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Blood Donor: Is it safe to donate blood if you have a blood condition?

Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Dec 23, 2024 | Replies (36)
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@beebo

Thanks for sharing this Ginger.
My PV diagnosis was made the same year that I retired. When I was working, we had blood drives at least twice a year and I always participated. I’m sure that I had this condition long before my diagnosis.
I never heard anything from them that they detected anything unusual about my blood. So I wonder if they were in fact using it even with the unusual blood count numbers.

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Replies to "Thanks for sharing this Ginger. My PV diagnosis was made the same year that I retired...."
janemc | @janemc | Dec 8, 2024

For years, I donated blood every 6 weeks.

Then one August, I learned I had a high platelet count.

I was scheduled to donate blood that September.

I called to ask the Red Cross if high platelets made me ineligible to donate. I was asked if I had a diagnosis.

When I said no, they told me it was fine to donate.

But after being diagnosed by an oncologist in October, I was told by the Red Cross that I could never donate again.

To me this suggests how badly blood is needed.

But until our cancers are better understood, ruling out any chance our blood or organs might do harm, donation is something we must not do.

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