Can't Give Blood - Too Much Time On The Rhine

[TCBF]

- Today, having checked the box for "Over five years in Western Europe since 1980", I was surprised to learn that acording to Health Canada, I can no longer give blood, as there is no effective pre-screening for Mad Cow/CJD.

- Given that the combined Mil and Civ population in CFE was about 24,000 before drawdown and close-out, I imagine there are several hundred thousand Canadians in the same boat.  Who knew?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Not necessarily just Germany - from the Canadian Blood Services Indefinite Deferrals page:

....  People are not eligible to donate blood or plasma if they have spent a cumulative total of three months or more in the United Kingdom (U.K.) between January 1980, and December 31, 1996, or if they have spent a cumulative total of three months or more in France between January 1980, and December 31, 1996, or if they have spent a cumulative total of five years or more in Western Europe outside the U.K. or France since 1980. In addition, people will no longer be eligible to donate blood or plasma if they have had a blood transfusion in the U.K., France or Western Europe since 1980. This is owing to the risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) through blood ....

.... People who have lived in certain regions of Africa, who may have been exposed to a new strain of the virus that causes AIDS (HIV-I Group O), are not eligible to donate blood. People who have received a blood transfusion while visiting there or who have had sex with someone that has lived there, are also not permitted to donate blood. This is not based on race or ethnicity but possible exposure to HIV-I Group O. Countries included are: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger and Nigeria ....

 

[exgunnertdo]

My husband is in that boat too.  He was in Bosnia in 2000-2001 in Banja Luka, which was a British camp.  Last time he tried to donate (shortly after returning) the nurse sent the question up to higher and they ruled that it counted as time spent in England, since the cooks/food were all British.  Interesting on the dates below (1980-1996), cause they told him his time there in 00-01 disqualified him.  I think last time he tried it was "since 1980."  Maybe they have changed it?

Better safe than sorry, I guess.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I spent 2 1/2 years on exchange with the Brits from Dec 95 to Jun 98, and as a result neither I nor my wife and son can ever give blood again - very frustrating, especially given that the proven links between BSE and CJD are tenuous at the very best.

 

[dapaterson]

Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of Canadian Blood Services, which took on the role of managing the blood supply following the tainted blood scandal.  They do err on the side of caution, to avoid any recurrence.

 

[Blackadder1916]

- Given that the combined Mil and Civ population in CFE was about 24,000 before drawdown and close-out, I imagine there are several hundred thousand Canadians in the same boat.  Who knew?

Your imagined numbers may be somewhat high.  Even if the Canadian population in CFE was 24,000 (seems a little low for the peak) it must be looked from the perspective that this number did not refresh every year.  The general policy for tour lengths was four years for NCMs and three years for officers, though requests for tour extensions were frequently approved.  However (with some exception for the cbt arms units in the brigade) most pers did not reach the five year mark or have repeat tours.  I seem to recall that the average turn-around was more like 15 to 20 percent annually.  Thus the total number of Canadians who lived in CFE during those years may be more like a total of 100,000 with only a percentage spending five or more years there.  Then if the percentage who would donate (or wish to donate) blood is factored in, then the number becomes that much smaller.  Currently about five percent of the Canadian population donate blood.  I don't know if there are any current statistics on CF members who donate blood, but on the few occasions (that I was involved with) when blood collection clinics were held on bases there was usually a very good response from serving members.  This may be mainly due to altruistic reasons, but also partly due to their employer (the CF) giving them time during working hours to participate.

It would be interesting to know if this policy have a current effect on blood collection drives aimed at the CF?  Or, does CBS even conduct clinics on bases anymore?

 

[Ammo]

Same thing for me and my family as I was on exchange in UK in 1989-90. One question that I would like answered is can I give blood to my own family??? (since we are all infected...)

 

[TCBF]

Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of Canadian Blood Services, which took on the role of managing the blood supply following the tainted blood scandal.  They do err on the side of caution, to avoid any recurrence.

- Agreed. No one wants to go back to the bad old days of politically correct Red Cross officials allowing the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents rather than risk offending the 'high risk behavior' groups in our population.


- Am I surprised those officials are not in jail?  I'm actually surprised some of them haven't been shot.

 

[dapaterson]

Same thing for me and my family as I was on exchange in UK in 1989-90. One question that I would like answered is can I give blood to my own family??? (since we are all infected...)

Short answer is, it depends.  Autologous banking (where you donate your own blood for your own future needs, like planned surgeries) would be permitted, but donations to other members of the family would not.

And a point of clarification:  It's not that you're infected - it's that there is an increased risk of certain blood-borne pathogens for which there are no reliable tests.  The goal is to err on the side of caution, which means that many donors who are probably safe get permanently deferred to ensure the safety of the blood supply.