What's your blood type?

I'm AB+, the 'universal recipient'. This is the 2nd rarest, roughly 2% of the population.

:hi:

and the vampires are always after me.

:hide:

Really. I give platelets every month and can give more often if needed. If I get sick and miss an appointment, they call every other day to see how I am. I think they will keep me on life support until I am totally drained.

Wow....thank you so much!

I give as well, but not nearly that often.....you are doing the Cadillac of donations......

The platelets are only good for five days...I don't know if anyone ever told you that..but they are...

Mad props to you!

:yourock:

As well as whole blood. Most is voluntary, but also get the designated donation requests they want my blood specifically. In return, I get about an hour or two to read a book or do mindless actvity.

I'd rather give than receive!!!

The Red Cross won't take my blood cuz my boyfriend is bisexual. Nevermind that we're both HIV negative. They don't care about safety in the blood supply, apparently, just pacifying the homophobes. It makes me very sad.

And Mr. DTBK's is B positive (slightly less boring).

It is the second most common type...and I speak as a former blood bank nurse......

Your type is important, IMHO.....


:hi:

One of my parents was O; I can't remember if it was Mom or Dad. The other was A positive.

I've heard that O-neg is rare. Is it?

:hi:

According to the American Red Cross the distribution of blood types is as follows:

O Rh-positive: 38 percent
O Rh-negative: 7 percent
A Rh-positive: 34 percent
A Rh-negative: 6 percent
B Rh-positive: 9 percent
B Rh-negative: 2 percent
AB Rh-positive: 3 percent
AB Rh-negative: 1 percent

That's sort of cool.

I love reading about blood typing stats. How nerdy is that?

O positive here.

we can come through for each other in a pinch! I'm A+ too. And so nearby! :D

FSC

:shrug:

:cry:

:hi:

As you undoubtedly know, ABneg is the RAREST type......

I don't know if this scares you, or pleases you...but it is the truth!

I always feel privileged whenever I know someone with a rare blood type...

I know, I'm weird.....but in a nice way!

:hi:

Unfortunately, I can't donate. I have Hepatitis C.

Does that make you feel less privileged? ;)

And NOT because it makes you ineligible to donate......

But because it puts your health at risk......

And NO I do not feel less privileged......I am honored that you chose to tell me something so private......

Silly girl.......:hug: :loveya:

Actually, I should be taking WAY better care of myself, but still. You should not be worried. ATC, my health is very good. :hug:

So you can be privileged to know me as well.

you have!

And it is good to know it...just in case of emergency, or if you ever have a child....

But you undoubtedly already know that!

Good to see you today!



:)

I used to be a regular donor before my surgery in March.

It took me awhile to find out I didn't have a transfusion, which I thought might preclude me from donating. Yay!

Now...to the next matter. Do you know if Betaseron injections would preclude me from donating? They're the shots I take for MS; some sort of natural or artifical protein. And they're subcutaneous, not into the vein.

The Blood Bank called awhile back, and I told them about it to check on it; the girl didn't know and said she'd get back to me. I never heard anything.

Since I'm A+, I'm sure they want my ass in there if at all possible.
FSC

You have stumped me....I really don't know..never heard of it!

Sometimes the thing that defers people is not the medication, but the underlying disease...

So the question to ask yourself is how long have you had the MS, and has it ever been a problem when you went in to donate before?

You might have to just go in and find out the hard way..unless you can get them to respond to your phone call.....

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!


:hug:

Haven't been in to donate since I got diagnosed, since I didn't know if it would automatically preclude me. I mean, technically, it's a disease of the nervous system and not the blood, but I wasn't sure about all that.

It appears that not many people know of the effects and drug interactions of this medication.

I'm also having problems getting a straight answer on the BC pill my OB/GYN doc put me on to shut down my remaining ovary. I was off it for a month or so because of the IV steroid I had to take for the MS, and now no one can tell me if I should keep taking it or not.

GETTING OLD SUCKS! Can you believe I was healthy as a horse until March? My warranty has definitely expired this year.

Thanks for trying, though! I appreciate it!
FSC

It's a convenient type to have, because one can receive blood from almost everyone (other than AB+).

It is also a universal plasma donor, or so I understand. Everytime I give blood, they tell me "thanks, but you really ought to be giving plasma instead."

It's true that they need the plasma from your type of blood...

Why, I don't know...

But the ultimate choice is YOURS...don't let them shove you where you don't want to go....

:yourock:

:hi:

to ALL who donate.

I'm here because of possibly one of you... :shrug:

I actually know what that means....

Were you a match for someone? Did you do apheresis?

I do apheresis, and I've been HLA typed....but alas, I've never matched anyone.....

And now, it just occurs to me...I am too old to be a bone marrow donor...

Once you get past 61, they throw you off the registry...alas.......

Still, good for you!

:yourock:

There's a chemo patient somewhere who matches my HLA type. I haven't got a specific call about that in a while, so I suppose that person either got better or died. I'm gonna tell myself they got better. :) It's kinda neat in a bittersweet way that something good came out of my pregnancy losses pre-LeftyKid, without them I couldn't be an HLA donor and some very sick person wouldn't be able to get the closely matched blood they need. Those early miscarriages may have saved somebody's life.

I've wanted to get typed for marrow, but the blood bank charges to do it so I'm waiting for the next time some groupd sponsors free testing.

I've never done apheresis, so far I'm a whole blood donor exclusively. The blood bank has a chart by blood type of how they prefer people donate and they have the O+s as whole blood. Of course if they wanted me to do plasma or platelets instead I'd give it a shot. I like donating, I fill up the bag real quick and go eat, the pop quiz about whether I've eaten mad cow beef with an african hooker takes longer than the rest of it. :)

bone marrow program.....

I'm surprised that no-one has told you this......

Sounds like you have really good veins.....

Good for you, however you donate...We need more folks like yourself..



:toast:

I'll ask about that next time I'm in. I think maybe the lady I asked about it forgot they had my HLA type, I just asked about it on my way out one day.

I did fill up that bag in record time though last time I did :-)

I've been meaning to head over to the local health clinic near my office and donate at lunch time... Do you know how long the recovery time from donation is? Does it effect exercise, etc? (yea, it's been a while!!)

The donor is asked to remain at the canteen for at least 15 minutes, and to have some juice, cookies and whatnot, to help the blood sugar rise.

They don't want you to faint in the parking lot...and yes, this has happened...As for exercise, you will most likely be told not to do anything that could put you or others at risk...and to not lift anything heavy with the donating arm...that could cause a bruise.

Most people feel fine right after donating...You should eat a couple of hours before donating...NOT right before...That's because when you eat, your stomach gets first call on the blood. After a little while, things ease up a bit, and the stomach can spare it....

Those are the basics, as I remember them....

And, THANK YOU!

:woohoo:

A-

you zombies just live on BRAINS!!!!!!!

:D
FSC

BWAHAHA!

When I was in the car accident, that's what the nurse said. "smart bllod." A +!

:)

:hi:

Grade A all the way.

It's the vampire blood group, ya know ;)

I've never known. And since I very rarely visit a doctor, I guess I probably won't. Vampires are flipping me off all the time.

and then you'll get a donor card...then you'll know........

Just sayin'.......



:hi:

Seriously.

I've had blood tests before but I don't know if they've typed me. I would think that they would want to have that info on file, but I don't think that they do.
I know from my baby book that my mother is A+ and my father is B+. I thought that this would mean that I am AB+, but it turns out that it means that I could be anything.
I cannot be a blood donor because of my weight and since I don't like needles, the thought of donating blood when I hit the donor criteria weight would probably discourage me from gaining weight, which I need to do.

:D

..0+ and I have the lack of some blood enzyme that allows my whole blood donation to be used for newborn babies...


Tikki

Or something else?

CMVneg means that you haven't had that particular virus...which is lethal to premies.....


:hi:

I'm prohibited from donating in the US, because I lived in the UK for over six months during the mad cow scare. Consequently, I've never donated blood before, and never bothered to find out my type, either.

in case you're ever in an accident or something.

My mom swore up and down on a stck of bibles my whole life that I had negative blood (because hers is negative).

She didn't know which kind I had, but knew it was negative. Turned out the first time I donated, I requested to know which kind. It's A+.

Turns out when she had my brother, my dad authorized some sort of injection for her that allowed her to carry a kid with a different Rh factor or something, so she had me with no danger.

But if I'd been in an accident and they asked me what kind of blood I had, I would have told them negative something. Might have had some problems!

FSC

I see the vampires about once every six months to check my lithium levels-- next time I'll have them check it just for peace of mind.

Thanks for the tip! :hi:

Whenever a patient needs blood, the lab automatically types the patient....ALWAYS!


Even if you have a donor card, I believe the lab still retypes your blood, in case you have some minor factors that could affect what you receive....

So not to worry.....:hi:

It says a lot about me.

they will tell you later what you have.

x(

If you go in to donate again, tell them you never got your donor card AGAIN.....

The donor form should have your type on it...since this is known internally..at least with the Red Cross.....

Sorry!

:shrug:

My school has a blood drive every year so I was planning on going to the next one. Maybe I'll find out this time.

See my post above. I don't weigh enough to donate blood.

It's not a problem for any lab.....

Are you less than 110 pounds? That's the weight limit.....

:hi:

To be healthy, I am supposed to weigh more than that, but I am working on it.
I have had blood tests at the doctor's office several times. I would think that they would want to have that on file, but I don't think that they have that on my file.

Carl Sagan remarked that every American seems to know their sign, but that fewer know something more practical and scientific as their blood type. We did ours in HS biology, but I already knew that mine was AO- because of my history of blood problems.

There isn't any Cneg....just sayin'........


Did you check your PM? I did have a question.......thanks.....


:shrug:

I had to step away...sorry, didn't get the message.x(

but...i'm not 100% sure.

on more than one occasion sent people out to give me a ride so that I can give a transfusion. I have no idea why I became a VIP in these instances, but I can only guess that I have special powers and you mere mortals should be bowing down to me as we speak. (Nah, nuu, nah nuu). :)

I can't give every 56 days or whatever because if I do it more than 2 x per year I get anemic.

I missed the last blood drive because we were going to Wyoming the following week and I personally needed all the red blood cells I could get my hands on before I went to those high altitudes.

However, I plan to drop by the Blood Center and donate in the near future. They call me all the time anyway.

If you have ever: had surgery, been pregnant or admitted to a hospital, most likely your blood was typed. Should be easy enough to find it out through whatever medical facility you used. In some states the required blood tests for a marriage license include typing for both partners.

Used to be you had to have your blood type for a US Passport; don't know if that is true any more.

My dad was O+ and my mom was O-; I am O+ and so is my youngest sister; she was typed and crossmatched before the cord was cut; in 1961 they did not have RhoGam and she might have needed a transfusion if she had been an O-. I am not sure of my other sister's blood type.

Are babies routinely typed at birth now? I know that I knew very early on that my daughter's blood was 0+.

One of the most common types. I'd be useful in GIVING blood with this type.

Kind of a personal motto, too. :P

I'd say, as a personal motto, that it fits you extremely well.....


:woohoo: :hug:

;-)

:hi:

Is this on my drivers license maybe??? This is something I should know, but I know I cant remember. :(

You would think I would know at age 37 but I don't. I should probably ask at my next doctor appointment.

:evilgrin:

No contest here. :D

I was so disappointed to hear that as a kid. I wanted to have one of those exotic AB's or the mysterious A-.

Sigh. I didn't have many friends.