Unable to give blood!

I was just deferred from giving blood because of travel last November to Cozumel. The new CDC guideline (as of this past Monday) is that you can't give blood within one year of travel to Cozumel or Cancun. We didn't even get off the ship, but just the fact that we ported there makes me ineligible.

Please, please make an appointment to give blood before you go on your cruise! There is a huge need after Hurricane Irene caused so many blood drives to be cancelled.:eek:

also, belize....in my case, when i told them i was only there during day, it was ok. some places are stricter about it then others.

When i gave blood last month i noticed their more more places on the list that was included as iffy ...i said to the man asking the questions there won't be anyone left soon to give blood :confused:

I had a rather nasty case brand of malaria in my younger days, no giving blood for me. I would if I could.

I cant donate either...I lived in Europe for years and it makes me ineligible. I guess they are still worried about the whole Mad Cow thing.

I can't donate, either. Had a blood transfusion a few years ago and that makes me ineligible, even though I have had no problems since. :(

I just want to say thank you NorthCarolinaBelle for giving blood.

I used to give blood, but no longer can due to complications I developed because of giving blood and an unknown at the time condition.

I still feel bad every time they call me to ask me to donate and I have to say no.

I can't donate, either. Had a blood transfusion a few years ago and that makes me ineligible, even though I have had no problems since. :(

Just curious - why would a blood transfusion make you ineligible?

Just curious - why would a blood transfusion make you ineligible?

I was told that it is because of the possibility of diseases in the blood I received that don't show up when they initially test the blood, and the fact that they rely a lot on the honesty of the blood donor. For example, if the blood donor went to Mexico recently into an area where malaria is active, but did not report it on the questionaire, then there is a possiblity I could have gotten malaria via the blood transfusion but don't know it yet. Same thing with some of the hepititus strains. I also had an allergic reaction 24 hours after I first got the blood transfusion.... could not breathe. It was awful.

I feel bad, because I am the "Universal Donor" blood type O negative and I used to donate blood all the time.

I just want to say thank you NorthCarolinaBelle for giving blood.

 

I used to give blood, but no longer can due to complications I developed because of giving blood and an unknown at the time condition.

 

I still feel bad every time they call me to ask me to donate and I have to say no.

Jasalth, you're welcome! Two of my children received blood transfusions that saved their llives, so I know the importance of blood donations. I also felt bad when I couldn't donate this past week!

These new rules don't affect me since I was permanently banned when they added an exclusion to people who had lived in Europe. Used to live in the UK, several years ago they decided to permanently ban blood due to CJD or Mad Cows disease. Had been giving blood in the USA for over 10 years before this ban came into effect.

Hm, I wonder if this is subject to local authorities/guidelines, and if those vary? I gave blood on September 3, and Cozumel was not on the exclusion list (I know since I answered that I'd been to Coz in April, but they still wanted my double red cell donation (I'm another O neg)).

 

It's good to be aware of the possibilities of these restrictions, but I think ultimately it's so hard to predict what location may or may not be "okay" at any given time that I can't mold my travel to fit the requirements of the blood supply folks. I will give when I can if they'll take it, and I guess that will have to be good enough. :)

This was on last Thursday, Sept 1st, and they told me the CDC has just announced on Monday about the Malaria risk. Prior to that, I've always been asked where I went, and as long as I stayed in the city I was okay. Interesting that there are different guidelines, and a little disturbing!

I was just hoping that those people who regularly give blood would go ahead and give before they travel, just in case.

Thanks for the heads-up so I can donate before I cruise next month. The Red Cross has been hounding me and just left me a voicemail this morning asking me to donate pint number 69. I'm going to have a tight 11-day window to give, because I was in Cozumel on Oct. 6 last year, and my cruise departs Oct. 17 this year.

I can't donate, either. Had a blood transfusion a few years ago and that makes me ineligible, even though I have had no problems since. :(

Unless you got it outside of the US you were only ineligible for 1 year.

You cannot donate for 1 year if you've visited a country that has Malaira (ie Haitti and Cozumel)

WOW!

My mom and I went to the blood bank on monday to donate.

I was unable to because of my low iron. My mom was able to though. We were both in cozumel last September though. We told them we had gone on a cruise, and gave the ports we visited.

Thanks for the heads up tho..

WOW!

My mom and I went to the blood bank on monday to donate.

I was unable to because of my low iron. My mom was able to though. We were both in cozumel last September though. We told them we had gone on a cruise, and gave the ports we visited.

Thanks for the heads up tho..

Just FYI...... I showed low iron once. The person doing the testing/screening did not ask if I wanted to be re-tested. When I asked, they were happy I did, and my iron showed fine on the second test. They told me they're not allowed to suggest a re-test themselves.

I read on the Belize forum that that is another site that is banned. My DH is still trying to process this since he is a very regular donor and won't even get a tattoo because of it. I guess he may as well go ahead and do that too - but prob not in the Caribbean!!

I was deferred in July when I went to give blood. They said Cozumel, Belize, & Honduras had been added to the Malaria risk list in June. I had been on the dock in Cozumel last Dec.

I was also deferred from giving blood last week because of being on a cruise that stopped in Cozumel in March. The strange thing was is that I gave blood this summer with no issues.

They said that it might not have been recognized by the CDC as a problem back then, but that it was on the list now.

As I have another cruise with a stop in Cozumel this coming March, it looks like it will be a long time before I can donate again!!!

I tried to give yesterday but was 1 point too low on my iron score. I asked to be retested, she said they can't.

I asked about giving after traveling to Cozumel, they said it wouldn't prevent me from giving.

My daughter donated yesterday. They said her day stop in Coz in March did not exclude her as long as she was back on the ship before dusk. She donated here in Canada.

I had a rather nasty case brand of malaria in my younger days, no giving blood for me. I would if I could.

You can as long as you haven't had any symptoms for more than 3 years. Plenty of serviceman in Vietnam got malaria and are donating...Get in there!

ICU RN and former Blood Bank Supervisor

IMHO...

The CDC is a very political organization. While there is much science in the epidemiology of malaria occurance-the political pressures of cruise lines, the visitors to the ports, and the foreign countries on the CDC's list make decisions to defer donors difficult. However, there is a Zero Tolerance mentality when it comes to blood products. They have to be 100% safe with no exceptions. Any blood bank that issues a product that has any contamination has to explain the event to many levels of government supervision. Following the CDC guidelines is a mandatory requirement of all Blood Banks. The guidelines can be interpreted many different ways, and often individual blood banks will assume more risks and accept donors a neighboring blood bank wouldn't.

Transmission of any disease via blood products is very very rare. It is because of the stringent safeguards in place our blood supply is the safest in the world. Can can we ease up on the guidelines? Sure. Will they? That's often a political question, not a scientific one.