Mr Lee Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Some scary statistics. I wonder what the percentage is for expat donated blood? One out of every four blood units donated to the government in June tested positive for the highly contagious human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to the Department of Health (DoH). Based on the department’s HIV/AIDS registry report last month, 27 percent, or 32 out of the 118 donated blood packs, were found to be contaminated with the virus as confirmed by tests conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).The DoH said the information came from the National Voluntary Blood Safety Program which regularly monitors the safety of blood donations.Confirmatory testsThe information on the “HIV reactive blood units” was then referred to the RITM for confirmation.After another round of tests, 32 of the donated blood units were found positive for HIV. The rest tested negative while the results for four more were inconclusive, the DoH report said.Last month’s findings brought to 102 the donated blood units that have been found to be contaminated with HIV since the start of the year.It was also the highest number of HIV-positive blood units recorded since January.A total of 11 blood units were found positive for the virus in January; 15 in February, 14 in March, 20 in April and 10 in May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 that is shocking & must include blood donated by expats so it would be good if they broke it down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted August 1, 2011 Posted August 1, 2011 I would question the term 'donated'. Sounds more like Dontate Today and Get Paid Today blood..... In the US, gays, ladyboys et al are barred from donating blood. Have been since 1977. Drug users, tattoos in the past year and several other criteria are used to limit the doner pool. In fact there is an actual question on the form to be filled out when donating blood that asked "if you are male, have you had sex with a man since 1977". When I was in nursing school in 1990, the class had to give blood. There were 3 of us who were male in the class. One was a good southern baptist guy (he soon dropped out) I was sitting next to him and I told the vampire..... Hey! my friend here wants to know what MONTH in 1977 is the cut off date. He did not see the humor in that......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 1, 2011 Posted August 1, 2011 In the US, gays, ladyboys et al are barred from donating blood. Have been since 1977. Drug users, tattoos in the past year and several other criteria are used to limit the doner pool. I didn't realize that but what's to keep them from lying? I found an article that indicates it's being re-evaluated. A policy that bars gay men from donating blood for life is “suboptimal,” advisers to the Health and Human Services Department said on Tuesday, and needs another look. Suboptimal, sounds just like a govt bureaucrat lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted August 1, 2011 Author Posted August 1, 2011 In the US they will not even allow me to donate blood because one of the questions is, have you visited a third world country within the last 12 months and the Philippines was listed as one, so when I answer yes, they refuse blood from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted August 1, 2011 Posted August 1, 2011 Really! I always thought it was because you were afraid of needles...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted August 1, 2011 Author Posted August 1, 2011 Really! I always thought it was because you were afraid of needles......Below is probably why. In-Depth Discussion of Malaria and Blood DonationMalaria is a blood infection caused by a parasite that can be transmitted from a donor to a patient through transfusion. It is possible to have a new infection with malaria but have no symptoms, even though the parasite is present in your blood. It is also possible to feel well, but have a very mild case of malaria, especially if you have lived for extended periods of time in parts of the world where malaria is found. The Centers for Disease Control and Protection keep track of the locations with malaria for international travelers from the United States, and this information is available on their web site. You can see if malaria is found in the location you traveled to or lived in by searching for it on the CDC Web-based Malaria Risk Map Application at the following link http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/map/. Blood donations are not tested for malaria. Therefore, it is important that people who may have malaria or been exposed to malaria because of living in, or traveling to, a country where malaria is present not be allowed to donate blood until enough time has passed to be certain that they are not infected with malaria. This is done by having a waiting period for those who lived in, move from, or traveled to, the locations with malaria. If you have traveled outside of the United States, your travel destinations will be reviewed to see if you were in a malaria-risk area. It would be most helpful if you came prepared to report the country and city or destinations to which you traveled, as well as the travel dates.Taken from this page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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