Blood transfusion has rendered my body parts useless!

[Marthasmama]

I had a blood transfusion after the birth of DD as I lost a lot of blood. Now I can't give blood, can't donate milk to a milk bank and possibly would be rejected as an organ donor . I believe that it is something to do with CJD but it's a bit worrying! Am I alright to feed my own baby? Why am I suddenly a reject just because I needed a blood transfusion? Surely they test the blood and they've known about CJD for years now. Feel like a leper and that maybe I should walk around ringning a little bell..[sad}.

You can't properly test for vCJD in blood at the moment, though. They have discussed just screening blood when/if a test becomes available. The chances you are a carrier of vCJD are extremely small (and I don't really get why, if you were living in the UK and eating meat throughout the 1980s, a single blood transfusion has put you at any significantly increased risk).

I live in Belgium and I'm not allowed to give blood because I lived in England, due to the 'risk' of madcow.

Their loss.

It doesn't make sense. If you can't give blood because of the risk of CJD then the person who gave blood for your transfusion can't be at risk of CJD can they?

belgo I'm in the same boat - can't give blood in Spain because of risk of CJD.

*people I mean not person

I know when I looked into it, as DD1 had a blood transfusion when she was born, and she can't give blood, be a donor etc either

Well, they can be at the same (unquantified but pretty small) risk of it that you are. So I suppose it could be considered that your risk doubles. Or if you have five or six units from five or six different people then it increases by a factor of five or six. But that's all very speculative.

Belgo - I didn't realise that! They do blood drives at work and I have been building up courage after having a major panic attack the last time. I guess they won't want mine either...?

Yes I feel a bit like this
God knows how many people's blood I had, many litres of the stuff

I try not to think about it

Tis scary though! I hardly ever eat red meat and never really have since I was very little, so I suspect that before the transfusion my risk was much lower. No point moaning, I needed the blood, so what can you do?!

nothing!

A small risk of something like vCJD is, after all, better than being dead (which was my other option)

I feel a bit like that too as I had a blood transfusion after DS was born.

I used to donate blood and am a bit that I can't anymore.

I knew about the blood donation but not that we werent allowed to be organ donors at all - is that true?

I think they make a judgement but there is a possiblity that they won't allow you to donate your organs. So it's still worth being on the register! I was annoyed about the milk bank as I have loads of milk and wanted to do something useful with it.

but if you gave the recipient/recipients family a choice and said you can have this organ but there is the tiniest chance of CJD they are not going to hesitate for a second are they...

I didn't know this - as I've had a transfusion will I NEVER be allowed to give blood? Or is there a time limit?

I think it is never - at least at the moment.

From the website it would appear - NEVER! You can do a questionnaire thingy. I only went on there to find out what the minimum weight is and accidentally discovered that I cannot ever give blood!

who can't give blood

Yes i would say that you should be able to donate organs if the person receiving them is aware.

I mean, when you have a blood transfusion you have no idea - they don't screen the blood for CJD do they? So you are taking the same risk there. But given the option of the blood/organ or death I know that most people would take a chance

Prior to 1996 we have all been exposed to CJD/vCJD at some time, either through the food chain, medical instruments including dentistry, vaccinations etc. For more upto date information on this subject check out the justiceforandy website. There is a blood test screening kit made by a company called Amorfix, currently they are used in France to screen all donated blood, but not in the UK which is classed as a high risk nation!
If you have to have any blood products check the packaging as it will no doubt carry a vCJD disclaimer. I would be very nervous if I had to have a blood transfusion because what we are basically being told is that anyone born before 1996 most likely has the vCJD prions in their bodies, thats a lot of people. Ask you local MP what they plan to do about this as it is unfair to protect the under 14 year olds and not the rest of us.

www.justiceforandy.com

I shouldnt give blood cos i have tattoos

Here's a quote from The Guardian magazine 2001:

BSE IS PROBABLY THE MOST CYNICAL ACT OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE EVER WAGED AGAINST A CIVILIAN POPULATION BY A WESTERN GOVERNMENT"

There are many things that we are not being told and we are innocently unaware of what is going on, until of course it affects us i.e blood transfusions, we then discover that this is actually more worrying that we ever thought. The fact that somebody who lived in the UK during a certain time cannot donate blood or their organs in their own country sums it up! Why we can't have Amorfix blood testing kits in use is quite frankly unbelievable.

I can't give blood cos of my psoriatic arthritis. I had it for years before they decided that though.