Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
#1
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 404
Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
Went to donate blood last week for the first time ever, and because I had lived in the UK in the 80's, they couldn't take my blood due to the Mad Cow epidemic of those times. Apparently there is no way of checking if someone has the disease until they are dead, when they can look at the brain. Such a shame such a great resource can't be utilised.
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Rockingham, WA
Posts: 44
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
I always wonder if they will they accept our organs for transplant purposes?
#5
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
Having been a vegetarian all that time it's very annoying I can't donate blood.
#7
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
I've got an Australian blood donor card but the irony is I too am not allowed to give blood. It's for bone marrow because I was on the UK register and transferred to the Australian one.
#8
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
It's heartbreaking when you know they are short of blood
#9
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
Short of blood and stories that Australia Red Cross were selling Blood Stocks overseas. Does anyone know if that was true?
#13
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: London
Posts: 276
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
See this extract from the NHS Blood and Transplant service website - http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/current_issu...od_safety.html -
"There have been only three clinical cases of vCJD definitely attributed to blood transfusion, where a donor later developed vCJD. These cases were associated with blood transfusions given in the years 1996 and 1997. A further case of transmission of vCJD infection, without development of clinical vCJD, was associated with a transfusion in 1999. There are a further four clinical cases of vCJD which might be associated with blood transfusion, but where none of the donors has developed clinical vCJD. The latest of these cases was transfused in 2002."
For this reason the UK blood service introduced a ban in 2004 banning blood donations from people who have had blood transfusions anywhere in the world since 1980.
#14
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Mandurah
Posts: 2,269
Re: Blood Donating and Mad Cow Disease
What drives me mad ( no pun intended) is the fact that Australia has a notoriously low donor rate and yet willing donors with a minisucule risk are turned away.
Dr: excuse me sir, would like to bleed to death or have a very miniscule risk of becoming a mad cow.
Me: I'll risk the cow thanks, fill me up!
Dr: excuse me sir, would like to bleed to death or have a very miniscule risk of becoming a mad cow.
Me: I'll risk the cow thanks, fill me up!