emma75

I gave blood today and recieved my bronze award for donating 10 pints, not bad as i am petrified of needles! Just wondering if giving blood is the same sort of set up in Australia?
Emma

Pollyana

Nope. Sorry, but anyone who has lived in the UK for 6 months or more between 1980 & 1996 can't give blood in Australia. Sore point for a lot of people here.
Couple of old threads with more details:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=620281

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=565429

emma75

Oh . Never mind. Thought i would just find out about it. Sod em then! Will keep it to myself! Thanks Pollyana.
Emma

MartinLuther

So, am I the only, previously regular, donor who accepts that this is a risk that Australia (and other countries) doesn't need to take?

soapy©

yes

MartinLuther

Thought so.

With the UK being resigned to taking UK blood from that era (yep, I read the discussion papers), I was wondering if it is like the iron railings they took to help the war effort. Whilst everyone who donated their railing thought the metal was being used to build tanks and guns, the government was quietly dumping it in the North Sea.

Lorna at Vicenza

Sorry for butting in but is this data up to date?

I ask because my blood (along with other Brit's blood) was refused repeatedly over many years in Italy because of mad cow, but when I asked the health authorities this year I was told that the ban had finally been lifted and they would quite happily take blood from us.

MartinLuther

It's still current. You also can't give blood if you've received a UK blood transfusion since 1980.

LINZI

I have not given blood yet here but i have thought about it many times i did not know of this

peggy76

How hard would it be for the Hospitals to let people know they can accept English bood by signing a disclaimer. Or just keep the pom blood for the poms?

Lorna at Vicenza

Ok thanks. Just thought I'd mention it in case the mad cow ban had changed like it has here.

Wonder if Italy is more desperate for blood or if the 10 year plus year gap does really make a difference?

MartinLuther

It's just a different risk assessment by different countries. NZ excluded people who stayed in Ireland as well as people who stayed in the UK. The UK had a restriction on giving UK blood plasma to young kids for the same reason.

MartinLuther

I suspect it would be an administration nightmare for a relatively small amount of additional blood.

Remember it's not just English blood. Anyone who lived in the UK during that time is excluded.

Just out of interest. If they came to you in hospital and asked "Are you okay to accept blood that has a higher risk of CJD infection?". Would you sign the form?

JAJ

There is no substantiated risk at all and the whole so-called "vCJD" scare is one of many that have been blown totally out of proportion.

Smartinis

I agree and don't forget it also means that you can't be an organ donor either. I think its really sad and more people will die from this is the end than ever run the risk of CJD. If they are so paranoid they should realise that you wouldn't have had to have been in the UK for 6 months to contract it anyway if thats their argument, according to facts one dodgy hamburger at Maccas would have done it, so it really should rule out everyone from Oz that travelled to UK, which considering the high number of Brits here is probably a huge part of the population!!!