AIBU to remind people about donating blood?

[MLMshouldbeillegal]

Gave blood this week at a community session near my house. The nurse who chatted to me as my blood was being taken was saying how much the pandemic has impacted them - no walk ins, everyone has to make an appointment, if people don't/can't turn up after booking that's a slot lost, numbers are down because people are avoiding being around other people.

So if you can - and I know not everyone can - please consider signing up as a donor or going back to being a donor if you did in the past and haven't been in a while.

@Chanel05

Wish I could donate but I had a blood transfusion in labour. Saved my life and I am forever grateful.

Please donate if you can. Only 4% of those able to actually donate.

Where is this 4% figure from?

@NoSquirrels

As others have said, they cut so many community sessions a while ago (pre-Covid) that it’s almost impossible to get an appointment at a session. I’m in a city - admittedly not a large one - and there used to be at least 4 sites on a rolling basis. Now there’s one, every four months, and they’ve recently changed its (previously central) location to somewhere you need to drive. I get asked by the blood service to make an appointment and just can’t get anything sensible and doable. COVID restrictions have made it worse but the issue was pre-existing, here anyway.

Just opened the app.

If I can go at 1.25pm this Weds I can donate at my local site. There’s no available sessions schedule again there on the app for 12 months. (I can’t, I’m at work)

There will be sessions there in the next 12 months, but they aren’t releasing them as bookable (or showing they exist at all) so they manage type of blood donation.

Fair enough but then they’ll ask me again - it’s frustrating! They do appear to want my blood, but it’s not possible to give it.

Otherwise the choices are market town 14 miles away in December (12.25 or 3.25 on a Thursday- again I’m at work) or market town 16 miles away in February... and it’s the exact opposite direction to work so I would really struggle to make the latest appointment of 6.20.

I haven’t given blood since the pandemic started, not through lack of trying though. Our local sites, even the ones outside of our village, are still pop-up sites in village halls and leisure centres, there just isn’t capacity for the people who want to give blood. I struggled to get an appointment time before Covid and didn’t manage to find one all of last year. DH managed to get one earlier in the year but I couldn’t attend as I was pregnant (still am and hopefully I can donate when baby is here in a few weeks).

We used to live closer to the hospital and a permanent donor centre. We never had an issue getting an appointment then but since moving out to the suburbs, they are so oversubscribed. The hospital is 40 minutes away on a good day (a fact that is slightly panicking me a few weeks before baby is due). Factoring in that they will run late (which is fine and I get it) but it’s just not feasible to put aside 3 hours to give blood.

I've just had a little google, and the most recent figures I could fund were from 2018, when 830,000 people gave blood

I've no idea what size the total eligibie population is. But as 3/4 of the UK population of 67m is adult, that's 50m (rounded) that's less that 2% of adults who give blood. So 4% wouid mean half the adult population was ineligible (all those over 70, those over 66 who had not given blood younger, all those with medical reasons) - no idea if that's correct, but it doesn't sound totally implausible

After having DS they started doing a transfusion but I ended up having a bad reaction and they had to stop not long after starting, does this still mean I can't donate? Even though I didn't receive the full amount of blood?

They stopped after about 15mins so I don't imagine I would have received a lot in that time but I don't know how it works.

I agree it's never a bad thing to spread awareness. And I'm not usually one for butting in as a rule.

I am beyond grateful to anyone who donates as it saved my life during DS2 birth. Sadly because I recieved heavy transfusions I am no longer able to donate but I did before that.

Seriously anyone who donated I'm grateful.

I did pint 30 a few weeks ago but have felt really tired since and struggled. Mine comes out so fast and only ever from one arm. My right arm takes ages but my left arm fills a pint in under 5 minutes. I wish Scotland had the same alert as England when your blood has been used. I was told they never waste any, it can be used for research if needed.

@LemonPeonies

I find it fascinating the amount of excuses not to bother giving, but I bet those same people will happily receive if in an emergency. People are so selfish these days.

Medically unable to due to a severe blood disorder, I wish I could My dad can't donate either as he's had two blood transfusions about 30 years ago

I donated for the first time recently. Most of the staff there were amazing, so, so kind, but I bleed quite slowly and was also told by a very grumpy woman that if the machine kept alarming then I'd have to stop. I was happy to be there as long as needed and had no dizziness or anything - seems mad to boot people out halfway through a donation just because their blood flow is a bit slow? I just can't fathom why?

Anyway, I managed to keep it at an acceptable level in the end as another lovely member of staff gave me tips to rey and we worked out that the position of my arm was affecting it, too, but it did put me off a bit, plus they were running behind and it was quite a long wait, I'd have been quite cross if after all the faffing they'd stopped it and dumped the blood I had donated because it was going a bit slowly.

It would be lovely to get the text message saying what has happened to your blood. The staff at the donation centre always say thank you but once they take your donation away you have no idea of what's happened to it.

I also used to donate milk to the bank at the maternity hospital in Glasgow and they wouldn't give specifics but would tell you which hospitals donations were being used in.

They have completely stopped having any sessions near me. They're still sending me emails about booking appointments, but I'd have to travel quite a distance. Wouldn't be a problem if I could do the travelling sitting down, but any route would involve a lot of walking. I get very dizzy for the rest of the day from donations, so I'm just genuinely worried. I want to go donate. I'm just worried about the safety of getting home.

@FakingMemories

I am ineligible because I spent more than 3 months in the UK between 1980 and 1996. Even though I was a vegetarian for most of that time.

I was ineligible for years too. I gave blood once at 16, then the UK donor ban came in. I gave blood once on return to the UK before I was banned here for low haemoglobin. My sibling is ineligible who left the UK at 10 months old!

I used to donate regularly when there was a permanent blood centre in my city. Moved to a rural location now and its all one day pop ups at village halls. Have to book 4 or more months in advance and they only ever seem to have sessions in the middle of the work day so haven't donated in years :(

I started donating after my DS needed a blood transfusion. I agree it can be very hard to get an appointment though

Happy to give blood and have done many times
Used to be able to book my next appt as I was having my tea and biscuit....now it's all on line I find it almost impossible
My last session was cancelled the day before

Id love to donate but sadly having multiple medical conditions requiring regular medication means I’m ineligible

@XenoBitch I read this on the BBC website after my transfusion last year, though I've realised the article is 10 years old now 🤦‍♀️.

Hopefully, the % of donors is way up now, but the blood.co.uk website states that donations are needed more than ever now.

So how does it work now?

Twice previously I agreed to donate blood, but when I turned up, there was a huge queue and I was told it would be 45/60 minutes wait so I had to leave.

If I could book a proper appointment and be seen within ten/fifteen minutes of that I would be happy to donate.

@toastfiend

I donated for the first time recently. Most of the staff there were amazing, so, so kind, but I bleed quite slowly and was also told by a very grumpy woman that if the machine kept alarming then I'd have to stop. I was happy to be there as long as needed and had no dizziness or anything - seems mad to boot people out halfway through a donation just because their blood flow is a bit slow? I just can't fathom why?

Anyway, I managed to keep it at an acceptable level in the end as another lovely member of staff gave me tips to rey and we worked out that the position of my arm was affecting it, too, but it did put me off a bit, plus they were running behind and it was quite a long wait, I'd have been quite cross if after all the faffing they'd stopped it and dumped the blood I had donated because it was going a bit slowly.

The reason the blood donation is stopped after 15 minutes is the blood begins to clot in the bag. That is why. So it's unusable as a donation.

Used to be a regular donor but since receiving blood I can no longer donate 😟

I’ve my 60th donation coming up later this month - love it! Tend to go to the permanent donation centres (obviously not practical for everyone) as they have the most slots available, and the comfiest chairs

It's been a lot harder to get appointments recently at our donor centre as there are so many people donating plasma at the moment and they tend to get priority for beds and at check in.

I have very slow blood so I just have to wiggle about in my chair to get the blood going. I like getting the texts to say where my blood has gone. I think I must have done about 25 donations or so but they lost my details with multiple house moves around the country and a name change. I've got my tenth donation badge twice.

@jagoda

So how does it work now?

Twice previously I agreed to donate blood, but when I turned up, there was a huge queue and I was told it would be 45/60 minutes wait so I had to leave.

If I could book a proper appointment and be seen within ten/fifteen minutes of that I would be happy to donate.

Well I can only speak for Scotland but that's exactly how it works. You just make an appointment for the time and place which is convenient.

I used to but can’t now. I have had two blood transfusions since having chemotherapy & I’m so grateful to those that do donate. Thank you.

I used to five blood

I stopped because ai could never get an appointment when I was free to go within a ten mile radius.

I can only go at the weekends due to work commitments.