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Type 1 and donating blood etc

L3wisr

Well-Known Member
is there anything similar to the above type 1's can do? I've looked into donating blood, bone marrow etc and when reading up about it I found that it's just not possible. Is his the case in most instances?
 
I was turned away as they didn't want type 1s on insulin. That was over 20 years ago though, and looking at @urbanracer 's link it looks as if I can!

When I registered for a donor card I (naively) asked if my organs would still be useful, and was delighted to learn that they would.

 
There's no clinical reason why type 1 diabetics can't give blood. I think some US states will let type 1s donate. The link above for the American Red Cross suggests it's fine. It's just the uk blood service has decided not to and their guidence says anyone treated with insulin is not an eligible blood donor - https://my.blood.co.uk/knowledgebase/Index/D - I would guess for litigation risk reasons. I would think its the same for bone marrow.

Other than blood and bone marrow, what else are you trying to donate? Organs? Well you can sign up to be an organ donor. Live organ donation is obviously limited for everyone usually to a kidney or maybe a lobe of liver and I don't thing they would let a healthy type 1 donate a kidney because there's a strong risk of kidney failure in diabetics, so at some point in the future it might be a donation that would be regretted.
 
I just looked this up for the Netherlands, and they give medical reasons for not allowing insulin dependent diabetics.

In summary, they need to take a specific amount of blood from someone when they donate. The combination of lower blood volume, potential loss of consciousness and potential low bloodsugar values can be very unsafe for everyone involved. This is why well controlled individuals who are only on tablets can donate, but insulin dependent diabetics cannot.

I don't know how much of this is true and how much of it is covering their behinds legally, but it seems like a logical explanation to me. Maybe in the US they monitor patients during the procedure differently that allows them to donate?
 
I donated blood every three months before being diagnosed. When the donation service told me I could no-longer donate, I asked why and they said it would be too much of a risk to me - I can't exactly remember the reason why. They did say, though, that they'd keep me on a list in case the medical advice on donations changed.
 
Type 1 can't donate blood in Ireland either. Main reason given is low blood sugar after the event. Have they never heard of Lucozade?!
 
They don't want my blood either due to my chemo and radiation treatment, strangely, they did accept me onto the organ donor registry.
 
So it does seem that the ban on donating for type ones is only based on an increased risk for the type one donor..

oh well...
 
When I asked, I was told it was due to possible passing on of Type 1 triggers - that is, either some as yet unidentified virus or something that triggered the auto immune antibodies.
 
azure said:
When I asked, I was told it was due to possible passing on of Type 1 triggers - that is, either some as yet unidentified virus or something that triggered the auto immune antibodies.
Click to expand...

So we're all a festering bag of auto immune trigger happy antibodies yet to be discovered or categorised! love it!
 
slip said:
So we're all a festering bag of auto immune trigger happy antibodies yet to be discovered or categorised! love it!
Click to expand...

Yes, it made me a bit grumpy to hear that! I felt 'tainted' for a while, but now don't really think about it or take offence.
 
I personally would love to give blood having had a few pints myself curtesy of the NHS a few years back, but as i've already had a transfusion as well as being type 1 rules me out completely, however type 2's on medication are ok to give blood. This was the advice I was given when I enquired.
 
I rang the blood service to check and they said it was because there is an increased risk of having a hypo after donating. There is an increased risk of having a hypo after pretty much anything we do - so perhaps the NHS is being a little over-cautious on this one.
 
It seems like we're limited to being organ donors as T1's.

I raised the concept with a friend who is a doctor, that my blood is probably going to be of more use now than my organs may be after living with T1 for (hopefully) a very long time...

Her reply was: "that's alright, your skin should be fine..." If you can't laugh, you'll cry
 
I'm wondering where is the harm in letting people with type 1 donate blood for research purposes only, say to those places that are looking into the causes of diabetes or is this just a silly question? I mean only if the blood can be donated safely without harm to the donor. I just think it unfair to penalise diabetics that want contribute and help other people in this way
 

That's a slightly different matter. I've donated blood to research projects, but the amount was much smaller. Also, of course, there was no recipient.
 
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