Poll: Donating Blood

[darkman80723]

I was told in college whilst attempting to donate at a local blood bank that since Ive had sex with another man I am ineligible to donate blood...ever... though personally I would if I could...go figure that my blood type is A+ which is a blood type that is needed....funniest part was you should have seen some of the crackhoes they ok'd to donate.

 

[Stoic raptor]

I have not donated blood yet.
Not old enough.

In my high school, the Red Cross comes a few times a year so students can give blood.
You have to be at least 16.
I am only 15.

If I could donate blood, I would.
I am not afraid of needles like my family members and Escapist members.

 

[loc978]

I'm not that altruistic. I mean, I used to donate blood for Army Emergency Relief, but I certainly wouldn't bother with the Red Cross (not that they'd let me now, I've been to some countries that are apparently very blood-tainting... must be all the burnt feces in the air)... and I did it partially to get free cookies and a day of light duty work.

As for "killing people" by not donating... no. Just no. There are plenty of people donating every week for money.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I would not donate blood, because I can't. I get turned into a whimpering ball of fear upon seeing syringes.

Fun fact: I actually spent half of my time since I started typing this hunched over the side of my chair, stroking my arm in the last place a needle has come into contact with it. I'm freaking TERRIFIED at even the thought of them.

 

[Stoic raptor]

Im 17 and have donated blood 3 times, in Australia the legal age is 16 (with parent's consent)
our school has a blood drive every 3 months. i got hooked in because donating blood is always appreciated ( also cause i'm a B- which is 2% of te world =\) and i got milkshakes after.

TLDR; Donating blood is cool, and i got milkshakes after. come on. milkshakes.

1. Welcome to the Escapist.
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Everybody here is (usually) nice with thoughtful comments. Everybody is friends here.

2. Is TLDR; really necessary? It is such a short post.
In the Escapist, we rarely use TLDR. And when we do, it is for really long posts.

I forgot to comment about my opinion of the slogan.

I think that is a stupid slogan
But I also think anyone who does not donate blood because of the slogan is even more stupid.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

I sort of feel bad when I don't donate. My dad and I are both O-, so the blood bank seems to have our house on speed dial. The only thing that's ever stopped me from getting a tattoo is that the Red Cross won't take your blood for a while afterward.

As far as other people giving blood, I can't give away what isn't mine, so it's your blood, your call.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I picked other cause none of the choices really made a good amount of sense.

So, I'll just answer. I would donate blood (actually have. Almost to the point of killing myself. Double quad red, its not a fun thing to have done). But I odnt think not donating blood is killing 3 people. I mean what if you have HIV? Or AIDS? Or what if you're uncomfortable with giving blood, you odnt really have to give, I wouldnt blame people who are squeamish about it that dont give blood. Also, I know some religions say you shouldnt share body parts so you cnat blame them.

So, in short, I would donate, but dont think its killing 3 people if you dont.

 

[stone0042]

I will never donate blood, because I have a strong fear of needles and other pointy objects which sink under my skin. I'm not killing anyone because someone else will donate blood.

Also, football players are notoriously stupid. Don't believe what they say unless they can either back it up or it's about football.

I played football for ten years, and just sent out my applications to Duke, Dartmouth, BC, and Princeton... got a 2200 on my SAT's as well. That count as backing it up? No hard feelings, just wanted to point out we're not all muscle-bound oafs.

OT: I donate as frequently as possible. I have O Negative blood, so it's needed. I feel no ill effects, and am not afraid of needles, so I have no reason not to.

Fair enough, there are always exceptions. I was just generalizing.

It's just that all the football players I know are really stupid :\

That's unfortunate. It seems to be a fairly common sentiment, just wanted to point out that we're not all like that. Actually, the top three male students in my school all play football.

 

[Stoic raptor]

Well it's that time of the year again... The time of the year our school has its annual blood drive, with its peer pressure slogan of- "When you donate, your blood can be used to save up to 3 lives; so if you don't donate, you're killing 3 people!" (and yes the football team DID come up with that slogan)

So how do you feel about donating blood? and would you yourself?

(if this is a double post I am horribly sorry, I had a weird glitch because I was holding "Shift" when I pressed "Enter" [too much skype you know])

I WANT to, but I CAN'T.

Why? The Red Cross doesn't accept blood from gay people. Truth. They think gay=disease, even though, last time every biologist in the world checked, there isn't a virus or bacteria on the planet that is gay-specific. Fuckers.

Thing is, isn't Red Cross a Christian organization? Last time I checked, Christians thought gays are actually evil.
I am not sure though.

Thing is, even if they wanted to get blood from gay people, I am sure there would be a lot of protest.
Believe it or not, people do think that there are gay only diseases.
It is too late to convince people now that it isn't the truth.
But we can still teach the new generation, which we are already doing.

 

[Agent Monocle]

I would donate for that delicious free cookie, but instead of saving three people it would be saving two people since it would most likely kill me if I tried to donate blood. I weigh like 98 lbs... When I tell the Red Cross people on the college campus that, they sometimes give me a pity cookie... Oh pity cookie, you are delicious.

 

[teebeeohh]

it's not killing
and i do donate blood at the legal limit(which is every 6 weeks round here)
the Doctors hate me because it's very hard to actually get a needle into my veins but since I am a universal donor they tend to let that one slide

 

[Double A]

I will never donate blood, because I have a strong fear of needles and other pointy objects which sink under my skin. I'm not killing anyone because someone else will donate blood.

Also, football players are notoriously stupid. Don't believe what they say unless they can either back it up or it's about football.

I played football for ten years, and just sent out my applications to Duke, Dartmouth, BC, and Princeton... got a 2200 on my SAT's as well. That count as backing it up? No hard feelings, just wanted to point out we're not all muscle-bound oafs.

OT: I donate as frequently as possible. I have O Negative blood, so it's needed. I feel no ill effects, and am not afraid of needles, so I have no reason not to.

Fair enough, there are always exceptions. I was just generalizing.

It's just that all the football players I know are really stupid :\

That's unfortunate. It seems to be a fairly common sentiment, just wanted to point out that we're not all like that. Actually, the top three male students in my school all play football.

Wow... that's pretty impressive. Is your school public or private?

 

[Gudrests]

Pah, we don't have "Blood drives" over here.
We have certain temporary clinics set up on certain dates for registered blood donors to go to.
I myself donate blood, since they slackened the quite tight rules a bit (But they still won't allow men who have had anal or oral sex with other men to donate blood, even if their blood is fine ¬.¬).
So yeah, I go and donate my blood freely to repay the system, in a way.
They saved my life, I'll give them my blood to save other lives, and my organs when I no longer need them.

as strange as that sounds...its not a homophobic issue. it has to do with that the chances of them missing an STD are a significant chances higher...its weird i dont know all the details but yeah...thats the reason....ME i hae not donated...1 im afarde of needles like all hell...and 2...i dont weigh enough lol

 

[Giest4life]

I've given blood once before. It was cool. Being able to have my life's blood leave me and still function... it fed my ego. I was all "look at you pansies, not giving blood. What, you're scared of needles? Wuss."

Also, that's a stupid slogan. You aren't killing anyone, you just aren't saving them.

Spoiler: Huh. That reminds me...

Yeah, sorry, I am never donating blood to a blood drive. For family and friends, I can make an exception.

Even if the cure for AIDS was in my genetic code, I wouldn't donate it for research.

That seems... heartless. May I ask why?

Yes, you may.

Safe to say, I'm not a very charitably person. I just feel that my blood is such an intimate part of me that it will take a reason of monumental proportion for me to part with it, and yet still be alive. Blood I will give, but not to some random guy off the streets.

 

[stone0042]

Wow... that's pretty impressive. Is your school public or private?

Public, it's a tiny school. I have around 100 kids in my grade.

 

[Double A]

Wow... that's pretty impressive. Is your school public or private?

Public, it's a tiny school. I have around 100 kids in my grade.

That seems like it would be a bit more friendly for people to excel. Less kids, so less peer pressure. Of course, that could have the opposite effect with the same reasoning...

Well, anyway. I personally don't know any smart sports players, but it's good to know that there are athletes who are also good at school.

 

[Caeko]

I've never donated blood before, but for about 3 months I donated (more like sold though) blood plasma. From what I understand donating blood plasma uses thicker needles to extract blood, spins out the blood plasma (when the bottle filled up it looked like I took quite a piss), and put the blood back inside of me. At the time I struggled to keep 150 lbs. so I usually was in and out twice a week within a hour as I didn't have to donate as much with my lower weight. I made $240 a month for about 2 hours of my time a week.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

If I could, I'd happily donate blood. Keeping my non-transmittable blood to myself isn't killing three people, after all.

 

[Hazard09]

I don't feel like my medical health is good enough for my blood to be of use.

 

[brtshstel]

I donated nine times between the time I was 16 and when I graduated high school. And I have done sporadically afterwords. I will continue to do so as soon as I get more time. I'm O positive and I get asked to come in for an appointment. I still have my donor card in my wallet.

My dad is a rare type, B positive, and as such, the donation facility (we don;t do it for the money) is always asking him to come in. I remember that we would race to see who could pinch off a pint the fastest. We can bleed quickly!