NHS campaign for male blood sparks controversy

[Northerner]

The NHS has revealed it is desperate for more male blood donations but the campaign has led some men to speak out about the difficulties they have experienced trying to donate.

Only 41% of new blood donors in England last year were men.

Certain factors mean only male blood is used in some specialist transfusions, such as with newborn babies.

Prospective male donors are now urging the NHS to make it easier to donate.

There are hopes for a 26% rise in first-time male donations in a bid to offset the current gender imbalance and end the possibility of a crisis in the future.

However, some gay and bisexual men have voiced their frustration over not being able to lend their support to the cause.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51065430

I used to be a donor, but had to stop once I started using insulin

 

[JSWells]

Thank you for sharing. It's sad to see such a disparity in donation, I know the overall male contribution irrespective of new donors is also particularly low.

It was also news to me to hear about insulin being a dependent factor for donation! However, from what I can gather, this is due to the risk to the donor and not necessarily the impact on those receiving the blood. Thank you for donating in the past, every little helps!

 

[trophywench]

Yeah - us insulin users are supposedly not able to replace the lost pinta as quickly as you non insulin users. God alone knows where the proof of this is - but they have certainly been telling us that since 1972 and still do.

A few years back the Wolfson Institute at B'ham Uni got the contract to QA all the labs doing HbA1c tests so to this end they recruited people with diabetes - the blood was split into shedloads of different vials and sent off to the labs Labs for testing. Wolfson kept 2 and did their own tests on them. The important thing was, not what the result actually was - but that every lab should get the same answer. Good oh thought I - I can give something back again!

I went 4 times - once they couldn't get enough out - may have been a bit dehydrated that day, it happens sometimes. Then I had a letter telling me that the Powers That Be at the donor service had found out that insulin users had been recruited and It Had To STOP. So it did. Forthwith.

It's only risky - diabetically speaking - if you are due an 'actual' HbA1c quite soon after you happen to have donated blood, so timing it right is essential from that POV.

It was time consuming and costly because it involved us travelling first into Coventry and thence a train to B'ham to then walk to the donor centre there. It had moved round the corner from when I last gave there in April 1972 but still easy enough to find.

My husband's now over 70 so that rules him out else I'd be sending him anyway he used to come with me so I'd reciprocate. In the old days, we just used to tell whoever our boss was that we were going, at X o'clock in work time and it was never a prob to be missing for an hour as long as they knew where we were - again just round a different corner! Are employers generally still OK with it - or not?

 

[Andy HB]

If you have donated blood in the previous two years you can continue donating after the age of 70 according to what I have just read on an NHS Web page. Granted, it was from 2016, though so may not be up to date.

 

[JSWells]

Thanks for the info Jenny! From my perspective it still seems that the advice is still not to provide irrespective of their position. Perhaps times will change with the shift in organ donation legislation now too. Will have to watch this space!

 

[Jha19]

Have been a platelet donor for a couple of years, currently suspended due to injecting insulin. I'm assuming I won't be going back, but there is a slim chance I might not remain on insulin...

Good news though is a colleague has now given his first armful, and a friend has endured about platelet donation, both since hearing I now can't.