If you're going to Buffycon, do me a favour.

[camwyn]

Bring a couple of forms of ID and load up on your iron during the week beforehand. Yours truly is running the blood drive - at least, from the fan side - and I'd really appreciate it if you agreed to lie down and bleed.

The Buffycon blood drive is on Saturday, 14 June, from 11 AM to 4 PM. We've got eight people signed up to give so far (including yours truly). I recognise that those of y'all who observe Jewish regs regarding the Sabbath aren't gonna be able to do it, so you Gentiles out there are gonna have to pick up the slack. We'll be taking all the major blood groups, although those of you who're AB+ may want to opt out - you're Universal Receiver, but the only people who can use your blood are other AB+ people. Everyone else, if you're coming, give the blood drive consideration. Just be aware that they'll ask you questions which might result in your deferral. The usual ones involve behavior that might put you at risk of HIV or Hepatitis C infection, but there's a few others:


Had a piercing in the last twelve months? How about acupuncture or a tattoo? Acupuncture might not be a problem if the practitioner used one-time-only disposable needles, but I'm not sure about the regs on the other two.

Been to Europe in the last couple of years for longer than a few months? Or the UK? One month total in that time, fine, or even two months, but longer than that and they start worrying about possible BSE / vCJD.

Taking Accutane, for really bad acne? How about Proscar, for your prostate? Or any medicine whose generic name is finasteride? These drugs are kinda nasty if they get into someone else's bloodstream.

17 years old or older? Weigh more than 110 pounds? We can't do younger without permission from your folks, and anyone under 110 pounds needs every pint they've got.


There's lots of other reasons but people don't always know about those. Figured I'd head it off at the pass.

Anyway, those of you who can honestly say 'no' to the above questions and who have no history of blood, heart, or iron problems - and who aren't barred from doing so by religious law or custom - please, come on down to Buffycon in Saddlebrook, NJ on 14 June. Bring your driver's license. They'll poke you with a needle and cover it up so you don't have to see it, they'll take a pint of your blood, they'll use it for someone who needs it, and you'll get a cookie. Or brownies. Or something - they're pretty good about feeding you afterwards, and if you tell them you've never given before they'll all but stuff the cookies and juice down your throat.

Be aware that I've asked the bloodmobile crew to dress up like vampires for the occasion. This might just be fangs, but hey, you never know, right?

Comments

[pelogrande.livejournal.com]

I think you also get denied if you've ever had a conversation with someone who's been to Africa, though the actual details escape me.

[camwyn]

From the official documents:

"There is a rare form of HIV called Type O that is found in western Africa. The available tests for HIV do not always detect the Type O strain. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep this virus out of the blood supply by not taking blood donations from those who have been where the virus is found.

Persons who were born in or lived in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger and Nigeria since 1977 cannot be blood donors. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for supervising the safety of the American blood supply, put this requirement in place in 1996. The requirement applies to all blood donation programs, including that of the American Red Cross. The list of countries with HIV Type O risk is based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where experts monitor infections worldwide."

Other African countries are fine, and by 'close contact' they mean 'had sex with, shared blood with, or otherwise swapped fluids with'.

[cadhla.livejournal.com]

Much though I would like a cookie, there's a small 'hi, two months in the UK every time I can possibly swing it' problem.

Alas.

[camwyn]

Sweetheart, I automatically assumed you wouldn't be donating. One of the things they do is poke you with a lancet in either the finger or the ear (usually the finger) and milk you for a couple millilitres of blood, which they then run through a machine to test for iron. You generally have the wacky iron count anyway, whether too high or too low. I had figured you wouldn't be eligible even if you lived your entire life on the Heart Healthy Cardiac Diet Ranch in Eula, Nebraska.

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

What are the current regulations for a male who's had homosexual relations? (My last gay relation was in 1997.)

Even if I've been tested for HIV (multiple times, all negative) and Hepatitis (all negative) since?

[camwyn]

Unfortunately, having looked up the regs, I now have to grind my teeth until they fall out of my head. The FDA has declared that if you've had sex with another man since 1977, you count as increased risk of HIV. You will be turned away from any blood donation agency if you tell them that you've had sex with another guy since 1977, even if you only did it once. If you're a woman, and you had sex with a man who's had sex with another man since 1977, you have to wait 12 months from your last sexual contact before they'll let you donate. I'm really sorry; they don't accept prior clean blood test results. As soon as they find out you've had homosexual relations with a man since 1977, you are to be deferred.

Here's the full entry from the Red Cross' website:

"Those who are at increased risk for becoming infected with HIV are not eligible to donate blood. According to the Food and Drug Administration, you are at increased risk if:

* you are a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once;
* you have ever used a needle, even once, to take drugs or steroids that were not prescribed by a physician;
* you have taken clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia;
* you were born in or lived in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria since 1977 (This requirement is related to concerns about HIV Group O. Learn more about HIV Group O.)
* you have taken drugs or money in exchange for sex since 1977;
* you have ever had a positive test for HIV virus;
* you have symptoms of HIV infection including unexplained weight loss, night sweats, blue or purple spots on or under the skin, long-lasting white spots or unusual sores in your mouth, lumps in your neck, armpits, or groin that last more than a month, fever higher than 99 degrees that lasts more than 10 days, diarrhea lasting over a month, or persistent cough and shortness of breath;

Wait for 12 months after close contact with someone who is at an increased risk for HIV infection. This occurs when paying to have sex, as a result of rape, or when having sex with an IV drug user."

I'm sorry. Like I said, soon as they find out, they send you home. Any blood organization would, not just the Red Cross.

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

I hate not being able to donate. But they won't take my blood because of the medication I'm on (Depacote--I take it for mood regulation, but it's also anti-seizure). Apparently, they don't want to make people who might have seizure disorders woozy.

Not even a doctor's note saying I don't actually HAVE a seizure disorder gets me through. Pisses me off. Grrrr.

Hope you get lots and lots of people!

[antinats.livejournal.com]

New Jersey? are you a Nets fan??

Re:

[camwyn]

Not really. My sister's the big basketball nut in this family.

Re:

[antinats.livejournal.com]

just wondered, because i live in San Antonio...

Re:

[camwyn]

Ah, perfectly reasonable question, then. Nah, if I get excitable about anything sports-wise, it's NY baseball.