Chest of Colors forum

Good job Demi! (And be nice about the nurse. ALWAYS be nice about the person sticking a large needle in you. Makes for good karma. )

Wish I could still donate. Unfortunately, living in England when I did as long as I did makes me not eligible anymore.

living in England when I did as long as I did makes me not eligible anymore

wtf? are they afraid of mad cow disease or what? do they think your blood is spoiled by english food?

I've heard you mustnt give blood donations when you were in a malaria region...maybe england got a lot warmer recently? ^^

there are regions of the world where You can get some blood-illness but can't remember I saw england there;
anyway - sorry to hear You cannot donate - there's no greater fun than spending 5-7 minutes with steel rod in the vein

Nameless wrote:wtf? are they afraid of mad cow disease or what? do they think your blood is spoiled by english food?

Basically, yes. They told me that because they don't know how all it might be transmitted and because there is no test to be able to see if you're carrying it, etc., that no one who lived in England from something like 1979 to 1996 for more than 3 months (might be less now) is allowed to donate blood in the US. I check every now and again and am told it hasn't changed. Haven't checked in a while, though.

so, are they afraid of mad cow disease or english food? both are dangerous for health

Apparently they're afraid of mad cow, but they're afraid you might be able to get it through the food. Something about they don't even know if a beef burger got cooked and the grease from it mixed with what some chips got fried in later could you then get it from the "contaminated" grease? They just don't know anything about the transmission capabilities and there's no tests... *sigh*

do you know if these regulations apply to the whole Europe (and world?). Mad cow disease was found not only in England, chicken (bird?) flu is spread across the world.

You can always cheat them LE - I'm sure they have don't check everyone who wants to donate...


@Nameless: before You donate you have to fill the form and one of question is if You've been in mentioned countries