What have you done to help others?

_xxx_ said:
My condolences, sorry about your dad. I can feel with you, I was scarred to death yesterday because my mother had a near heart-attack and is in the hospital right now. Haven't got much sleep last night.
Good luck and best wishes to your Mother. Keep your chin up, some people bounce back completely from heart attacks. ;)
 
digitalwanderer said:
Good luck and best wishes to your Mother. Keep your chin up, some people bounce back completely from heart attacks. ;)

Thanks, it all went well. She'll have to change her lifestyle a bit (less cigs, less fat, more training), but she'll be allright.
 
nitenho, I think the NZ law states 6months or more before you are allowed to give blood if you have had sexual relations with a person from X country. X being basically everywhere except Aussie(should be on the ban list those dodgy bastards), US, Canada and Western Europe I think, could be more, Im sure my parents could not give blood for 2 years just for visiting Indonesia.
Even with residency I think she is still classed as a foreigner so I can not donate.
Had the same annoying problem once we got into the country and changed from work permit to a visa, and they required her police record and a health check again, even though she had been only in NZ since her last ones, any and criminal offences or health problems would have happened in NZ. Retarded immigration department ><
 
Blitzkrieg said:
nitenho, I think the NZ law states 6months or more before you are allowed to give blood if you have had sexual relations with a person from X country. X being basically everywhere except Aussie(should be on the ban list those dodgy bastards), US, Canada and Western Europe I think, could be more, Im sure my parents could not give blood for 2 years just for visiting Indonesia.
Wow. That sounds like either a stupid setup that does nothing, or a really crappy substitute for actually testing the blood.
 
Chalnoth said:
Wow. That sounds like either a stupid setup that does nothing, or a really crappy substitute for actually testing the blood.

Obviously, Chalnoth, you haven't given any blood. Take a trip to you local bloodbank and just check out the requirements. You might be shocked.....and if you ever are in the need for their services you will be thankful. It's a rough world out there........

BTW, Mise, my condolences on your loss.

FYI, I give blood at whenever I am able - medication restricts me a bit there. (anti inflamitories for artritus)

But the best thing I do for the world and mankind is vote against any christian evangelical right wing asshole I can!
 
Chalnoth said:
Wow. That sounds like either a stupid setup that does nothing, or a really crappy substitute for actually testing the blood.
There's obviously a trade off between how much you can test blood for, and some diseases are either difficult to test for or don't show on tests in their early days. You wouldn't have any blood to give people if you tested each donation it for every disease people might ever get, and then waited for any other incubating diseases that didn't easily test to come to light. It would also be prohibitively expensive.

Instead the system "tests" blood by waiting to see if the person donating it gets sick (by enforcing a manditory waiting period if you been abroad), or admits to being at higher risk of disease, and then screening the "good" samples they get from that.

It's easier, simpler, safer and cheaper to turn away people who might be at higher risk from being in places where they can more easily get HIVs, hepatitis, malaria or whatever than risk giving tainted blood. Given that people who need blood are often very sick or critically injured, inadvertantly giving them another disease would probably kill them.
 
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Bouncing Zabaglione Bros. said:
Instead the system "tests" blood by waiting to see if the person donating it gets sick (by enforcing a manditory waiting period if you been abroad), or admits to being at higher risk of disease, and then screening the "good" samples they get from that.
Well, that I can understand, for most diseases. But for those whose symptoms don't show up well or quickly, or the giver may not divulge (due to negligence or embarassment), I sincerely hope the tests are actually done. This would obviously include, of course, HIV and most other STD's.

And for stuff like Malaria I can also understand. That disease in particular is nearly nonexistant in the US, and can be hard to detect. It may also be important to test for more common illnesses that a person might mistake for allergies, but could be dangeous to somebody who is sick or injured (common cold, for example).

Anyway, no, I haven't given blood. One of these days I'll get off of my ass and do it. They do have periodic blood drives around here...
 
Chalnoth said:
Well, that I can understand, for most diseases. But for those whose symptoms don't show up well or quickly, or the giver may not divulge (due to negligence or embarassment), I sincerely hope the tests are actually done. This would obviously include, of course, HIV and most other STD's.
You are questioned privately and, since there is always a test just to check for anemia, such a person would have a valid excuse for not donating. Speaking of which, I'm off to give some O-Neg this afternoon.
 
:LOL:


Scheduled for another blood donation this thursday. And if I'm not mistaken, the next one will be right on my birthday. :D
 
Up until the last 2 years, I didn't donate myself. I was born with yellow jaundice, which, up until reciently, didn't allow me to donate. Then, 2 years ago, my best friend died of a massive heart attack at 56 years old. He gave blood as often as he could for 30 years, and was an exceptional person in most every way. After he passed, I checked with the blood bank and found that I could donate, so I started. I feel it's the least I could do in his memory. In retrospect, I wish it hadn't taken the death of a friend to start donating........
 
martrox said:
Up until the last 2 years, I didn't donate myself. I was born with yellow jaundice, which, up until reciently, didn't allow me to donate. Then, 2 years ago, my best friend died of a massive heart attack at 56 years old. He gave blood as often as he could for 30 years, and was an exceptional person in most every way. After he passed, I checked with the blood bank and found that I could donate, so I started. I feel it's the least I could do in his memory. In retrospect, I wish it hadn't taken the death of a friend to start donating........

That's a pretty good reason. :smile:
 
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