Another problem with O- blood donors here are that a lot are classed as too old. I know at least 2 others here in this province besides myself that have O- blood, however, as we are all around the 60 year old mark or more, I believe that we will not be accepted because of age, or previous illness. When I first came here in the late '80's, I was a regular blood donor for Silliman medical, often donating up to 4 units a year, when I was home from work, I still have my card that they issued. With such a comparatively rare group, when in an emergency where someone's life is in danger, I feel that the rules should be changed, but then I'm not doctor, so what the **** do I know. (Anyway, three of us have an agreement, if any of the others are in need of blood we will donate, to save life, despite what Silliman, the Phil Red Cross or whoever else says otherwise).
Too old to donate blood? NY Times article says used to be true http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/too-old-to-donate-blood/?_r=0 yet Philippine Red Cross still used age 65 How to Donate while the American Red Cross only has a minimum age Blood Donation Eligibility Requirements | American Red Cross
I am A+. When I tried to give blood at Holy Child, they would not take it as I am over 60. They only told me this after a test my blood, for which I was charged.
I think that you will find that this is applicable only to Filipinos. When I once tried to donate blood there, about 10 years ago, having tired of SUMC, they told me that if I had left the country within a certain period of time prior to donation, they could not accept it. I fear that they think that we(foreigners) all carry HIV or some such condition etc, or perhaps they couldn't be bothered to collect it.
Hmmmmmmmm I am very surprised they told you who donated, they normally keep this to themselves to save a Comeback if things go wrong. Donors are usually kept under anonymous status
I have Hemochromotosis and asked Siliman if I was able to donate Blood (in the case somebody desperately needed A+ Blood) and was told a BIG NO! Just curious so Googled why not and found the *following which makes some sense at their level of thinking, but no sense if someone desperately needed a donation to save their life... *The American Red Cross, which controls about 45% of the nation's blood supply, does not currently accept donations from people with known hemochromatosis. Everyone agrees that the blood is safe and of high quality. There is no risk of passing on a genetic disease through blood transfusions. But the Red Cross has a long-standing policy that potential donors are not allowed to receive direct compensation for their donation (beyond the usual orange juice and cookie). Because people with hemochromatosis would otherwise have to pay for their therapeutic phlebotomies, they would in effect be getting something of value for being able to donate for free. Thus the Red Cross has ruled that such donations violate their policy. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations do permit hemochromatosis patients to donate blood, but with some special restrictions on how the blood is marked and how the blood banks operate. As a consequence, few blood blanks in the US currently accept blood from people with hemochromatosis, and most of the blood given as a result of therapeutic phlebotomy is discarded. (People with hemochromatosis who wish to donate blood should check to see if any blood banks in their area will accept their donations.) This is not true in other countries, which have generally removed any restrictions on this blood. The American Medical Association and many other groups have advocated for removal of restrictions for the acceptance of blood donations from people with hemochromatosis.
