Wednesday 14 July 2010

Blood from a stone

Blood donation is vital, those who can should, but if there are unknowns donation should be prevented. Still, getting the UK government to ban ME blood, at least until more is known, is, like most things to do with this illness, an uphill struggle. I got 'new' plasma in 1984 (an experimental ME treatment), it niggled me for ages in the 90s - especially when I had a major relapse - that this was pre-HIV screening and I had become infected. I got tested (in USA) and I was fine. I have no idea whether XMRV - also a retrovirus - is responsible for my ME but even before the XMRV debate I would not have considered donating blood - virally-induced neuro-immune illness seems a bit dodgy for my liking to be sharing your platelets. I would certainly not want blood from someone with ME.

5 comments:

Cusp said...

Exactly what I've said and thought when it has been suggested I donate blood. Who the hell would want my blood ?

darren said...

The Canadian Blood Services has recently excluded those with CFS/ME from donating blood out of an abundance of caution, given the recent XMRV research, FYI. But I wasn't giving mine out anyway.

nmj said...

Apart from anything else, I have never felt robust enough to give blood!

Rick said...

I think the world would benefit by harvesting my blood. It's been thoroughly disinfected by alcohol and pretty much every other chemical substance the modern world knows of. No invading organism can survive more than a few seconds. You think I'm joking, but I never get sick (er, aside from hangovers, and these spiders crawling around under my skin...).

nmj said...

Rick of the fine blood, Next time you donate, you can give a pint for me! ;)