Hi everyone,

I was thinking that since all/most of you are eating high raw and some of you have been eating 100% raw for years, you guys' health must be fantastic! Have you all ever considered about going for blood donation? I think it would be a "waste" if you don't, but of course it's all personal choice!

BTW, I hope you guys can try out the exercise which is done just by clapping your hands. Personally I think it's a great way to detox our body.

Just my opinion.=)

All the Best,
Wong



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2007 03:57PM by blue_sky.

I can't donate because I am under the weight limit. They won't let me. :-(

What a wonderful suggestion!

As a cancer survivor, I don't know if I am eligible to donate blood, but I do a lot of volunteer work in my community to raise awareness about cancer issues and prevention.

If we each did just one thing, you never know what we could accomplish!

Sapphire

History of cancer doesn't make you ineligible to give blood. My local red cross provides these reasons you might not be able to give blood:
* You are currently ill (cold, flu, sore throat, hepatitis B or C).
* You weigh less than 110 pounds.
* You are currently pregnant.
* You have arthritis.
* You have traveled to certain countries where you might have contracted certain diseases (malaria), or had sex with or blood transfusion from someone who has.
* You have traded sex for money or drugs since 1977.
* You have participated in activities with high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
* You are a man who has had sex with another man since 1977.
* You or a blood relative have Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease(vCJD) and you have been in the UK for a cumulative 3 months since 1980 or certain European countries for a cumulative 6 months since 1980.
* You abuse IV drugs.
* You have been diagnosed with viral Hepatitis since age 11.
* You have a history of liver disease or yellow jaundice of unknown cause after age 11.

I give blood, but not as often as I think I should. Some of the reasons they do disallow donation seem to me to be either a little vague or a little questionable. The thing about arthritis I don't understand. Is arthritis something that's carried primarily in the blood?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2007 05:07PM by frances.

No way. I tried once but I saw the big bag of blood they want from you and I jetted

frances - Thank you for that information, I had no idea.

It still would make me a little nervous. When I was diagnosed, they found that it had started to spread (there was quite a bit spread into my lymph nodes already), and put me at high risk for recurrence or metastasis.

Although I go back and get checked every year (it's been five years now), and they don't find anything, there is no way to know if I have or will ever have to go through that again. I don't think I would dare risk passing one single bad cell to another human being, even if the risk is that small. Even if they find something wrong with me tomorrow, it may have been there for months or years before being detected.

Besides, six months of chemotherapy did some really stange things to me, and from what I understand, some of that poison will never leave my body - I have received my maximum lifetime dosage of certain drugs. I am very surprised none of this is considered on the list.

Sapphire

Okay, I just went and donated blood. Thanks, blue_sky, for bringing it up! When I was there they asked me a bunch of questions I hadn't expected. They had a whole list of drugs and asked me if I had ever taken any of them. (Sorry, I should have photographed the list - I certainly don't remember it all.) I don't know what they would have said if I'd said yes to any of that. They tested my iron level and blood pressure too. They also got really specific about travel out of the U.S. within the last three years. They wanted to know exactly what town in Mexico I had stayed in, and spent ten minutes looking it up to make sure it wasn't a malaria zone. I guess they can tell you to take a hike at any moment until they've actually taken blood, even if you've already sat in the waiting room for half an hour.

I couldn't see the bag fill up, but when I was all done, a guy came over and set the bag on the bed next to me while he was fussing with the hook-up. Wow. Anyway, I feel just fine and I'm back at work.

Sapphire- You could try calling your local donation center (mine is at the VFW) and ask about the specific cancer and drugs that might be of concern. They might be able to tell you immediately whether it's worth your time to come by. Most places like you to call and make appointments anyway (though they don't require it), so they probably have a phone number on their web site.

lol @ suvine ... ima bit squeemy bout the needles and bag too

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Just checked the Canadian Blood Services website - on the application form to donate one of the questions is whether there has ever been any history of cancer.

Probably different here.

Just as well, my veins are really messed up from all the treatments - they have a really difficult time even getting my yearly blood tests out of me.

Sapphire

I donate all the time. I actually think I'm past due. I think I'll go tomorrow.

I, too, have never been able to donate because of weight requirement - but to be honest, I'm squeamish and am not sure I'd be able to sit through it.

Sarah
[goingbananasblog.com]

One of the questions they asked me today was, "Have you ever had sex with someone who was born in Africa?" So... is that an automatic disqualification? Would they have sent me away? They didn't even ask me whether I was born in Africa myself. I'm white and have an American accent, but neither proves anything. One of the first questions was "You're female, right?" I got the impression that this was a standard question... if it wasn't I would be very insulted.

Lol, So funny, Frances, I'm sure they have to ask, since transgender surgery is so common now......or cross dressing is too? Or maybe that particular nurse got a surprise once!

I lived in France in 1980 so I'm not allowed to give blood, but I don't think I have mad cow disease,......though I am a little crazy sometimes. And I do seem to write a lot of runon sentences.

I wonder why they stipulate living 3 or more months in Europe as disqualifying a blood donator.......anyone could fly to France, eat diseased meat, and hightail it outta there a few hours later,.. then come home and give blood a week later.

Hi Frances,

Wow, you're such a kind person.

I'm sorry to know that you actually have to go through so many procudures before you could start making blood donation. I went for blood donation yesterday, and it took some 1.5 hours before I could sat down and be prepared for blood donation. Unfortunately the nurse said that my veins are too small and I wasn't allowed to donate my blood. She even suggested me to lift weight so that my veins will pop out. LOL, I guess I need to seek guidance from The Fruitarian One for that!

All the Best,
Wong

. I know it sounds awful...but I suspect they are more of a show then a healthful way to help your fellow man.

. theres literature on the procedure itself (for the receiver) being not very good

. of course..if you want a free meal

- after giving a pint, you often get to recover from loss of blood on:

sugar cookies, cheese and baloney sandwiches on white bread, peanut butter and fluff, coffee, tea, or milk, cigarettes, and/or a shot of booze

anaken you may have somehing there, elaborate, the first part

A lot of blood donations go for emergency trauma surgery ... MVAs and the like. With scheduled procedures one can opt for family, friends, or even themselves to donate ahead of time and save the blood needed for the procedure. If people took better care of themselves many operations would not have to be performed but I still would help someone who got a flat tire, even if it was a problem that could have been prevented with regular maintenance of their car. Lots of normal events/procedures could give rise for the need for a blood transfusion. Woman often will hemorrhage during the birthing process or could even with, say maybe, elective cosmetic surgery get an artery nicked.

. sure..theres lots of examples like that. in public involvement towards a cause

- for instance: scrap drives during WW2 (hardly used material but stronger moral)


. doesn't make it bad...sometimes..getting people excited

. you know can be good


rankdurian,

.I am not saying that 'people should just take care of themselves'

. the problem is - is if we are being led to believe the procedure is productive.

. I'm not an expert


this is just something I read a bit about


- heres something...right off the presses!:

Banked Blood Linked to Heart Attacks, Stroke & Deaths
By Rosanne Skirble
12 October 2007
[www.voanews.com]


Duke University's Jonathan Stamler says banked blood loses ability to deliver oxygen to tissues

Blood transfusions with stored blood may do more harm than good. Recent studies show that patients who receive blood transfusions have higher incidences of heart attack, heart failure, stroke and even death.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center are now closer to understanding why, according to findings reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Duke medical professor Jonathan Stamler says his team found that within hours of donation, banked blood begins to lose nitric oxide, a gas that is crucial for the delivery of oxygen to tissues. "Whereas we have tended to think that how much oxygen you carry is key, we've learned that it is really how much your blood vessels are open. ... Patients that are having heart attacks have blood vessels that are closed."

Researchers sampled banked blood over regular intervals and measured whether nitric oxide was present. Stamler reports, "What we have found is that it is very quickly depleted in our blood banks." Nitric oxide decreased by as much as 80 percent after one day, and by the end of one week, was profoundly depleted. After 42 days, unused banked blood must be discarded.

[[b]me[/b] - I bet most blood is actually thrown out ]

However, further lab work by Stamler's team demonstrated that nitric oxide could be restored prior to transfusion. "And [banked blood] is revived. It is then able to dilate blood vessels and when infused into animals [it] improves blood flow, opens the blood vessels."

Stamler says there is little doubt that stored blood could be harmful and the problem must be corrected. He says the next step is to initiative large-scale clinical trials.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2007 04:52PM by anaken.