Donating blood

Yep no blood or bone marrow. Organs however there is a movement to lower the stringency for organ transplants (not just any organs but if they function well but don't fill current criteria they are not used but some campaigners are trying to get this changed on the basis that so many people are dying waiting for organs). Quite annoying as I've always wanted to donate blood and get a lecture on the benefits maybe once a week from people encouraging others to donate who refuse to believe I know I can't give.....
 
I once emailed the blood donation organisation asking the same question: can I give blood if I have type 1 diabetes.
They came back with the answer along the lines of
"There is no reason why anyone with diabetes cannot give blood as long as your diabetes is not treated with insulin."

So, yep, you can give blood as long as you are not treating your diabetes :banghead:

Shame because, before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was too scared of needles to give blood but now it's second nature.
 
Has anyone had an answer as to why we're not allowed to donate blood? I once tried as well as I had no idea I wasn't allowed being diabetic, only to be sent away without explanation. I'd be quite curious to know.
 
It does seem a little odd. At the end of the day, insulin users will have insulin circulating in the blood - but so will non-diabetics. The only difference being one sort is artificial, the other sort is natural.
 
Is it to do with the HBa1c? Being ours (T1) is usually higher than a non diabetics, and us healing more slowly etc.

Organ transplant's simple I guess, more chance of damage with ours....
 
kev-w said:
Is it to do with the HBa1c? Being ours (T1) is usually higher than a non diabetics, and us healing more slowly etc.

Organ transplant's simple I guess, more chance of damage with ours....
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Not all of them though surely? I can understand kidneys and eyes and stuff, but heart/lungs/brains/etc?
 
Again at a guess I'd say time is of an essence when a transplant becomes available, the organ has a finite lifespan once removed, not enough time to check for damage so not using is the default position.

Not something I know much about but I've a customer who was a T1 and had the pancreas/kidney transplant a few years back and we still have the "what's your blood sugar" joke.
 
I thought the reasons were for safety of the type one..........

If they are taking blood out of us then they will also be taking out any insulin we have given ourselves......

with bolus calculators and pumps and CGM the risk caused by giving blood is significantly reduced I would say, so probably needs updated..
 
As a diet controlled T2 I regularly donate blood, but family members who are on insulin cant. My sister as told it was because donating blood can make it more difficult for insulin dependent diabetics to control their levels for few days after donation. I do know that it can affect my HbA1C if I have the test shortly after donating.
However the rules on donating blood do change (now allow people with hemochromotosis to donate) so hopefully in the future the rules will change to allow well controlled T1 and insulin T2's to donate too.
 
Yes I suppose I never considered the actual risk to ourselves!! I used to give blood all the time but found it very annoying when I was diagnosed that I may not be able to donate.
 
There's no clinical reason why a type 1 can't give blood. Other countries will take blood from type 1 donors. I think it's just a litigation risk thing. And given that America will take blood from type 1s the litigation risk has probably been over estimated.
 
Lynz84 said:
Hi guys

Are we allowed to donate blood??
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I asked at my hospital clinic appointment a few years back. My Consultant looked totally confused and told me no one had ever asked that question before. He said he needed to know for himself and rushed out of the room to ask. He came back and informed me that the answer was no.
 
I was told that a type 1's blood is "sticky" - doesn't matter how controlled you are but it just is, and therefore this is the main reason why we cannot donate. There is a plastic "snow shaker" gadget in my hospital diabetic unit and one side has water in it with little crystals and they float around easily and on the other side, there's obviously something in it much thicker, so the little crystal pieces take their time moving around and are much, much slower. A DSN explained that this was to show the differences in a non diabetic's and a diabetics blood consistency and our blood is known to be "sticky".
 
I was told as a type 1 on insulin we can't donate because of the risk to ourselves not the person receiving the blood, people can accept our blood but us losing the amount donated or more results in 'dramatic' loss to our BS levels and makes it harder to recover from or something like that. It was a nurse that told me but I don't know how much of it is true.
 
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