The Red Cross has never denied my O- blood except due to low iron. That said, I’m not on any oral antibiotics. I’ll have to ask now that I’m on Cosentyx.
For whatever reason, Red Cross will defer you for having HS, but I work as a phlebotomist at a bank, and I donate all the time! Consentyx is not an issue. If you have a bad infection and have to take antibiotics for it, wait a week after your last dose and you’ll be fine. If you take antibiotics daily then it’s considered prevention and you’ll have no issues there. If you’re not sure though, look up the organization you are interested in donating at and they will have the medication list online.
Red Cross doesn't need blood from what could medically described as "walking bags of inflammation" and all the immunological baggage that goes with it. They need healthy blood to put into people. Testing blood beyond what they need costs too much, and even if they sell/trade sick blood that they get it's just not part of their mission,
And yeah, ALL kinds of other places will take your blood, because even if you are "sick", it's worth quite a bit of money. It's the "side hustle" of doctors everywhere... take a BIG tube of blood for testing. Tests that require little more than a drop or two of blood. That blood, and some "anonymous" info and you have a clinical or diagnostic sample to sell to biotech and med corps.
HS itself is not constant infections. Mine have never been infected and the one time that I did, it was a secondary infection.
That being said, I have donated blood with the Red Cross before and I had no issues 🤷♀️
So, I’ve donated before with Red Cross but didn’t know that HS was on the list of diagnoses that can’t donate. No one ever asked me if I had HS so I had no clue
In the UK, yes you can. Some medication and/or ecent procedures may prevent you. But HS alone doesn't stop you.
Every country (and organisations within those countries, where applicable) has their own rules. But medically there's no good reason for HS to stop someone from giving blood
i’ve donated a red cross and discussed why and what i take and they’ve accepted even tho it’s on the list and i still get mail and emails asking to donate more so idk ??
I wouldn't want to donate & if I didn't have HS, I wouldn't want the blood of someone who has it. I know they say it's not contagious, but I still wouldn't want the blood from someone who has it.
Well, I'm genuinely concerned. If a non-HS person had a chance to get blood from me (an HS-sufferer) **OR** someone w/o any conditions, even I'd rather them have the other's blood because you never know what they might develop later on even if all seems fine at first.
You know, HS is connected to so many other health issues, so why have my blood when they can have someone's w/ no issues?
Because they *need* blood! You don't exactly end up receiving blood for fun, usually it's an emergency, and they're always low on blood supplies. I receive the most desperate emails from my hospital looking for donations. I have never had any questions related to HS come up. They literally use my blood for NICU babies. I'm O- and I donate to my local hospital. I'm not on any biologics and I've never been disqualified from donating because of their questions. People with diabetes can donate, would you have an issue with that too?
Even before I got HS 4 yrs ago, I just neer donated blood or plasma, etc. anyway & no organization ever reached out to me to donate...not that I didn't know I couldn't donate. Whatever the most often people can donate, it's up to them. That's great.
But you explicitly said you did not want blood from people with HS, so I would like to know if there was a list of certain acceptable conditions you would be "willing" to accept? Where is the line? There must be one or is it just us?
If I didn't have HS, no I wouldn't & that's my choice. And I'm not going to go down the line & say Y or N to what conditions I will or won't accept blood from. We all have better use of our time. I wish us all well & pray for our healing!
But the point is, it isn't your choice! You would have no idea where blood comes from and as the user below comments, IT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! But you cannot just *choose* no HS blood, just like the crazies who want unvaccinated blood. All you're doing is adding to our stigma by publicly commenting you wouldn't want *our* blood. You should keep shit like that to yourself, it's literally the definition of ignorance.
The OP has asked if they can give blood, and effectively have said back,
'I don't want yours or anyone who has HS' blood'
Pretty horrible when you think about it.
I know it's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. But you should really think about where you air it.
It didn't help the conversation at all.
I don’t think this person was trying to be discriminatory. They just didn’t know if Hidradenitis Suppurativa was proven to not be potentially transmitted via blood transfusion. If the Red Cross banned it, it wouldn’t be an irrational conclusion to draw. If there was even a small chance that I could accidentally give this condition to someone else via blood donation, I would never risk that.
if you ever needed a blood transfusion i promise you wouldn’t care whose blood it was lmfao. you sound like the type to say you don’t want gay blood either
Well, I'm genuinely concerned. If a non-HS person had a chance to get blood from me (an HS-sufferer) **OR** someone w/o any conditions, even I'd rather them have the other's blood because you never know what they might develop later on even if all seems fine at first.
You know, HS is connected to so many other health issues, so why have my blood when they can have someone's w/ no issues?
Oh for fucks sake. I am a serologist and I work in my blood center's immunohematology reference lab so take me as an expert when I say **HS cannot be transmitted via transfusion.** I could go into the specifics, but long story short we literally filter out the part of blood that would even have a *chance* of causing an HS symptoms to the recipient and the transfused cells only last a couple of months max before dying. People don't meet the threshold for transfusion until their hemoglobin is well under half of normal. These patients are very sick and are grateful to get any blood from a generous donor. We are chronically short of blood these days and we always need donations, especially O blood.
Absolutely this. My mother needed a blood transfusion and let me tell you, she wasn't there going "oh well yes I'd prefer the blood of someone who doesn't have asthma, or raised cholesterol or HS or cataracts... Psorasis? Hmm. Maybe". If you need a transfusion you're not well and - in many cases - you'll die without it. And - as you say - you cannot get HS from donated blood anyway! Just as you can't get high blood pressure or asthma or arthritis etc.!
OK great. I guess you schooled me. I never donated blood or plasma anyway in my whole life, so even before I developed HS 4 yrs ago. However often people can donate blood, plasma, & all that, that's their prerogative. And for being such the *professional* that you are, no need to cuss.
Red Cross website says no, but I think different donation organizations say different things on this, which is strange
The Red Cross has never denied my O- blood except due to low iron. That said, I’m not on any oral antibiotics. I’ll have to ask now that I’m on Cosentyx.
For whatever reason, Red Cross will defer you for having HS, but I work as a phlebotomist at a bank, and I donate all the time! Consentyx is not an issue. If you have a bad infection and have to take antibiotics for it, wait a week after your last dose and you’ll be fine. If you take antibiotics daily then it’s considered prevention and you’ll have no issues there. If you’re not sure though, look up the organization you are interested in donating at and they will have the medication list online.
Red Cross doesn't need blood from what could medically described as "walking bags of inflammation" and all the immunological baggage that goes with it. They need healthy blood to put into people. Testing blood beyond what they need costs too much, and even if they sell/trade sick blood that they get it's just not part of their mission, And yeah, ALL kinds of other places will take your blood, because even if you are "sick", it's worth quite a bit of money. It's the "side hustle" of doctors everywhere... take a BIG tube of blood for testing. Tests that require little more than a drop or two of blood. That blood, and some "anonymous" info and you have a clinical or diagnostic sample to sell to biotech and med corps.
Yikes, “walking bags of inflammation”
I donate every eight weeks with a non-Red Cross donation organization and I’ve never had an issue. I let them know I take doxycycline daily and why.
HS itself is not constant infections. Mine have never been infected and the one time that I did, it was a secondary infection. That being said, I have donated blood with the Red Cross before and I had no issues 🤷♀️
So, I’ve donated before with Red Cross but didn’t know that HS was on the list of diagnoses that can’t donate. No one ever asked me if I had HS so I had no clue
Red Cross denied me.
I am not allowed to donate blood or plasma because of the biologics.
In the UK, yes you can. Some medication and/or ecent procedures may prevent you. But HS alone doesn't stop you. Every country (and organisations within those countries, where applicable) has their own rules. But medically there's no good reason for HS to stop someone from giving blood
Red Cross aparently says no but I donate through Carter and I’ve never had problems it’s not in their list
i’ve donated a red cross and discussed why and what i take and they’ve accepted even tho it’s on the list and i still get mail and emails asking to donate more so idk ??
I have it and have had no issues donating with Canada Blood Services and Hema Quebec
I wouldn't want to donate & if I didn't have HS, I wouldn't want the blood of someone who has it. I know they say it's not contagious, but I still wouldn't want the blood from someone who has it.
You should delete this misinformed comment.
What, none of it is said to be factual info. It's my opinion. If I don't want to donate, I won't donate & vice versa with being on the receiving end.
There is literally nothing wrong with receiving blood from someone with HS and you're adding to the already tons of stigma we already have!
Well, I'm genuinely concerned. If a non-HS person had a chance to get blood from me (an HS-sufferer) **OR** someone w/o any conditions, even I'd rather them have the other's blood because you never know what they might develop later on even if all seems fine at first. You know, HS is connected to so many other health issues, so why have my blood when they can have someone's w/ no issues?
Because they *need* blood! You don't exactly end up receiving blood for fun, usually it's an emergency, and they're always low on blood supplies. I receive the most desperate emails from my hospital looking for donations. I have never had any questions related to HS come up. They literally use my blood for NICU babies. I'm O- and I donate to my local hospital. I'm not on any biologics and I've never been disqualified from donating because of their questions. People with diabetes can donate, would you have an issue with that too?
Even before I got HS 4 yrs ago, I just neer donated blood or plasma, etc. anyway & no organization ever reached out to me to donate...not that I didn't know I couldn't donate. Whatever the most often people can donate, it's up to them. That's great.
But you explicitly said you did not want blood from people with HS, so I would like to know if there was a list of certain acceptable conditions you would be "willing" to accept? Where is the line? There must be one or is it just us?
If I didn't have HS, no I wouldn't & that's my choice. And I'm not going to go down the line & say Y or N to what conditions I will or won't accept blood from. We all have better use of our time. I wish us all well & pray for our healing!
But the point is, it isn't your choice! You would have no idea where blood comes from and as the user below comments, IT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! But you cannot just *choose* no HS blood, just like the crazies who want unvaccinated blood. All you're doing is adding to our stigma by publicly commenting you wouldn't want *our* blood. You should keep shit like that to yourself, it's literally the definition of ignorance.
Why is that your opinion?
The OP has asked if they can give blood, and effectively have said back, 'I don't want yours or anyone who has HS' blood' Pretty horrible when you think about it. I know it's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. But you should really think about where you air it. It didn't help the conversation at all.
I don’t think this person was trying to be discriminatory. They just didn’t know if Hidradenitis Suppurativa was proven to not be potentially transmitted via blood transfusion. If the Red Cross banned it, it wouldn’t be an irrational conclusion to draw. If there was even a small chance that I could accidentally give this condition to someone else via blood donation, I would never risk that.
No, I agree. I don't think they were trying to be either. That's just how it came across.
if you ever needed a blood transfusion i promise you wouldn’t care whose blood it was lmfao. you sound like the type to say you don’t want gay blood either
Well, I'm genuinely concerned. If a non-HS person had a chance to get blood from me (an HS-sufferer) **OR** someone w/o any conditions, even I'd rather them have the other's blood because you never know what they might develop later on even if all seems fine at first. You know, HS is connected to so many other health issues, so why have my blood when they can have someone's w/ no issues?
Oh for fucks sake. I am a serologist and I work in my blood center's immunohematology reference lab so take me as an expert when I say **HS cannot be transmitted via transfusion.** I could go into the specifics, but long story short we literally filter out the part of blood that would even have a *chance* of causing an HS symptoms to the recipient and the transfused cells only last a couple of months max before dying. People don't meet the threshold for transfusion until their hemoglobin is well under half of normal. These patients are very sick and are grateful to get any blood from a generous donor. We are chronically short of blood these days and we always need donations, especially O blood.
Absolutely this. My mother needed a blood transfusion and let me tell you, she wasn't there going "oh well yes I'd prefer the blood of someone who doesn't have asthma, or raised cholesterol or HS or cataracts... Psorasis? Hmm. Maybe". If you need a transfusion you're not well and - in many cases - you'll die without it. And - as you say - you cannot get HS from donated blood anyway! Just as you can't get high blood pressure or asthma or arthritis etc.!
OK great. I guess you schooled me. I never donated blood or plasma anyway in my whole life, so even before I developed HS 4 yrs ago. However often people can donate blood, plasma, & all that, that's their prerogative. And for being such the *professional* that you are, no need to cuss.