Can't give blood until further notice as my blood type is too rare?

[Clubtropicanadrinksarenotfree]

Has anyone else heard this? I've been trying to get an online appointment for ages but it kept saying they were fully booked which I found odd, as they always need blood donations.
It said they were full for the next year which just didn't seem right, so I went into the centre on Friday.
I have given blood there before a few years ago, but I was told that as my blood type is very rare they generally don't need any more of this type, so that's why I can't get an appointment ever.
It's a shame but what can I do, just keep trying.

Apparently, AB+ women who've given birth can't donate because their plasma would be toxic to a recipient. The plasma of a woman who has given birth, develops antibodies which can be dangerous to a patient of another blood type.

www.blood.co.uk/why-give-blood/blood-types/ab-positive-blood-type/

My brother is AB-. He is called in to give blood sometimes because they have need of it.

The question as to how he acquired this blood group from O+ parents is not something I want to think too hard about!

I gave up going to donate as they kept telling me I needed it more than they did!

A+ here, I give every 16 weeks on the dot, but luckily my work is 5 miles from a hospital donor centre so very easy. Have never had an issue getting an appointment

Presumably your brother is adopted? This isn’t just a case of your mum and the milkman - neither of your parents can be his.

I'm 0 neg and was always jealous of people with AB+ 😀

Same here. I'm AB+ too and struggle to get an appointment to donate for all the reasons listed above. I have however managed to get an appointment to donate in November!. My husband is A+ and there are always plenty of appointments available for him to donate!

@XelaM I'm AB+ and they won't take my blood because its now toxic since I've had a baby! 😀

I’m AB-

I'm o- and donate twice a year

How do you know your blood type? Is it just through blood donation? I’ve never been able to donate blood.

I was told mine when I was pregnant.

It’s not something routinely checked though as either you’ll be given O- in an emergency situation or we’ll find out if you potentially need a transfusion.

I'm 0 neg and was always jealous of people with AB+ 😀

Noooo you’re the best one! Everyone should be jealous of you!

I know mine from when I first gave blood.

I wouldn’t leave the hospital without being told my children’s as I think you have a right to know your own blood type.

How do you know your blood type?

I had some miscarriages. There were arguments about whether I was B + (as one blood test showed), or B - (as most showed), because if I was Rh -, I needed an anti D injection! Eventually in one of the arguments, the doctor exclaimed

“Oh, you are B Duffy!”

How do you know / find out what your blood type is?

I'm A+

I'm also Ro which is needed for sickle cell patients. I donate every 16 weeks exactly. They are often short of the Ro subgroup.

AB+ can only be given to people who are also AB+ and as it’s a rare group there isn’t that many of them. Blood also has a shelf life, so if it’s not used in time it’s thrown away and wasted. It’s better to cancel appointments and use what they have available then be throwing away blood that people have donated.

And to add to that if someone who is AB+ needs a blood transfusion they can be given any blood group so you are never going to be short of blood for them even if all the AB+ donors stopped donating.

Then your midwife was an idiot.

You can be given AB- , A- , B- and O- safely. It’s only + blood you can’t be given.

O is like a zero. It doesn’t have a blood type if that makes sense, that’s why it can be given to anyone.

B rhesus negative here but I think there's more wine in my blood than blood these days so little use to anyone 😂

My mum is AB+ and when she required several transfusions a few years ago she was told the blood came from Holland, as the NHS didn’t have any.

I'm O- and never made an appointment as they just used to call so much and offer me one for the next few days when it was time again. I did sometime make them but I don't know my work schedule far enough in advance so often had to cancel.

I had an early stage melanoma and now can never donate again in the UK, though would be able to abroad after a certain amount of time. I'm disappointed!

Thanks for mentioning this, as I've noticed my donations always go to neonatal as well. A quick Google suggests we could be CMV negative (I'm A-).

And on the back of this thread I've just booked my next donation 😊

I’m B+ and was given B+ when I had a transfusion, so they do need/use it! I’m not allowed to donate now though - the irony of having a transfusion - have benefited and want to return the favour but they don’t want your blood if you’ve had a transfusion. They didn’t want my breast milk either when I had to exclusively pump for 3 weeks while dd was in hospital 😞.