blood stocks low - will anyone donate in my place?

[outforblood]

My time as a blood donor is over. I tried and failed to donate yesterday for the last time. Having donated regularly since I was a teenager, this was the second visit in a row where even the most experienced senior nurse was unable to access a vein.

Apparently my veins are very small, buried deep, and the one stretch where they come close to the surface is now unsuitable for further attempts due to being used so often. No need to try again: "Looks like we've got all we can out of you."

I always found giving blood very life-affirming. I've been very lucky to be in good health most of my life so I always felt fortunate just to be in a position to do it. I know many can't. So I felt very sad to be turned away, but even worse to then read that blood stocks are currently dangerously low, particularly of rarer types (like mine).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4y2x2kn4ko

I thought I'd come on here in case I could spur someone on here who is eligible to donate but on the fence to take my place. Maybe you've been meaning to donate but haven't got round to it, or maybe you haven't done it for a long time, or maybe you're a first-timer and nervous. But it's such a positive thing to do, the staff I've encountered have always friendly and gentle and professional. And of course you get and afterwards!

If you have any questions or concerns let me know and I'll do my best to help. But it would make my day if even one person pledged to donate in my place. 🙂

Have been refused as a donor 3months ago, as had fertility treatment in the 1990s, was pretty disappointed, but anyone that can, you have my thanks 🙏🏿

Have just booked an appointment, I do give blood usually but had to cancel my last appointment and hadn't got round to booking another

Thanks for the Bone Marrow donation mention!

@UpThereForThinkingDownThereForDancing

Might be a good subject for another life saving donation thread ....

I was supposed to donate in early September (earliest I could go) but they cancelled my appointment!

Pint number 49 earlier this week 💪

I'm surprised it is only 3% too! I live abroad and have been banned from donating due to mad cow disease risk!

I can’t anymore and I’m
in awe of people that keep donating. I think there isn’t much advertising of it to younger people. I started donating in my mid 20’s after seeing a big poster on the high street. Maybe it’s advertised on social media though

I used to donate often before I had DC. There would be a community donation session every couple of months which was well-publicised with banners etc advertising the date and venue. Now there are never collections in my town. I've checked a few times and they only seem to want donors on city centre venues, none of which are easily accessible to me. Also, because I've not donated for a long time I wouldn't want to be a long way from home in case I had any side-effects. It's a shame it seems.to be so much more difficult to do now than it used to be.

Are Club biscuits the offering of choice, or are there regional variations?

Oh yes. In Scotland things have changed since Covid, you no longer get a hot drink, it;s a choice of a carton of apple or orange. And there are always Tunnocks tea cakes, caramel wafers if you're lucky, vegan kitkats (blurgh). Never seen crisps.

According to the NHS only 8% of those eligible in the UK actually donate....we need more targeted campaigns to encourage new, regular doners.
I have recently had to stop donating due to health reasons but have managed to encourage my husband to take my place, his 3rd donation is next week!

I always feel so bad for these calls, as I am O Neg and would happily donate, but can’t as I have an illness which means I’m excluded.

I've done 56 donations - well, 56 attendances. I have been turned away for low iron fairly often, though not 3 in a row which would stop me donating again, i think.

When I was in 6th form, or possibly just after our exams, a car-full of us went and donated. I've given whener 8 could since, though I've had time out because of things like glandular fever and having travelled in a malarial country. I live near Reading, so they have converted me to plasma from my next appointment in August. It is a bit less convenient for me, but should be interesting.

The website is good and informative. It has info about who can and can't donate. This changes often because it's based on constant research, so it's worth checking again. The reason you can't donate after receiving a transfusion isn't just because of what they do know, it's because they are aware there could be diseases we don't yet know about, let alone test for. There are lots of medications, if your prescription is stable, you can still donate, so again, it's worth checking.

I know many people love knowing where their blood goes, but for some reason, I've never been entirely comfortable with it. Don't know why. I don't think you can opt out of being told. Haven't really investigated.

I wish I could donate but a blood clot in my 20's and cancer a few years back means I am not able to. I always feel guilty about it but it can't be helped. I'm very thankful for those who can and do donate.

Another cancer patient here who can't donate but is incredibly grateful to those who do. But this thread has prompted to realise my 18 yo son could and should become a donor so I'll talk to him about it.

thank you for donating 💕

I can’t donate any more and I am also A+ so if you are feeling “is it useful” please know I would love to be able to donate and am SO grateful for you donating.

The queuing system is terrible!! Have never managed to get a slot. I’m O+ so should be useful too…

I donated number 19 a couple of weeks ago. I'm O- so I know it's important. My dad is O- too and has donated over 100 times.

I agree that finding an appointment between work, kids and husband's work can be difficult. What I find most frustrating is if you have to cancel, I did for illness, just a cold, earlier this year, it takes ages to then find a suitable appointment to rebook. I had to reschedule an appointment in March and the next suitable one was July.

I donated a few times when I was a student. There was a pop-up clinic that was sensibly placed between work and home.

I was just above the minimum weight threshold and am of small build so after going faint for the 3rd time, told to come back when I gained some weight.

It's taken a long time to gain weight, but with a history of faintness, I don't want to risk driving around afterwards in case it recurrs, and the community pop-ups seem to be long gone.

I'm prepared to give it another try, but the system needs to be practical.

By the end of two pregnancies, I ended up with canulas going in to some awkward places like wrists so my veins aren't brilliant for choice.

The online queues have settled and I've registered, but there's no practical options avaliable. I don't live in a remote area either!

While the nearest major centre isn't that far on paper, it's still realistically an hour of travel each way if I factor in traffic/ parking or public transport, and that stacks up to too much time to leave the DCs. It looks like they expect people from my city to head over to the next larger one as there's nothing showing at all, and the small market towns haven't anything before October/ November.

I made my 28th donation in June and have my next appointment booked in early September.

I only know a couple of others who give blood.

for those of you who are trying to book and finding your next available session is full, please don’t give up!
If you check later they’ll usually have added a session 3 months later. Many regulars book in straight after giving blood 😃.

I recieved blood platelets in the past. I think I wasn’t allowed to donate but does anyone know if that’s forever?

I’ll have a look properly later.

I guess they think they should be fine with the population of the larger city, the people who commute in to the larger city who can tag a donation session in at the end of the day/in their lunch break and the people who occasionally shop/go to the cinema/theatre in the larger city who'll combine a donation session with a trip they'd do anyway.

Doesn't help you if you don't fall into any of those categories, but it's normally enough to keep the blood service ticking over.

I'd like to donate but can't get an appointment before September. They must have enough in my area.

Last time I donated, they rang me up a couple of hours before my appointment (fifteen miles away) and asked if I could come earlier. I couldn't, and said so. So when I got there at my original time (obviously the last person) they had packed up and said as I didn't come earlier they didn't need me that day and could I rebook with them for last week.
If they want people to donate they need to make appointments available and not cancel them which often happens.
I'm on about 25 donations, I do believe it's important and I'm trying not to give up but I find it enormously frustrating when you don't live near a donor centre and work and have kids.

How do you find out what blood group you are? Everyone seems to know theirs but I haven't got a clue!