♡ Have a Heart: Give Blood ♡: 14 year old Bethany, who needs regular blood transfusions, holds hands with two donors.
• Eight British blood donors made a striking sight (see image gallery), parading around London with Circulatory System body art to raise awareness about blood donations. The UK National Health Service is concerned about an acute blood shortage this summer, when London will host Wimbledon, the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympic Games.
• A spokesperson said, “Every unit of blood saves or improves the life of three people.” In England, for example, only 4% of eligible people become donors. Blood is highly perishable. Red blood cells last 35 days and platelets only last for a week. So donations need to keep coming.
Read more:http://goo.gl/zcNMg
madame scientist's not-so-mad musings 
sad to say I cant any more 😦
frank j Zbink , if you did in the past, that’s more than most!
thanks Rajini Rao
Actually, frank j Zbink , Thank You! 🙂
Rajini Rao now you making blush
Haha, that’s good, now I’m happy 🙂
for me its just matter of doing the right thing
I think they should ditch the loin cloths, I am sure consciousness would be raised quite a bit more.
Not sure about consciousness, Christopher Gierlich , but blood pressure for sure. That would increase the number of recipients, not donors 😉
Here in the US, blood donations are often set up at places of work (at my Univ. and hospital for example), and emails/flyers distributed to raise awareness. We only get orange juice and cookies, though 🙂
Did an Angiogram last year at 40yo. After brother 30 suddenly died of severe Hardening of Arteries. To my surprise, I had no issues, a 4 Artery heart and 10 major bypass viens around it.
Sorry to hear of your loss, Ernest Rider ! Did your brother and you have very different life styles? Or perhaps you took after different parents?
Sadly, I have not had my Red Cross blood donor card punched in far too long. At least I still have it. I was more acutely aware of the shortage of donated blood and related issues when I was working on artificial blood. So I donated more often back then. I’ve discussed the sad situation on that front so I won’t rehash it here.
Chad Haney , have you seen the recent news about artificial blood platelets? What do you think of it? http://sciencebusiness.technewslit.com/?p=9695
The Coroner said they had never seen anything like it before; very rare. His heart pressure blew the artery apart while sleeping. He was 6’11”.
I did not see that Rajini Rao. I was mainly interested in artificial oxygen carriers.
Ernest Rider , the strain on his heart must have been too much 😦 I’m glad to hear that you are in the pink as the saying goes.
I’m not allowed to donate here, ironically since I lived in the UK previously, and therefore my blood might be contaminated with Mad Cow. LOL.
Seriously, Buddhini Samarasinghe ? Do they ask you what countries you’ve visited your entire life before donating? Wow.
I haven’t checked in Hawaii but when I lived in Memphis and worked at St Judes (and they always wanted blood volunteers!) they didn’t let me donate since I had come from the UK. Also, in the UK if I recall correctly, they do not allow openly gay men to donate blood. Apparently because all gay men automatically have HIV and they cannot be bothered to screen first. Even though all donated blood automatically gets checked for HIV. Go figure.
Aida Hazlan , good to know, thanks!
Hahaha, a nurse with an attitude. Are you still restricting salt, Feisal Kamil , or did you go back to your bad ways?
B+, my blood group and motto.
Feisal Kamil Why would the lamb give you high bp? Is it cholesterol?
Kevin Clift , we share blood groups then. I was faintly offended by mine when I was a young girl. B+? Not good enough!! 🙂
Feisal Kamil , those Malaysian docs and nurses sure have a sense of humor!
Rajini Rao , that’s what my Mum would have told me!
I can understand their reluctance to accept blood from people who have been to the UK, since testing for prion disease is not easy. But the whole gay men/HIV thing really bugs me. Since all donated blood automatically gets screened for HIV, why not allow openly gay men who wish to donate, donate? It seems a no-brainer to me. I get frustrated with these campaigns that ask for people to donate blood when they reject volunteers for dumb reasons like the above.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18827137/ns/health-aids/t/banned-life-gay-men-still-cant-donate-blood/#.T8a6KlJ_ryc
“Before giving blood, all men are asked if they have had sex, even once, with another man since 1977. Those who say they have are permanently banned from donating. The FDA said those men are at increased risk of infection by HIV that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion”
stupid stupid stupid.
@ Buddhini is it stupid when a donor affects a patient with HIV?
Wow, Buddhini Samarasinghe , thanks for bringing this to our attention. I certainly did not know. These decisions are based on politics not science.
Wayne Stroh , both heterosexual and homosexual people can carry HIV and all donated blood is routinely screened by sensitive assays for the virus. So, yes, it is stupid given that healthy blood is being refused when there is a short fall.
Here is an interesting and exhaustive compilation of all the reasons why one cannot donate blood: http://www.wnin.org/focus/index.php/learn/health/137-78-reasons-why-you-cant-give-blood
In England we have another phlebotomy-related motto:
Give blood – play rugby
“Give blood! 8 billion mosquitoes can’t be wrong.”
Oh, vampire jokes of course:
What is a vampire’s favorite mean of transportation?
– A blood vessel!
What is fast food to a vampire?
– Someone with HIGH blood pressure!
Why did the vampire give his girlfriend a blood test?
– To see if she was his type!
Where did the vampire open his savings account?
– At a blood bank!
Why did Dracula go to jail?
– Because he robbed a blood bank!
Who is a vampire most likely to fall in love with?
– The girl necks door!
What is a vampire’s favorite animal?
– A giraffe!
What is a vampire’s favorite slogan?
– Please give blood generously.
There may be some people who don’t know about Tony Hancock’s infamous blood donor sketch. Comic timing is everything so it’s best to listen to it, but here at least is the script: http://www.railwaycuttings.co.uk/bk_hhh.htm
In Japan and South Korea, blood type is said to indicate personality and other traits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_types_in_Japanese_culture
Rajini Rao Yeah I’ve been knocked back from donating for a number of reasons. Apparently they see a common cold as a plague, even if you had it 2 weeks ago.
Maybe people should lie in a bid to help out others.
I hadn’t realized the stringency before. I guess past history of hemophiliacs getting infected from transfusions and other tragedies have shaped policy to a large extent.
Excelent
Having hypothyroid, can’t donate anymore. Really miss doing it.
really fantastic
You need every drop of yours, then Thuan Pham-Budin 🙂 Stay well!
Type O is the best as it is the Universal Donor. That means that anyone can receive your blood 🙂
ya thats my blood and I donet my blood evry 6 month
great one as usual Rajini Rao
Great work for good cause, scientifically there is no harm in blood donation and my personal experience say’s it’s give unexplainable peace.
blood automatically renew itself. So better donate blood and take pride to save someone.
In my circle most useful and sincere post is done by Rajini Rao may be it’s a effect of his Educational backgrond and understanding of importance of everythings.
Thanks Rajini Rao
You are welcome, Vinod Pandey . Thanks for your kind words!
Iron (Fe) (wo) Man? 🙂 I am just fine, Feisal Kamil . In a lame attempt to justify my chemical mangling of “Female”, I googled “element with symbol Wo”. You might find these definitions funny..at least they managed to insult both genders more or less equally 🙂
http://goo.gl/vYGcG
Life blood draining from computer? Power transfusion needed asap. That reminds me, my new Macbook Air is here..got to go get it loaded up with stuff 🙂
I Love the idea!!
Rajini Rao great post, as usual! I have been giving blood every 2 months when possible for many years, and a recent trip to Costa Rica meant I have to wait a year before giving blood again – possibility of malaria infection – but it was the dry season and I never even saw a mosquito when there. I agree with Buddhini Samarasinghe since they test for malaria anyway, why restrict me from giving blood? Also B+ by the way 🙂
I being the part of a Bone Marrow Transplantation group – We need to donate blood often !! We use normal !! Blood to use it as a control for the clinical assay to diagnose several immunodeficiency diseases. So there are two group – One group is in the Hall of shame ( low on several markers like NKT and other marker) and the second group of people are in the Hall of Fame ( I am there ) all the clinical markers work with my blood !! I donate often b/c clinical lab. like my blood, so as several other scientist in the group, 100-150 ml ( donated today !! ).
Hi Vijaya Chaturvedi , so you donate both your mind and body to science! Why are some people low on these markers..is that a genetic variation?
Hudson Ansley , so many B+ types on this thread, I thought it was a rare blood group! 🙂
Rajini Rao – I think there is a genetic variation but not proven yet, regarding why several people are low on these Markers we do not that either !!
Now I can’t comment on “Hall of shame ” or Hall of fame” .
but one thing is sure Science never force you, it’s gives you logics and facts, on basis of these think and decide what you want to do.
kreatif
nice design
super design
very impressive design