Malaria and blood donation

[fisherdvm]

It seems silly that when we visit mexico, and see a ruin, they ban me for another year. So I average 1 donation per year, between our mexican trips.

Why is it that I suffer more mosquito bites in cities like Cancun and Cozumel, but when we go to the ruins, never get bitten once... Yet, they ban you from donation for fear of malaria??

Is it because the indigenous wildlife away from the cities carries more malaria. Or is it just an empirical judgement.

 

[TSandM]

I'm not sure, but I don't think they'll take you if you've been to the cities, either. Anywhere where malaria is endemic will put you off the donation list.

 

[Bratface]

Malaria is a blood infection, and donated blood is not tested for this. It is possible to feel well and have had a mild case of malaria. The deferral of blood donation is to protect the next person to get the donated blood.

You are also deferred from blood donations if you've had cardiac surgery or a heart attack, a tattoo within the last 12 months (hepatitis B & C risk), exposure to someone with hepatitis in the last 12 months, been on antibiotics (have to wait 3 days), had oral surgery (wait 3 days), had certain immunizations, take certain medications, received cancer treatment, have HIV or are at a high risk of developing it, have sickle cell, visited the United Kingdom in the past 12 months (mad cow) and many other reasons.

It is admirable that you want to donate blood...so few people do that.

 

[JessH]

Obviously these are necessary measures to insure the safety of those who recieve the blood, but it makes me wonder how many of these things they actually test for and how many they are able to?

~Jess

 

[TSandM]

Hepatitis, HIV, and CMV are definitely tested for. The problem is that the tests may not be positive very early in infection, but the organism may be present in the blood. The restrictions regarding antibiotics and dental work have to do with the bacteremia which may occur associated with those things. Small numbers of bacteria are often found in the blood after dental work, for example. Transfusing blood containing those bacteria into someone who is immunosuppressed (eg. cancer patients) can result in fulminant infection.

The number of people who get excluded by those criteria is not large. Not that many people travel overseas, in comparison to the entire population of the US.

Blood donation is a tremendous gift. There is, to date, NO substitute for human blood and blood products.

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

Yeah, we used to give blood at least once a year, but our yearly trip to Roatan has put a damper on it.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[JessH]

The number of people who get excluded by those criteria is not large. Not that many people travel overseas, in comparison to the entire population of the US.

Most of the restrictions make sense. The one that is totally illogical is the one that states that any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 is banned from donating blood.

~Jess

 

[fisherdvm]

I'm not sure, but I don't think they'll take you if you've been to the cities, either. Anywhere where malaria is endemic will put you off the donation list.

They said if we had stayed only in the city, we'd fine. But in their book, mentioning "the ruins", then you are banned. I don't know much about parasitology or mosquito host relationship... Just wondering what is out in the jungles that makes it different than mosquitos in the city. I probably should google this...

 

[Missdirected]

Interesting question. I'm at 2 1/2 gallons to date, so I have heard the questions many times. I have often wondered why they ask some of them - but never bothered to find out the reason. Plus they don't like to chat when they are asking you those questions so...

Bratface, reading your post you sounded just like on of the examiner's. That said, I thought the mad cow thing was between the years of such and such? Just wondering if that one was right. I used to go there all the time - and give blood. They never contacted me so I guess everyone is fine

 

[Bratface]

Missdirected, I went to the Red Cross website and got the information there. Plus I'm in the medical field, so asking medical and personal questions is normal for me.

Jess, male to male sex is a leading source of the HIV virus, particularly in the 80's when AIDS first made itself known in the US. Sounds discriminatory, but there are a lot of drug users selling their butts to make money. Giving plasma was also a popular way to make quick cash. Put the two together and you can understand how the blood supply became infected.