UPDATE::::Can I Make Something Perfectly Clear About Blood Donations During The COVID-19 Crisis?

[Joe Nation]

Last edited Fri Apr 10, 2020, 07:00 PM - Edit history (1)

**********THEY DO NOT PERFORM FREE COVID-19 TESTS WHEN YOU DONATE BLOOD!!! PERIOD!!!!****************

My son works for a blood donation center and apparently has had to tell large numbers of people that giving blood does not provide you with a COVID-19 test to see if you are infected. This myth was the same myth that went around during the AIDS Crisis. If someone walks in with a potential COVID-19 symptom, the center is closed down and all employees have to shelter in place for two weeks further reducing the country's blood supply.

If someone in your family is sick and untested, or you have symptoms, stay away from blood donation centers entirely. They will simply throw your blood away anyway and you will never know. My son has already had 3 potential exposures and half of their centers have been closed down. People that want to donate in order to be tested for COVID-19 are only making the problems worse for everyone.

PLEASE! Don't be reckless and endanger everyone else.

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R

[rzemanfl]

2. Kick for visibility. n/t

[jimlup]

3. On the other hand if you are Healthy

Consider giving. It puts you at a slightly increased risk but they desperately need Blood right now.

[tazkcmo]

8. Which brings us back to

Testing.

Even if you are "healthy" you might be a carrier.

Test. Test. Test.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. I wish they would waive the 8 week cycle. I'm at 6 and have to wait.

I'm fine, take some blood. This is an emergency.

On the upside, I'm scheduled for my first double-unit donation, so there's that.

[rurallib]

22. Have you considered donating platelets? they can be done as often as

every 2 weeks. I give every 4 weeks.

Does take a bit of time. Usually takes me @ 90 to 100 minutes.

[jimlup]

25. Yes I did it two weeks ago.

I am confused though. I'm wondering which they need more right now, platelets or whole blood? I'm also worried about setting my own system during a risk of personal health crises. I'm thinking of calling them directly with these questions just to know what their response is.

[rurallib]

28. Where I go they always need both

And there, once they get you giving platelets, they like to keep it that way.

I give inside a major hospital, so I have some real trepidation about going into it to give.
My next appointment is the end of April which is when most models are predicting the worst of the pandemic.

[AtheistCrusader]

31. I'll check into it.

I'm O Negative. I thought they needed O Neg red blood cells the most. Plasma they need AB the most, and I *thought* platelets could be anybody, but I'll double check.

[rurallib]

32. I am O neg also. The blood center I go to

wanted to switch me over to platelets back in the 90s but it took about 6 months to have an opening develop so they did not need whole blood. Since then I have been all platelets and white cells. They quit taking white cells last year.

I am no expert on what all they take from me, but I believe they also take red cells along with the platelets. When I gave Tuesday they told me they took a double platelet, a double red cell and a plasma. Not sure how all that product is passed out. I can tell you I was pretty tired for a day.

[Skittles]

34. I'm a longtime platelet donor

but sometimes have trouble passing the iron test

[uponit7771]

18. We don't know if we have it or not, its like the face sucking thing from Aliens

[Demonaut]

4. kick

[Pantagruel]

5. Does that mean

the blood gets used without being screened for CV-19?

[bluescribbler]

10. I hope not

It's a scary thought.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

24. HELL NO, it does not.

[2naSalit]

6. K&R

[marble falls]

7. Important stuff!

[NNadir]

11. One of the questions that used to be on the blood donation questionaire...

...used to ask if you were donating blood in order to be tested for HIV.

I don't recall if it was there on my most recent donation though, a few weeks back.

The questions always feel exacerbating, but they're there for a reason.

Thanks for good advice!!!!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. You might want to look up "exacerbating"

How about excruciating or enervating.

[NNadir]

17. Brain fart. I'm having a lot of those lately...too much on my mind.

I actually can't remember what the word for which I was going was though.

Enervating would be good, but it's not a word in my general lexicon.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Covid-19 is not transmitted by blood. Why you won't get it from a transfusion

https://blood.ca/en/stories/why-you-wont-get-covid-19-from-a-blood-transfusion

[grantcart]

14. That's what I assumed. Thanks for the link

Sitting on a contaminated surface could however.

[AtheistCrusader]

33. Literally my only concern is the donation center itself.

But they are taking precautions and so will I.

[DeminPennswoods]

15. What the blood donation centers ought to be

doing is testing for the covid19 antibodies. It might give everyone a good idea of how many people have already had it and that would be extremely helpful to the forecasters.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. The donation centers need to post large signs on their doors

telling people that.

[Joe Nation]

19. Already in every center on every door

Some are ignoring them in order to get the COVID-19 test.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. I do hope that the very first thing they are told is that they will not

be getting a test that way. And that if they show symptoms they are immediately tossed out.

[wnylib]

21. I have donated in the past,

before covid, and considered doing it now. But, I am high risk and don't want to take even a slight chance these days. One little mistake could be a death sentence for me.

[Liberty Belle]

23. TODAY: FDA cuts wait from 12 to 3 months for gay men (after sex) to donate blood

FDA eases restrictions on gay blood donors amid ‘urgent need’ (NBC)

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/fda-reduces-restrictions-gay-blood-donors-amid-urgent-need-n1175141?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR2ST2jJ-0F52wOSkgbppyjgNUrNBOP0eohldhMz1qUrR-Jq9rt45z-hw74

[tanyev]

26. Does your son and the rest of the staff get masks to wear?

We have appointments to donate this Sunday and I'm a little nervous. Even though we are both healthy, we are planning on wearing gloves & mask while in the center.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

27. If I had transportation I would donate

But there is no donation place that I could walk to since the busses are unusable. Sucks.

[AlexSFCA]

29. yep, and gays can't donate blood

unless they haven’t had sex for three months. Pretty much excludes married gays. If you’re straight, you can donate blood regardless of number of sexual partners or unprotected sex you had in the last week.

[FloridaBlues]

30. Actually going in 30 mins to donate blood. Those of us who can please donate

Of course no person who feels ill should donate

[Joe Nation]

35. As an update to this story....

My son now has the virus. He is doing well. He undoubtedly caught it from a donor and now the center he worked at is shutting down as a precaution.