Paper thin shell, lost in her face

[venta]

This lunchtime, Sysadmin #1, ach and I went to Blood Donors'.

They wouldn't let ach give blood, he'd just come back from America (which you'd have thought would be safe).

They wouldn't let me give blood, apparently all my Haemo Goblins have gone away. I failed the approximate Hb-level test, then failed the more accurate one. Now I just have to wait for the blood sample I gave to get sent off to their labs for even-more-accurate testing, to see if it's a serious problem or a minor glitch :(

(Oh, and kate_r, I bit the bullet and filled out the Bone Marrow Donor form - only they wouldn't take it because I failed their tests :( Maybe next time...)

Ah well. Sysadmin #1 gave blood. Me and ach did the only sensible thing, and went to the pub to wait for him. No, we didn't miss the irony of gaining a pint instead of losing one.

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

because of the quality - not the quantity - of my sexual partners

Eh ? Not heard this one. So if the vampires don't fancy your girlfriend they won't take your blood ?!

[qatsi.livejournal.com]

Gay men are not allowed to give blood, period. Even if they've been in a monogamous relationship for n years, where n can be as large as you like. But if you're straight, sleep around all you like and after a month or two the Blood Service will gladly take your armful.

Maybe 15 years ago this blanket ban was justified, but all blood donations are now screened for HIV (among many other things). I don't see how "gay" blood would hide the virus from the screening process.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I don't see how "gay" blood would hide the virus from the screening process.

I believe the logic is not that gay blood hides it better, but just that the HIV screening isn't 100% reliable, and gay men are inherently more likely to be HIV+. Which is at least more logical, though I have no idea how accurate the theory is.

They don't only ignore the "monogamous for N years", a man can't give blood if he has ever had a homosexual encounter. If I were to sleep with a man who'd had one homosexual encounter in his past somewhere, however long ago, that would also mean I couldn't give blood for 12 months.

If they're going to maintain that level of paranoia, then they should also be asking questions about heterosexual habits as well.

[qatsi.livejournal.com]

The full list of those ineligible is here (https://secure.blood.co.uk/c11_cant.asp). Alternatively, there are 25 questions you can answer here (http://www.blood.co.uk/pages/flash_questions.html) to check whether you are eligible - though at the end it still just says you may be allowed to donate - presumably it can still all be called off if they don't like the colour of your eyes.

And the current stock levels are here (http://www.blood.co.uk/pages/stocklevel.html). I couldn't find a link to say how long blood can be kept, so I don't know whether 9 days is a "maximum" or just what they have for the most common group.

I'm sure their rules are well-intentioned and the blanket ban (which also applies to prostitutes and intravenous drug users) allows for a very simple self-regulation on the part of donors, but I find it difficult to square that with the "we're desperate for your blood" line. Two of their questions are "Do you have or think you may have HIV/Hepatitis B/C?" - it seems to me, if they really were desperate for blood, that criteria would be sufficient. I imagine that statistically, one could probably prove that no-one should give blood, if one tried hard enough.

Of course, if I ever need a blood transfusion, I'll take it. I just expect there would be some patronising marketing about giving blood shortly afterwards, which could easily lead to an instance of "NHS Rage" on my part.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Oh aye, I don't disagree that their automatic exclusion of so many people doesn't sit well with their claimed desperation for blood.

I know a few people who have stopped giving blood over various points of principle over how the system is run. I don't like it either, but until such time as they rule me out (hair too long, nose too big, sarcasm too excessive...) I'll put up with it in the interests of helping them have any blood at all.

Sadly, I don't see it getting any better. They're introducing new rules all the time - I'm sure they never used to worry about whether you'd taken aspirin in the last seven days.