bottom line: not only gay people get AIDS, heterosexuals do too. And you don't have to be a true American to know this piece of info!
@robert jackson-1152912 it's that kind of bigotted answer that shows why gays are not allowed and it's not because of aids. It's just like back when segregation was the in thing and you didn't use black peoples' blood on whites.
Besides they are supposed to test the blood every time for disease and I'm pretty sure they don't as I have known "Straight" IV drug users who were positive with a variety of diseases and still went and donated regularly.
The list of Donor questions if honestly (completely honestly) answered disqualifies all but ~ 2-3% of the US pop.
so it needs to be opened up more and testing needs to be done, my "Gay" blood won't make you gay any more then a black persons blood will make a white person black.
You know, robert j, assuming we are all healthy (which is a fair assumption for you both, actually) I would rather have jd's blood than yours. That is, if I believed that whose blood I get changes me into something else. Since when does being a nasty bigot make a person a true American? You may be straight, but I personally would wonder if you fit the definition as "normal" since you seem pretty full of yourself and your amazingness.
I go to LifeSouth at my local hospital to donate. The Red Cross cut staff and I waited a really long time to donate once, as in over two hours, and then when I finally got in the chair they got me started, I saw the guy across from me getting pale and looking really sick, but they didn't notice because one had to go sign in new people and the other was busy with me, and I told the nurse. So she had to go take care of him, and meanwhile mine not only stopped but my site started puffing and bruising, and the third donor was done and waiting to be disconnected. No one was in there to help mine or the third one since she was helping the sick man who was about to pass out and was sick to his stomach.
So the upshot was I had a horribly bruised and sore arm for several days, they never seemed to get that a total of over 3 hours for a donation coming home with a painful arm wasn't okay with me. Now, I am not saying this always happens. I have given almost 7 gallons in my life, and the first 5 were to the Red Cross with no complications and short wait times. But when I told the caller (for the next donation) what had happened he argued with me about it. I simply told him I could see they needed another nurse to keep people safe that several people left due to wait times. I asked him to mark down in my file or on a list that I wouldn't give there until another worker was added, and that I was informing him that the conditions weren't safe at that time.
So over the next year I got calls every month by people who had no clue why I wouldn't go there, didn't seem to get what "my problem" was, and why I wasn't happy that I waited over two hours, my unit wasn't even usable and neither was that other lady's or the man's who got sick, I was there over three hours and mine had a big bruise and raised knot since the needle wasn't in well in the first place. I simply asked for another worker to keep it safe, and one man who called even told me that I must be exaggerating since that couldn't happen, while another told me that the RC knew what it was doing and I wasn't telling the truth. I stopped taking their calls.
Giving blood is a wonderful thing and I still do it regularly. The RC used to be great collecting it and I even volunteered for them to help, but at least in my town I won't for them again. How sad...but LifeSouth has been polite and professional to me, and the blood goes first to our hospital, then to the other local ones if not needed.
I work for the Red Cross and we have fought tooth and nail for gays to be able to donate. It has nothing to do with the Red Cross we would be happy for gays to donate. It is the FDA that sets the rules for donor suitability and they won't budge on that rule. With nucleic acid testing the risk of getting HIV is the same as if you were hetersexual. Robert Jackson until you know what you are talking about, it might be best to keep your hate filled opinions to yourself
EMNH, true some heterosexuals have contracted AIDS from unprotected sex, needles, and blood transfusions. But 99% of AIDS from sex is from homosexual activity. If a woman picked it up from her boyfriend or husband, it's because he had homosex in nearly every case. So cut the PC crap.
54Buick - You better get tested - you apparently have no idea how HIV is spread and you're probably enagaging in all sorts of risky behavior that you didn't know was risky - just because you think your safe because you're heterosexual. Most new cases of HIV occur through intravenous drug use. And no, the husband didn't have to have "homosex" to spread it to his wife - he simply could have had either unprotected or poorly protected sex with another woman. You're obviously not aware that for every person you have sex with, you are also having sex with their partners. And not being gay doesn't somehow give you superpowers to ward it off.
Maybe they need to offer more money for blood donations. I'm sure the hospitals profit greatly from the sale of blood.
Yes, why not offer a stipend to donors? Hospitals charge at least several hundred dollars for a pint of blood; with the actual amount unconfirmed.
If anyone anticipates surgery, they may request 'autologous' /or a self-donation transfusion so that their own blood will be set aside to be used if required.
I will not ever give blood to the red cross again, you give it to them for free and if you need it it will cost you $200 or $300 dollars a pint. pretty good racket red cross sorry about your luck..................
silver, this is true because there are a lot of costs associated with the blood. They pay for staff and facilities to draw the blood, are mandated by law to to test the blood for any number of possible issues, they store the blood, and deliver the blood. My guess is that when hospitals go to a blood source that where payment was made to the donor, the price is even higher.
There is a risk with offering money for donating blood: Some who are not eligible to donate may choose to anyway for the money. It is a risk to the blood supply that cannot be taken.
I donate at the Red Cross as often as I can. I also recognize they use the funds from blood donation to fund emergency relief here in the US and around the world. Its pretty cool to take something that many need (blood) and turn it into a way of relieving suffering around the world.
Sure they pay their staff, etc., but the overall work they do is astounding.
Just so you're aware Red Cross blood service and Red Cross Emergency Service are two completely seperate organizations within the Red Cross. When you give blood to RC the money is never put back into the disaster program.
If you have a local blood center and most cities do have them donate to them. They are the ones supplying your local hospital. If you have one check them out those hospitals in that area are not receiving blood from RC. I know the need is everywhere but when I donate I want to help someone in my community. Local patients are in need and they count on local donors to be there.
Selling blood to the highest bidder..Times are tough, no more free blood!
Two other thing to consider are:
1) Tattoos are extremely popular these days, especially among the young. Most blood donation centers do not allow donations for up to 12 months or more after the most recent tattoo.
2) Body piercings are also extremely popular. Often times that will disqualify a donor even though it may be temporary. Maybe up to one year.
A lot of people that get these will either figure it isn't worth the trouble to donate, continue to get them within the next 12 months which makes them ineligible again, or forget to give after the 12 months. Another thing is that many that get them sometimes feel that they are being singled out for getting a tattoo or piercing and take offense to being denied. Blood donating is a medical procedure and rules have to be followed. Especially when there is an unknown factor that involves piercing the skin with needles and objects of a non-medical process by unknown persons. No offense to artists that strictly follow good sterilization and health procedures. Another thing about tattoos is that if there are tattoos in the antecubital space (the inside of the elbow) this may disqualify them as it is not normal practice to draw blood or administer medication through a tattoo. Now if a person that likes tattoos wishes to be a blood donor then it is possible for them to plan their tattoos around this space. This would be very helpful.
The main reason no one donates with ARC is EDUCATION. The ARC no longer provides blood in many parts of the US. They will, however, attempt to collect anywhere they are given a chance. They disregard the local hospitals and patient needs. In my hometown, they shifted their blood supply to another larger city, and left us high and dry. Now we've switched to a local provider. Many areas throughout the US have gone through the same. Mismanagement and their continued fines are a cause of their own downfall. Look up/google- 'consent decree'. That's an agreement between the FDA- their regulating authority and the ARC. They can't even follow their own rules for safety. I'm so grateful they no longer provide blood to my area hospitals. I urge everyone- please donate- but educate yourself. Find out who is your local provider for your hospitals- and support them.
Tattoos do not belong on a human body. That's what billboards are for. Tattoos are for people with low intelligence that try to look cool. I could care less about your history/life on your body. Someday you might have to donate blood to save a life, but the Red Cross will see that stupid tattoos and that person may die. Stupid is what stupid does.
I agree, dar.
rj, I see you can't be civil in any part of a thread.
@ Robert.. Once again obviously you aren't getting it! So I will try to dumb it down so you can understand. The Red Cross does not set the rules and regulations on who can and cannot donate blood. All those questions that are asked are set by the FDA not the Red Cross. Gays, Living in certain areas of Europe because of Mad Cow disease Tattoos etc..NOT Red Cross rules they are FDA rules. Maybe you can now understand a little better
If the Red Cross paid more than the local plasma center I would go to the Red Cross, but they don't, so I don't.
I agree. I am a blood donor in florida, but it gets a little discouraging to basically have the blood donation organization tell you that you are a "hero" and how good it is of you to donate when I see that their personnel are not volunteers, but well paid career personel with good benefits who are selling my pint of blood for a few hundred bucks to local hospitals and there is little to nothing given back. I am beginning to think that they should have mostly VOLUNTEERS (nurses donating time, office staff, etc.) as well. " What is good for the goose is good for the gander!" Either that or they should start sharing a percentage of what they are making off my blood and all others who donate.
Retired Floridian,
I respectfully disagree. The Red Cross is not a business, it is a charity. I am grateful they are around in the event of an emergency or evacuation. They are the frontline for providing relief to people here and around the world in disasters.
Furthermore, if you require volunteers to draw blood, we are going to turn a shortage into a supply crisis. And I prefer to have someone draw my blood who does it over and over again.
Do you really think you're going to find enough volunteers to provide blood services full-time? I've volunteered with blood drives at my local fire department, and it's hard enough finding enough people to bake cookies and register donors, let alone trained personnel to actually collect the blood.
United Blood Services, another big blood bank, asks way too many questions regarding a person's love life. And the person they have prying into the deepest darkest recesses of your personal life does not inspire confidence.
"How many times have you taken it up the chute?"
"Have your wife ever had an incestuous affair with her gay brother?"
"When's the last time you did the nasty with your grandpa?"
I can understand a laundry list of questions during the first donation, but EVERY time? Call me a prude but I don't want to conjure up these kind of images.
After the second time, enough was enough and then get ready for your telephone to ring non-stop when it's time to make another donation. These people are relentless.
Sheesh!
I am more than willing to donate blood, but I am NOT more than willing to spend 2+ hours waiting for the process to be completed AND on top of that be assaulted by a Blood Technician that doesn't know what they are doing... I have had several friends who have gone to donate blood and the person drawing their blood is VERY under-qualified & has NO CLUE what they are doing, leaving them with large bruises and or punctured veins due to using poor technique. Why would I or anyone else want to go through this??? They don't and that's exactly why there is a shortage of blood being donated, too much red tape & BS...
I used to give blood to the Red Cross but often wait an hour before they even begin the question part. The technicians complete ignore you most of the time. One guy could not find the vein in my right arm and did not do much better on the left arm. Both arms were bruised. I'm O+ and think that is the universal donor. They have a separator to take the I think the platelets which is like two donations and they feed back some fluid. That takes a little longer and more uncomfortable but I did to help and most of the time they didn't have the machine and only took a regular donation. I filled out a form and actually had someone from Red Cross call me but nothing changed where I donated. Maybe as someone suggested I should donate to a local hospital. It did not know about that and it might be better.
But Heated, it isn't like that everywhere. Just find a place locally that is with your hospital and it won't be that way. LifeSouth is awesome.
One time I gave blood and the tech refused to clear me, saying they heard "something" while listening to my heart. When I asked "what kind of something" she just said go to an emergency room and refused to elaborate. "What do I tell the doctor in the emergency room?" "Ma'am, I'm not a doctor, I can't say." I called my doctor's office and they said that since they had no idea what the tech heard, if I was instructed to go to the hopital, then I should go to the hospital. I spent 9 hours for a cardiologist to give me an all-clear and tell me they had no idea what the tech could have heard that warranted sending me to the hospital when I probably could have gotten checked out by my doctor. Sweet Mother Mary, if you're going to be in a position to screen people for potentially serious health problems, should there be at least one doctor on the premises to talk to you or at least describe the damn red flag so you can clue a medical professional in on what is going on?
I'm up to 96 donations and that is only to the Oklahoma Blood Institute. They will even travel to corporations and schools with their mobil units if a blood drive is requested which is one reason I have so many donations. Before I moved here I used to give to the Red Cross because that was all that was available. Rarely have I ever had to wait 2 hours to donate. If I go to an organized "blood drive" it may take longer but that is expected. A regular whole blood donation without an appointment takes 35-50 minutes total. Not including the snack and drink afterward. I'm sure the OBI makes money on each donation but it has never been an issue that I know of. They have to pay for testing, materials, equipment, and personnel somehow. Maybe the other donation centers need to look how the OBI operates and see if it will help them streamline their own processes.
Ask Obama its Bush's fault!
I have donated blood for years at our community center until I noticed the Red Cross workers were becoming more and more inept at there duties. It was to the point that I felt that the staff was more interested in there shift mode (blaring music, donors left holding confusing forms, generally unprofessional behavior) than the public at large. If this had happened once, I could let it slide. But it was becoming the standard of expected behavior. Shame on you, Red Cross!
i have donated thru united blood services for years. its great and i get a free mini physical and colesteral level check. it takes about a half hour total time and i always enjoy the cookies and juice aferwards . everybody should donate its soooooooooo important. also they have a rewards store where u get t shirts ice cream or movie tickets with your donaton points. also not sure but i have heard that regular donors have a better response to blood loss when in some kind of accident . lucky i haven't had direct experience.
I could swear that about a week ago I read on the Internet that there was a glut of blood out there, because everyone was giving. Now I hear this, what is going on..who is right, who is wrong. Make up your minds why don't you
I have donated at United Blood Service regularly since 2002. I have always had a good experience. The questions are personal, but you just answer Yes or No. It's no big deal and you can see why they have to ask them.
I can't give in many ways. I don't have a lot of money to donate or free time to volunteer. but, I can donate blood and maybe help some one that way. I will continue to donate until they tell me I can't anymore.
Blood type A+
Used to give blood a few times each year. I'm on medications that bar me from donating. My blood is pretty common though, A+; nothing really lost here.
I have donated over 10 gallons. 82 trips to the blood bank. Never saw any minorities in the chair. Never, not once. My hospital is self sufficient. It buys no blood. I live in a working class/ slightly upper class area. We give. We give blood, money, food and time because its needed. The blood shortage can most likely be linked to the "Gimme culture" that currently expects everything and gives nothing.
You may not have seen minorities in the chair, but since I assume you don't sit in the chair every moment of every day you could have missed one, you know? I have seen minorities in the chair in my area, so that argument won't fly.
You know, it's cool how you got to get your "minorities are all gimme and nothing else" dig in there. Funny I've seen minority workers, volunteers, and donors, and I really didn't sit around and count what color skin or accents were donating. Interesting you were taking such clear note of that and how you seem to never have seen any minority doing anything good for anyone? Interesting...lol.
82 trips. Day, afternoon and evening. Statisticly I could have missed someone. After all I was only there 82 times!!!
Yes, Sgt Fusco, I agree. It's called a Blood Donation. Why does everyone think they have to get paid nowadays.
I am happy to donate blood. It makes me feel like I have done something good for someone else.
I have heard the Plasma Centers that pay for donations use your Plasma for research, which is great. but, blood donations go directly to a person in need and that is where I chose to donate.
ever see the 1% giving blood,starting with Romney,Boner and others of that ilk,including Dems also
Again.....I write.......duh......most people can't...cuz they have Lyme Disease or a co-infection like Bartonella.
Wake up people......It's worse than AIDS.......the sad part is....millions who do donate don't know they got Lyme and Bartonella......
Ya can thank IDSA....CDC....FDA....BIG PHARM...(keepin' it secret) Better pray....if ya receive blood...it don't contain those little Lyme-Bartonella wormie's.......You'll live......but then....you WILL suffer......
Umm...makes ya wonder what else your state health dept...red cross not tell'in ya????? Ohh and BTW...2 weeks of antibotics....don't do diddle-squat...happy dreams.....next time...write an article that tells the real problem.......will ya.............. Maybe.....the TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE!???????
Wow...duh? That was an interesting post.
Wow, realitycheck, you must have gotten a transfusion from someone who suffered from communicable grammaritis.
Wow....duih......maybe you should'nt have.....duh......wow......posted while you......WERE......duh?.......high. PUT THE BONG DOWN AND SLOWLY WALK AWAY!??????????????????
I donate every 60 days. No problem.
Possible improvement:
1. Have small, medium, & large blood bags so that people, who weigh less than 110 pounds, can donate.
1.a. For example, instead of cutoff weight, say you can donate 3% of your body weight.
Okay. Didn't the Media run an article saying there was a glut of blood donations? This was right after the Shooting in Colorado. I know blood is very difficult to transport, needs testing. Certain blood types are in a greater shortage than more common blood types.
Maybe the Media should of kept there mouths shut. People Nationwide typically react to a crisis to donate blood. They also will assume they do not need to donate when they read there is more Donors than demands.
As always we can count on the Media for anything but accurate reporting.
You are an observant reader, LiitleI56. I came here to write the same comment: Didn't the Media run an article [a couple of weeks ago] saying there was a glut of blood donations?