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ActNow by : Making a donation

Donating blood ACTION

Donate blood... you can save someone's life.

Submitted 4/30/2006 By Weiyi Views 42342 Comments 8 Updated 12/18/2008

The Lowdown

When:
Where: Australia Wide
Costs:

What’s involved?


Over 21 000 blood donations are needed in Australia per week. Unfortunately, due to low eligibilty, this need is not met.
It only takes an hour every three months to be a regular blood donor.

Who needs blood or blood products?

People who are victims of trauma, or have acute health problems or chronic diseases, i.e. leukaemia, anaemia, cancer, autoimmune disorders.

What are you going to do about it?

If you are between the ages of 16 and 70, weigh more than 45 kg, and feel healthy,  visit: www.donateblood.com.au/index.aspx?IDDataTreeMenu=70 and do the 1-minute quiz to determine eligibility.

Once you clear that, you can make an appointment by ringing the Australian Red Cross Blood services on:
13 14 95, or sign up online on www.giveblood.redcross.org.au.

The staff will go through the steps before you donate, which includes a 'pre-screening.'

To find the closest blood station to you, visit:
www.donateblood.com.au/donor-search.aspx?IDDataTreeMenu=46&parent=31

You can also  sign up for a mobile unit to visit your school or business regularly.

Why should people do this?

* 30% goes to cancer patients

* 15% to heart disease patients

* 15% stomach and bowel disease patients

*12% burn victims and vaccinations

* 12% accident victims

* 6% liver and kidney disease patients

* 5% people with haemophilia

* 5% babies and pregnant women

Discuss Now

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RSS Comments
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Tegan03 18-Dec-2008

I know this is a pretty shocking story Clinton, but the reason why the Red Cross asks the homosexuality question now is because in the 80s there was a big scandal where many people got HIV and died through blood products.

When HIV was just discovered, gay people who contracted the disease were not given any compensation by the government, because they had, the government claimed "inflicted it on themselves" but medically acquired HIV people were compensated.

Understandably, many HIV+ gay people were outraged, and angry. Some of them deliberately gave infected blood as a way to take revenge on society. The Red Cross was aware of this but took the blood because of political pressure from the gay community. The Red Cross allowed a lot of people to receive the blood and die, and there were lots of legal ramifications for them - in some countries, Red Cross organisers were jailed.

That's why the question is asked now - to cover themselves because of the mistakes they made in the past. It is a discriminatory question, but they justify it with the higher incidence of HIV in homosexual communities.

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reibey 26-Jul-2008


So - the Red Cross website lays down the guidelines as:

If you have any reason to believe you may have acquired an infection through unprotected sex, you should not donate.

Safe sex practices are vital to the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. However, 'protected sex' is not 100% effective and therefore the Australian Red Cross Blood Service's guidelines relating to sexual activity are based on the prevalence of infection in certain population groups.

The following questions are asked in regard to sexual activity:

Have you ever thought you could be infected with HIV or have AIDS?
In the last 12 months have you engaged in sexual activity with someone who you think might answer yes to any of the questions on the use of drugs, partner with HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HTLV, or treatment with clotting factors?

Since your last donation or in the last 12 months have you had sexual activity with a new partner who currently lives or has previously lived overseas?

Within the past twelve months have you:

Had male to male sex?
Had sexual activity with a male who you think might be bisexual?
Been a male or female sex worker (e.g. received payment for sex in money, gifts or drugs?)
Engaged in sex with a male or female sex worker?

If the answer is 'yes' to any of the above questions, then a 12 month deferral is applied.

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Dylan 24-May-2007

I know that there is a yes/no question about 'male to male sex'. I don't know whether they would turn you away because of it.

They take two little samples of blood every time you donate. I'm sure that these get tested for all new donors and anyone who has answered yes to any of the questions in the questionaire eg have you had sex with someone from overseas etc..

You would have to say whether or not you had sex with a new partner since your last donation.

I don't know if this was helpful or not...

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Clinton 24-May-2007

Sorry to rain on this happy parade, but can I raise an awkward question?

I'm gay and It's never been made clear to me what the story is in relation to this. In the UK, I believe (or somewhere else), gay people can't give blood! In Australia, I think the case is that you are asked about your sexual orientation and your blood is still taken, but mightn't be used. I remember that at my Catholic school, one of my teachers assisted with the blood giving, he assured us that the information would be kept confidential, but I didn't want a bar of it.

I've never had any desire to give blood because I don't like the idea of being treated as, statistically, a liability.

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Dylan 23-May-2007

I'm a proud blood donor too.

As a uni student, I don't exacly have a lot of $$$ to donate, so for me donating blood is perfect.

It's a really great feeling, get some friends together and go in as a group. It's a great cure for those first time nerves.

And you get something to eat and drink at the end for free!

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