Posted by Waterlily on November 5, 2001, at 7:46:39
In reply to Donation, posted by Gracie2 on November 4, 2001, at 16:40:16
>
> My son got a speeding ticket and in court, they told him he could either pay a bunch of money in fines and court costs, or he could return in a month with proof of having donated blood and $50 to the NYC relief fund.
> Pretty decent, eh?
> -GraciePretty indecent, I think. I work in a hospital blood bank and also donate blood regularly. What you're describing is blood donation under pressure, which is BAD, BAD, BAD. It puts patients' lives at risk and here's why: Even with the sophisticated testing we have for diseases like HIV, we cannot catch diseases when the virus numbers are too low to be detected. We rely on the donors to be honest about risk factors so that they will hopefully be honest and not donate if they might be infected. Donors tend not to be honest if they have been pressured to donate (and your son certainly has). We will not even release unused directed donor units to the general patient population because they're considered to be more risky for disease transmission (because they may have been pressured to donate for a friend or family member) than donors who had no pressure. Blood safety is of prime importance, and people want zero risk associated with blood transfusion. Our blood bank gets inspected by no fewer than five agencies (Food and Drug Administration, American Association of Blood Banks, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Joint Association for Accredidation of Hospitals, and the College of American Pathologists). You would not believe the number of safeguards that we have so that no human errors are made. As many precautions as we take, it still all boils down to the donors' honesty.
poster:Waterlily
thread:13465
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011105/msgs/13508.html