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Giving blood?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 11/30/2007 2:54 PM (GMT 0)
 I use to give blood but stoped when I started playing medical roulette. Now I am wondering if I can still give blood. Not because of the crohns and diabetes, but because of all the meds I take now. Perhaps my blood should come with a warning like the meds on TV.

 Warning, the use of sniper plasma can save your life ,BUT, may also cause some serious side effects. Some patients have experienced, nausea, diarrhea, joint pain, swelling of the face, mood swings, head aches, eye irritation, blood pressure fluctutions, hair loss, dry mouth, loss of appetite, weight loss, weight gain or anal leakage. Some more serious side effects have been reported , including pancreatitis,loss of kidney function, kidney stones, poor liver function, adrenal failure and heart blockage.

 If you are taking any medication,,, ANY MEDICATIONS,,, as the list is too long for this commercial, please consult your doctor. Do not drink alcohol while using sniper plasma.

 So if you would rather feel like dying rather than really dying, ask your doctor about sniper plasma today.

 What do you think, am I good for a pint??

Posted 11/30/2007 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
lol sniper! I have no idea, but thanks for the laugh.
Posted 11/30/2007 3:35 PM (GMT 0)

LOL, I love it!  Those patients could probably use such a good sense of humor...maybe that'll show up in your blood too.

You could probably give a pint unless you are anemic, in which case that's a big no-no (and they wouldn't let you anyway).  If you're feeling relatively well, though, they could probably use your blood no problem!

Posted 11/30/2007 4:05 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks for the humor. Whether people with Crohn's can donate seems to depend on the blood bank. This discussion might interest you, although it's a few years old: http://www.cbbsweb.org/enf/2002/donor_immunedis.html

On a similar subject, I remember reading an abstract in Medline concerning two or three cases in which a seemingly healthy organ was transplanted from someone with Crohn's disease and the recipient developed Crohn's in the donated organ. That makes me a little wary of the idea of blood donation from Crohn's patients.

(Sorry for the varying font sizes; this bulletin board doesn't seem to like my voice recognition software.)

Posted 11/30/2007 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
I had a co-worker that had MS and she told me that Dr's and blood banks refuse organs and blood of people with autoimmune diseases because they do not know what causes them yet. I don't know if this is true but I have wondered myself. Karen
Posted 11/30/2007 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
My local blood bank specifically states that people Crohn's disease can't give blood. You would think all blood banks in one country would follow the same guidelines.
Posted 11/30/2007 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
When the mobile blood bank came to my office I asked if an IBDer could donate.  I was told that because they don't know exactly what causes CD that we couldn't.  I was disappointed but they did give me a really cool t-shirt tongue
Posted 11/30/2007 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
I guess its just as well. I have so much blood work done each month that I may not have enough to donate anyway. I'll just keep it for the lab rats.
Posted 11/30/2007 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
Years ago (about 25 years ago to be specific), I asked if I could give blood.  I was off all the drugs at the time, and the crohns was inactive.  They were happy to take my blood.

Terry

Posted 12/1/2007 12:45 AM (GMT 0)
I was told that depending on the medications you're on, you might be able to. But, 6MP or azathioprine are definite no-nos...so I'm out of the running anyway.
Posted 12/1/2007 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
I was told I couldn't because of the 6MP too, but not because of the CD.
Posted 12/1/2007 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
I was stunned when I went in for surgery and was told I couldn't bank my own blood!! Thankfully, I had family and friends to do it and I ended up not needing it.
Posted 12/1/2007 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
When I tried to give blood several years ago I was also told that I couldn't donate blood because of my Crohns and the medicine that I have to take.
Posted 12/2/2007 3:24 AM (GMT 0)
I donate all the time and I"m on Remicade and 6mp. NY Blood Banks will take a Crohnies blood as long as you are not flaring.
Posted 12/2/2007 1:33 PM (GMT 0)
This is odd. I would think that there would be some standard policy here. Guess I dont know enough about how blood is processed. Must be a big def. between how whole blood and plasma is used too. I gave blood ever time there was a drive or if someone I knew needed it for surgery. I did not know I had crohns at the time, but I did. So what do they do to blood ? I mean surely people give blood when they have cancer or other diseases and dont know it. There must be some screening for blood born illness, right? hmmmm.
Posted 12/2/2007 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
Sniper- I gave blood in college and didn't know I was diagnosed either. Everyone else got cards in the mail from the red cross with their blood type. I never got mine. Other people got past cards inviting them back for each drive. I didn't get one either. So then I started to worry that they for some reason didn't use my blood and since I didn't know of anything wrong with me I got really worried. I tried calling them but got the run around. To this day I wonder if they knew something was wrong with me. If thats the case, don't you think they should have had a duty to inform me? They test all blood for AIDS etc before giving it to a patient. If it comes up positive do they notify the donor? I think they should.
Posted 12/2/2007 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
LOL, Sniper, just love your sense of humour!!! Keep it up.
Posted 12/2/2007 7:43 PM (GMT 0)
http://www.cbbsweb.org/enf/2002/donor_immunedis.html

Interesting, shows that different states/regions have different rules.
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