Blood donation record states my gender is female

[TinaBarrow]

I've just received my letter for my blood donation appointment. On the back page is my blood donation record. It gives my name, title, DOB, blood group, donor no and says my gender is female.

But I don't have a gender and never have had one! They don't seem to want to know/care what sex I am.

So I've phoned them up and the very kind call-centre person has completed a complaint for me: I'd definitely encourage others to do the same.

I have been pregnant but have never given birth. I can't remember what they asked but I assume it included people like me.

As some no-mark person once said:

"Enjoy your erasure"

As most transing people (UK) are females to 'males', they'll be giving blood/body parts (new donation law coming in next year) to males who will die as a result (If people are going to be recorded as the sex they are not) Tragic and avoidable.

When this starts affecting men...

It's potentially important on school flu vaccination forms, esp if looking at uptake and symptoms:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4157517/

Good for you OP. I have no doubt that many transpeople will answer the question with their gender identity rather than their sex. Why wouldn't they? It's what the question asks after all.

It should not be assumed that trans donors know about the potentially lethal consequences of cross sex blood donation. That's the blood service's job to avoid. So the question should clearly ask the donor's bio sex.

Does anyone know whether blood is routinely sex-tested or if that is even possible?

This cross sex blood being a danger is untrue. Blood is not stored as male or female. Blood is cross matched with a recipient to ensure that there are no antibodies reacting against the recipients blood - whether the donor or recipient is male or female

I complained and was told that the gender rather than sex data collection by the NHS was a central decision by NHS digital. All the databases have gender and no one seems to have a reason why this is the one protected characteristic not routinely collected by the NHS.

How dare these institutions assume that I have a gender. I don't. I have a sex.

Similarminimer, so is the post pregnancy blood actually not a risk to men? Or would any incompatibility due to previous pregnancy be flagged at the point of matching for antibiodies? I seem to have misunderstood this.

Just received a response to my feedback to National Blood Donor service about them confusing sex with gender:

"Currently all donors are requested to select a sex when they register to donate. This is important for NHSBT as there are certain products that we cannot make from donors who were born female due to possible antibodies. In 2020, we will be giving all donors the option of choosing not to declare a gender when they register and instead of just having a M/F on the donor health check, there will be an additional option of x. For safety, again any donor who presents with an x will not be selected for specific blood products.

We did used to have the word “sex” on the donor health check rather than “gender” but this was not liked by donors and the wording was changed a few years ago. Although, this word does not suit all donors, it appears to be better tolerated so this is what we use now. I am sorry if this is a problem for you but do not think the word will be changing until we have an electronic health check which will hopefully happen in the next 5 years."

Gender sounds so much nicer and less icky than ‘sex’...

My daughter’s recent blood test paperwork pleasingly read ‘sex -female’ (paediatric oncology). I can’t recall if it ever said ‘gender’ in the past but I have had to cross it out and write in ‘sex’ on other hospital paperwork (psychologist, dietician, Ronald McDonald House).

I’ve not been to the doctor for anything that wasn’t related to my sex in well over a decade (genetic testing for ovarian cancer, mammograms, smear, coil change etc etc) and the only place I have had to fill in paperwork was at the sexual health clinic, where they asked for sex and had an extra tick section for various trans categories - a sensible data collection in those circumstances. They have separate waiting areas for men and women though, so not sure what they do with people who tick the non-binary box.
I think we just have to keep on correcting whenever we encounter ‘gender’ instead of sex, especially in a medical setting and particularly now that there is increasing evidence for a need for a sex-specific approach to various illnesses and conditions.

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Also, MASSIVE THANK YOUS to everyone reading this who has donated blood or who is considering donating- I cannot because I received blood 20 years ago.
You lovely people have not only helped me, but also my daughter (who had an absolute shedload of ‘cryoprecipitate’ while in PICU) and my daughter’s best hospital friend who received her 110th (yes, one hundred and tenth!) blood transfusion last week, aged just 8. ❤️

(Those of us prohibited for blood donation due to receiving blood can still register to donate bone marrow and stem cells - www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now)

there are certain products that we cannot make from donors who were born female due to possible antibodies. In 2020, we will be giving all donors the option of choosing not to declare a gender when they register and instead of just having a M/F on the donor health check, there will be an additional option of x. For safety, again any donor who presents with an x will not be selected for specific blood products.

And what about the female humans who identify as male and thus tick the ‘M’ box? An option of ‘X’ is hardly going to give the impression that accuracy in sex recording is important!

I am so confused...

perhaps all these individual circumstances arent always listed on a website as it would make it too long for people to read and if you have different circumstances you can contact them and ask how you will be treated
I have just looked at the blood donation website, its large. I put trans in the search, only transplants came up. They could in fact add this important stuff, especially as people can die.
And still gender is unimportant as sex is what matters. So either ask sex or ask nothing.

Slightly OT but DuMondeB I am so sorry your daughter (and you, and the rest of your loved ones) are going through such a difficult time. I try to keep track of the regulars here but somehow missed this completely. and strength to you and your little girl.

Dumonde 💐

And for your wee girl 💐

The Red Cross in the US started going by self-gender-ID which is crazy in my opinion. I don't know why that didn't cause a scandal or outrage from gay men, who are banned unless they abstain 12 months from sex, but NOT if one of them self-IDs as a woman. Despite transwomen having the same (higher actually, because of sex work) HIV rates as gay men. Meanwhile two transmen having sex with each other are banned, even though that's the lowest risk.

SetYourself

Your post belongs on EVERY discussion pertaining to Sex Self-Id. Every one of them. People will die. People HAVE died to due this ideology.

It's part of the reason why transvestites and trans-sexuals who continue to acknowledge their sex (in biology, socially and in law) are called "scum" or "truscum" by transgenderists.

Thanks FWR buddies! She’s in remission now and back at school full time so apart from the crippling health related anxiety we’re more or less back to normal (well, new normal).

In our year of more or less living at the children’s hospital we learned that boys are more likely to develop Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia* (most common childhood leukaemia) and need a longer treatment duration (2 years for girls and 3 for boys).

And no, being ‘non binary’ doesn’t mean treatment lasts 2.5 years 😂

*my daughter has a weird ‘orphan disease’ rather than leukaemia but the treatments are similar so she sees leukaemia doctors and attends leukaemia clinics.