Connect
← Return to Blood Donor: Is it safe to donate blood if you have a blood condition?
Discussion
Blood Donor: Is it safe to donate blood if you have a blood condition?
Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Dec 23, 2024 | Replies (36)Comment receiving replies
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.
Replies to "For years, I donated blood every 6 weeks. Then one August, I learned I had a..."
@janemc I used to donate blood regularly, also. In 1988 I was diagnosed with a mild form of Systemic Lupus. At my next blood donation, I told them about my new-found condition. They offered me a tag that gave me a choice to donate but not use, or donate and use, since they didn't have an answer for me. I chose donate but not use. At the next donation I was told I couldn't donate any longer. It was heartbreaking for me, as I had just tested to use bone marrow to donate, and they had a patient matched to me. That had to be cancelled, also.
My father was a big supporter of blood donation, well into his 70s.
Ginger
Connect
@janemc that’s exactly what my doctor friends told me. I’m going to ask more questions though to see exactly how those dots get connected since I don’t have an infectious disease.