9-23-06/ Abel's Story

[Weleho Rogan]

some people just don't get fat 

I have always eaten as much as I can, but I still have such a slim frame. It really is annoying, 'coz I'd really love to have more meat between my skin and bones, my shoulders look unnaturally wide when I wear a T-shirt.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

No, it's a precaution against HIV.  I didn't know they still did that.
CJD is another good one for blood - in Canada and possibly also the US, they won't take British blood, or blood from people who have stayed in Britain or something.  Afraid of the beef they are, yes..

Interestingly, the States are all fanatical about Britain checking every single critter for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, but, so I'm told, only check one in a thousand of their own. Or one in ten thousand, or something horrific.

Wait, it gets better. Early signs of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease look a lot like Altzheimers. See if you can guess what the prevalence of Altzheimers in the States, as compared to overseas, is higher by... just about what would be explained by a widespread trail of CJD...

The numbers are pretty vague, though, I haven't seen any sources, and statistics will prove whatever you want anyway, but it makes you wonder, doesn't it....

(edited to spell the diseases correctly. :-)

[Boog]

Yeah, we tend to put dumb people in charge. It's a bad habit.

[Zedd]

Thats why we need smart young people in charge not old farts

[thegayhare]

llearch
thats why most contries won't import american beef


Tapewolf
I do know the suposed reason for the ban but it's still implemented badly.  all donations are tested afterwards anyway pluss the rules for there "High risk" populations are unevenly enforced.

I mean a female prostitute only has to abstain from sex for pay (not from sex entirly) for 7 years before she coulf donate blood.  But a gay man in a 10 year monogomous relationship is banned forever.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

"tested afterwards" is all well and good, but the tests a) take time, and b) don't always catch things they should.

The problem with a) is that it slows down them moving the blood out to where they can use it - 1 unit of blood, from one person, can work out, after processing, in 8 units of various bits - the anticoagulants, the haemoglobin, the white cells, etc etc - but it takes time to get it processed, and they can't -start- until the tests are done (presumably they put more than one unit into the machine, or they'd have to strip it down completely after each unit, or something) and every hospital is pretty much -always- short of blood - shortly after 9/11 in the states was about the only time they've had excess. Seriously.

Bear in mind that one person in a car accident may use up 4 units of blood in the ambulance on the way -to- the hospital - often with enough holes in them that the blood goes in one side and out the other, and the only reason it's being poked in is to keep the blood pressure of the patient above zero... usage in hospitals can go -way- above what you can cope with in mobile units....

The problem with b) is obvious. :-/

Not that I'm criticising you, here, Bunnyboy. I agree, the rules are silly, in some cases. Just thought I'd drop my 2p into the water and see what it did to the oil on the top... :-)

[Boog]

I'm pretty sure there's a lawsuit in this situation somewhere...

[Mel Dragonkitty]

My complaint is that they have made donating blood is a pain in the... arm. The Red Cross makes you read like 10 pages of basicly how everything you might do is evil. Only after you've signed that you've read all the pages do they give you THE FORM where you have to testify that you've never done any evil blood polluting things, like leave the country, get a tattoo or piercing, eat beef, have sex, use drugs, know anyone who has sex or uses drugs, ever have any health problem (except asthma), had a shot (even from your doctor), had the sniffles in the past year, etc. Then, after you've signed the paperwork that you haven't done anything to mess up their pretty blood you have to go behind the screen to put on the secret bar code to tell them if you lied when you signed the paperwork.

And then they whine about not getting enough donators. Sometimes I want to shout "How many vegan virgins imprisoned in antiseptic bubbles do you think there are?"

I prefer to donate directly to the hospital. Less bull****, comfy chairs, and they give tee-shirts.

[Kenji]

They give t-shirts? ...all we've been getting is aprons.
I should go donate plasma. More painful, actually leaves you lightheaded, and earns you a couple hundred bucks. >.>

[Zedd]

Can I have one your aprons kitty boy?

[thegayhare]

I've got a ton of black aprons from work,  never been used

[Amber Williams]

I forget the legistics, but I think the Red Cross is actually not a government-operated system but more a volunteer and non-profit institution...which can unfortunately mean they can pull particular rules on certain things.  It also means that changes can be very very slow.  However I do think in Indiana's blood-drive groups...the questionarre actually asks if you have ever had gay sex(unprotected) before a particular period of time.

*checks the official site*

HIV, AIDS
You should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV.

You are at risk for getting infected if you:

    * have ever used needles to take drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by your doctor
    * are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977
    * have ever taken money, drugs or other payment for sex since 1977
    * have had sexual contact in the past 12 months with anyone described above
    * received clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia
    * were born in, or lived in, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea,Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria, since 1977.
    * since 1977, received a blood transfusion or medical treatment with a blood product in any of these countries, or
    * had sex with anyone who, since 1977, was born in or lived in any of these countries. Learn more about HIV Group O, and the specific African countries where it is found.

The big cutoff date is 1977...most likely since that was when laws and regulations and the push for contraceptives really took off.   I really have no intention to pry into TGH's personal affairs.  But I guess it is one of the unfortunate side effects that the gay community is still somewhat under tighter scrutiny in terms of HIV.  This might change later on as the generations roll over though.

When I can I try to give blood...but odds are once I am in Canada it will be a while before I do such things again.

[Zedd]

Hmmmm well thats kinda harsh when you think about it...But serioously thanks to spred a point across Amber but any place should adcept blood no matter what...Sides...Its not like I am a vampire or anything but geeze...Donating blood is taken too seriously now

[Alondro]

Testing donated blood is a big problem.  It's very costly so they try to limit the risks as much as possible.  They can only afford to test batches of blood, so if one contaminant gets it, they have to scrap the whole batch.  And lawsuits are another huge problem.  One person gets HIV from blood, all the lawyers in the region suddenly get the dollar-sign eyeballs.   Of course, now that HIV is everywhere, it hardly matters anymore.  The last time I gave blood, I was asked about any sexual activity at all.  There's also the risk of hepatitis viruses and bacterial diseases they ask about.  

And I feel your pain, Janus.  Until I finished college I was technically anorexic with a BMI of 12.  I was 5' 9" and weighed 105!  But I ate about 4000 calories a day!  My metabolism was through the roof. 

As for CJD, it's clinical pathology is very different from Alzheimer's and involves a different protein:  prior-precursor protein versus beta-amyloid.  Alzheimer's plaques are also different than prion disease plaques.  The diagnosis can now be easily made with an immunohistochemical assay.  (works in biomedicine)

The cutoff date of 1977 is due to, as I recall, the date that they believe HIV began to suddenly explode in prevalence and spread internationally.  They have actually discovered why HIV is lethal in humans while SIV does very little to chimps and monkeys.  Their T-cells have a very high expression level of a particular receptor protein which interferes with SIV's binding efficiency to the immune cells.  Humans have far less of this cell surface protein and thus HIV binds far more easily.  This discovery is a major breakthrough and could lead to a drug to simulate the effect, or we could genetically engineer everyone to overexpress the receptor... I like the latter idea.  Playing with humanity's genes appeals to me. 

[Amber Williams]

Hmmmm well thats kinda harsh when you think about it...But serioously thanks to spred a point across Amber but any place should adcept blood no matter what...Sides...Its not like I am a vampire or anything but geeze...Donating blood is taken too seriously now

You kid right?  There was a reason some inner-city areas stopped offering money for donations due to the issue where people would try to donate their blood and plasma in order to pay for illigal things? 

I don't agree with some of the legal-hurdles involved, but I can understand the reasons behind it.  There needs to be standards in terms of donation because when you are using a blood transfusion...there is few things worse than finding out that transfusion has faulty effects or worse...some form of transmittable deseise in it.

Donating blood is a volunteer project.  And as such, the volunteers should be responsible...even if that means they are responsible only by not donating blood rather than running possible risks by lying on the tests because they feel its the better thing to do.  While I don't think banning gay-males from donations is fair, I respect TGH for being honest about the situation and not trying to skirt the rules they put down.  It is after all...their loss.

But no Zed. I dont think places should accept blood no matter what.  There are lots of dangerous factors out there...and there is the possibility that some tests might miss something.  It is far better to cut down the risks as much as possible, even if it means being somewhat callous and cruel to a minority.

[King Of Hearts]

In the Philippines commercial blood banks have just been phased out. Partly because its in injurious to the people who will recieve the blood [Even with all the tests, its not possible to rule out all kind of blood related sickness from it] and because people abuse themselves,  some people would even try to sell their blood once a week to different commercial blood banks for money.

I donated blood once, I dont mind the forms, when I decided I wanted to do some good, I knew that it wouldnt be as simple as go there, get poked by a needle and get a cookie. Id be more pissed if I donated all my blood then it brings sickness to someone else.

[Zedd]

I know...I was agreeing with Gay amber...And plus I know..Its  their loss

[thegayhare]

Yeah so I could have had fun 2 years before I was born

Ohh I'm just pissy cause there is always a shortage of blood.  Especialy durring deasasters I don't have money, or alot of time I could donate so it just frustrates me that I can't even do that little bit.

I understand the arguments for an against

It's just a sore spot with me

*shrugs*

Sowwy

[ShiningShadow]

That's Okay TGH those thing cannot be your fault and you should not blame yourself.............

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

-We- like you. Does that make up for it? :-)

[Demont]

I enjoy leaning about Abel, I never know he had a hard life.

[komissarmakarov]

I enjoy leaning about Abel, I never know he had a hard life.

*looks left and right*

Heh, I'd give Abel a hard life

[ShiningShadow]

Oh come on you gave Abel a hard life to begin with try not make it worse or else Abel will suckerpunch you before you know it...................

[Weleho Rogan]

and then HE VILL BURY HYU with crates 

anyone get it? 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Yah. Und den ve get a drink, no? Ve ain't no veak, tea-drinking moon-cows like de Baron's airship crew.

:-)

[Weleho Rogan]

yay 

you get the points 

but there's more to it than that 

[ShiningShadow]

Really I thought we get points for our intelligent way to see thing or say hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe I'm mistaken on this maybe I just a dumb blonde here...........

[Aridas]

Unless you're blonde, you probably shouldn't say you're a dumb blonde o.o

[ShiningShadow]

Nah brunette but As I see it as the story progress. You will see the real Abel as we see today..................