Can't give blood ever again as I've had cancer

[iwouldgoouttonight]

I've recently been diagnosed with a malignant melanoma, just waiting for a date to have a wider area removed to check its clear of cancerous cells. I had an appointment to give blood so phoned to say I couldn't make it and asked how soon I could donate again. They said if you've ever had a melanoma you can never donate again.

It surprised me a bit, I thought once you'd been treated for cancer and then been signed off (after the requisite amount of years) you had the same risk of having cancer as anyone else.

Does anyone know why they don't let you donate ever again?

It would be nice if everyone could donate blood once in their lives. Unfortunately I received before I was even 6 months old so no chance :(

I know people who've ended up in wheelchairs/bed bound due to ME. Permanently bed bound. Saying ME isn't that bad is like saying all types of cancer are the same, or a broken leg and a sprained ankle and a stubbed toe are all the same thing and not that bad.

And yep it's the concerns that it's caused by a retrovirus that rules people with ME out of donating blood.

Iwouldgoouttonight when I rang up to have my name taken off the register, I mentioned that it was a shame I could no longer donate as the US will accept donations from people when they have been cancer free for a certain number of years. The guy on the phone said to keep checking the rules as they alter them as and when new evidence is found to rule in and out conditions.

I find it ironic that the cancer would not rule me out of donating in the US but the risk of giving them human variant mad cows disease does

"bed bound. Saying ME isn't that bad is like saying all types of cancer are the same, or a broken leg and a sprained ankle and a stubbed toe are all the same thing and not that bad. "

The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is poorly understood. There are only theories. There is no definitive proof that Cfs is viral. It could be a hormonal imbalance, an excessive immune response or genetics. My uncle experienced some incredibly cruel doctors who suggested he had a psychiatric condition.

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Chronic-fatigue-syndrome/Pages/Causes.aspx

My uncle developed diabetes and is now insulin dependent. He believes The virus that caused his me damaged his pancreas. (Although his GP says that his pancreas failing is not ME)

With blood donation there is a choice of donors. Hence its possible to be fussy. People who accept organs are facing a horrible death in most cases. The desperation for donors mean that people who have recovered from cancer that did not spread maybe consider as organ donors.

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/cancer-questions/can-i-be-an-organ-donor-if-i-have-had-cancer

I was turned down for blood donations because of old age. Best of luck ,op.

Hmmm I didn't know about not being able to donate after IVF and I can't find a definitive answer online. I tried to donate previously but it didn't work out and it is on my bucket list to donate again once I've had my baby, but if it is true about the IVF that's not going to work.... I'm on the Antony Nolan list and anyone is welcome to my organs if they want them, even despite me injecting myself with synthetic hormones to conceive...

Best of luck OP. My dad was a regular donor, 4 x per year until he had cancer as well.

ReallyTired it says on the blood donation site that you can still donate after having anti-D.

And CheesyPop it depends on the type of IVF and medications you had. If you had donated eggs or embryos you can't but donated sperm is okay. It does say on their site to ring them up if you're not sure. I'm going to because I had severe bruising as a side-effect of 2 anti-depressants I've been on. I'm on a different one now and don't have bruising any more but want to double check it's okay. I had my blood taken when I had the bruising and I was told my clotting factors were normal (although I'm struggling to understand how they could have been!) Fingers crossed it'll be okay.

I haven't donated before because I've been underweight and anaemic in the past. I know I'm not anaemic now, or at least I wasn't several months ago. The reason I haven't recently is because, and this is going to sound really pathetic, is that I had real anxiety about it. Not because of needles but I convinced myself they were going to tell me I have HIV, Hep C etc. because I've had contact with bodily fluids of both. Which is stupid because if you have those conditions you'd want to know about it and I know how they're transmitted. The chances of me having either are virtually zero but I had very bad anxiety anyway and that was a part of it. Or that there'd be something wrong with my blood that wasn't picked up, it would be given to someone and cause them problems and I felt really guilty about it! Anxiety is such a weird condition.

Anyway, I've got over that now so am going to be brave and go. (And I had to have my blood tested for a new job a few weeks ago and heard nothing so am assuming I'm fine otherwise would have heard something by now).

ReallyTired I'm not sure why you quoted me in your post... it had nothing to do with whether ME is viral or not. It was me saying that saying "CFS/ME isn't that bad" (to paraphrase) is as ridiculous as saying a leg injury isn't that bad - it could be anything ranging from a stubbed toe to a broken tibia, you can't make that generalisation.

As I said in my earlier post, I know several people with ME ranging from mild fatigue to bed-bound, and none of them have been given a definitive answer for what caused it because they just don't know. It's only because of the possibility that it is caused by a retrowhatsit virus that they have banned people with ME from donating - because, as you say, they can afford to be picky. Thankfully there are plenty of healthy donors .

I live in Ireland and can't donate blood ever here as I lived in UK during CJD years.

I can't because I have NF, so my genes are prone to develop tumors.

Aussie - don't think I've "met" an adult with NF before! DS1 (8) has NF1, doing fine at the moment, apart from dyspraxia!

Wrt cancer, it is important to keep checking. I had a choriocarcinoma in 2003 and was told last year to ring the information line every so often to see whether that particular cancer is still on the list or not, as the guidelines do change.

To Weebarra - waving hands . And your son will probably keep doing fine. I am in my forties and except for a couple of neurofibromas in my joints, it doesn't really affect me. But, I did have some neurofibromas removed from my face as they were growing out of control. Fingers crossed for you, and sorry OP for the hijack.

And in the case of NF, it is a good thing, we are banned from donating.

My only experience of melanoma was with a friend and she was advised not to become pregnant again. I think the hormones can kind of increase the aggressiveness - if it is still present. I don't think you can get an all clear with MM - I think NED (no evidence of disease) is the one to aim for.

People can be NED for years and years and if it's a low stage, most never have a recurrence.

Good luck and don't feel down - you are a better person than me for having given blood in the first place. (I couldn't for many years - probably could now but I veer on the edge of anaemia most of the time, so am too scared to)