46 Comments
Have you ever donated blood while living with T1D? Share your experiences in the comments!
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They won’t take my blood because I’m RH- blood it is rare that there’s only 35 people in the world has it.my blood can’t be used on anyone esei can’t even receive o blood
It’s exactly the opposite! RH- is the universal red cell donor blood. Anyone with RH positive can receive either RH+ or RH- blood. They want RH- blood donors for that 15% who have RH- blood because we can receive only RH- blood. The Red Cross often publishes that they have a RH- shortage.
Leona, whoever told you that was absolutely wrong. They need your RH- blood!
Google this and read what the Red Cross has to say and give blood again if you want to!
This is just an idle curiosity question, but with those transfusion limitations, have you ever considered having your own blood stored in case *you* ever need it?
I will be donating blood for the first time next week!
I stopped trying because they always told me I couldn’t if I was diabetic! I considered lying but I wasn’t positive why it mattered and I didn’t want to inadvertently endanger anyone they might give my blood to. I’ll be looking into this and will start donating again.
Whoever is telling you this is completely wrong! T1Ds can donate no problem. Only concern would be if you ever used bovine insulin, but that’s unlikely and what most of us use is synthetic
I have attempted to donate blood on two occasions. I was turned away twice, not because of my T1D, but because of another health condition. Such a shame, because I would like to donate.
I’ve donated once, since we just became able to donate as type 1s here in Canada. I just went to donate again on Friday, but was denied because I’m anemic right now *curses*
I used to donate regularly, Until when they started asking about Mad Cow disease. I can’t swear that I never used Beef insulin, even though I cannot remember ever buying it. But because there is a remote chance that I used insulin made from beef, they won’t let me donate blood.
It took months and a little help from my Endo and the Medical Director of the local Carter Blood Center finally approved me. to donate. I made 2 draws of whole blood and came off taking aspirin and got on to the Apheresis Platelet donation team. I donated for several years and got my “12 Gallon” Pin
I wanted to, but was told that PWT1D could not donate blood.
That’s 100% false! I donate regularly. You should ask someone else ☺️ The only concern I think is if you used one of the suuuuper old forms of bovine insulin.
I donate regularly every 8 weeks 🙂
I tend to have anemia so I am not able to give blood….nothing to do with T1D
I used to donate regularly 1965 to 1977. Then i began to have consistently low iron, so my blood bank told me not to bother. Nothing about beef insulin, but I probably got both pork and beef in the 60-s…….
never have. Now that they will take blood from Type 1 diabetics i would.
I was told I could not donate because I am Type 1, and I have not tried since, but that was 40 years ago!
Maybe time to try again.
O negative. Donated previously and lost consciousness each time. Could and will donate in a hospital setting.
I would do it in a heartbeat. However for about 30 years I could not because of insulin. Now it is because of RA meds. But yes give me a chance and I am all in.
I tried to donate last year when blood supplies got low during the pandemic. I was diagnosed in 1977 and could not remember if my insulin at that time was pork or bovine. I think it was pork but because of the chance it could have been bovine, they would not take it.
Diane, I have had The same experience. I was diagnosed in 1973 and was donated blood prior to that. First the reason was I was using syringes. When that became allowed then I could not get up because I had initially been on beef pork insulin
I donated blood long ago with out problems and then could no longer donate because I could not confirm that I had not used beef insulin after 1980? Rules changed and I am now donating plasma about every 4 weeks with no impact on my T1D.
Really?? I’d love to give plasma but they won’t let me because of the diabetes
Before having kids, I used to donate platelets regularly. They wouldn’t take whole blood donations from T1Ds at the time, but from the other comments, sounds like this has changed. When I tried donating platelets after having kids, I was told I needed to have a special antibody test done first. This is a good reminder to follow-up on that.
It is so sad to see the comments that say that T1D can’t donate. This is a medical myth that needs to be stopped. Other than the non T1D related things that keep someone from donating, there currently is no medical reason that a T1D cannot donate blood.
Go for it, everyone!
I didn’t weigh enough to donate blood until after I was diagnosed with type 1! You do need to have your bg under control to donate, but I probably donate at least once a year now!
TID for 37 years. I was unable to donate for about 3 years because of uncertainty of safety with non animal sourced insulin. Fortunately in Iowa they changed the ruling if you had never had animal insulin you could donate. I’m a 6 gallon donor!
The Red Cross turned me down when I attempted to donate in 2011 because I had used beef/pork insulin from 1955 until 1980.
Where I live, it is not allowed.
While I was initially told after diagnosis by a family friend who was a nurse that I could not donate with T1D, I was then given the correct information and began donating as much as possible. As I have enjoyed the act of donating and being able to use my tolerance for needles in a good way, I made it a lifelong goal to one day break the world record for the most blood donations.
Thus far, I have made a total of 302 blood/platelet/plasma donations!
When I was diagnosed in 1974. I was told I wouldn’t be able to donate blood but could donate plasma. Fast forward to after 2005 – tried to donate plasma, told them at the beginning of the application process that I was Diabetic. Got all the way thru the process but then was asked why I took insulin (!) and that I couldn’t donate plasma due to the fact I was diabetic,
Couple of years later, tried to donate blood but because I couldn’t remember if I had taken beef insulin in my early years I was denied. Haven’t tried since.
With all the medications I take for multiple autoimmune conditions, my blood is not desired. I also live in the US, but a spent time in Ireland during mad cow disease. I don’t think anyone wants the possibility of CJD.
I try to Donate every 6 weeks but I live in Kingsville, TX and the blood mobile doesn’t get here very much. I don’t have a car which having a car I could travel for the donation. The last donation has been 3+ months because I had a bad bout with Hydrocephalus and I had a Brain Surgery on April 16, 2021 and my Neurosurgeon asked me not to donate until he releases me. I man doing very well but I still have some time before I can donate again. I have Type 1 Diabetic and I have had it for over 30 years. Taking well care of yourself it does give it back to you. I have so many problems and I am on Disability due to a Traumatic Brain Injury in 2013 and the doctor told my sister that I had 98% Brain dead. I am having some issues but donations I have been doing this ever since I was 16. Donating is good for everyone.
Diabetics could not give blood way back when I was diagnosed. In 1991 my family moved to England. When we returned in 2006, evidently diabetics were now allowed to give blood. But our lengthy stay in England meant no one in the family will ever be allowed to give blood again. They are afraid of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease from the Mad Cow disease that occurred in Britain for a couple of years. However, the incidence of Creutafeld-Jacob disease is no higher in the UK than in the U.S. So this is a ridiculous prohibition. What is even more ridiculous is that it only applies to people who were in the UK more than 6 months. Let me tell you, British beef was awful, so we never ate any. But a tourist visiting for a couple of weeks could eat fast food burgers there a dozen times and still be allowed to donate blood upon their return to the U.S. As others have commented, I have been tempted to lie, but I figure the U.S. doesn’t deserve my family’s blood!
I tried a few times, but they always deny me because I used beef/pork derived insulin until 1996.
So, like others, the first time I tried, I was denied because of being Type 1… the rest are mad cow concerns.
Some places are afraid a diabetic will pass out during or after the donation due to low bg. When I was hard up as a youth, I sometimes sold my blood. That was before any knowledge of mad cow disease. A research lab a couple of years ago was buying blood at $125/pint if you qualified with certain antibodies or blood characteristics after a small sample was taken. I qualified, but when the tech took my pulse it was “too low.” At that time I was aerobic swimming 3 to 4 times a week, so of course my resting pulse and bp were lower than “average American.” I tried to explain the beneficial aspects of doing aerobics, but the tech feared I would pass out due to low bp! I no longer sell/donate blood or plasma even just for lab research. Since mad cow awareness, and since I injected beef/pork insulin, I don’t want to endanger anybody’s health. And I very seldom eat beef, pork, chicken, or turkey meat anymore. I get protein from yoghurt, kefir, nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese, salmon (Alaska, wild-caught) or sardines every day.
For many years I understood I couldn’t donate as a T1D. Then when my congregation did a drive, it turned out I was eligible. I’ve donated regularly since then except for last year due to COVID.
I was excited when I found out I could donate. I donated several times but then I kept failing the hemoglobin check. They really wanted my Type O blood and would call me constantly. I went back a few times and failed every time so I asked to be removed from their call list. When I mentioned it to the NP at my endo’s office she said, “Oh yeah, you’ve been slightly anemic for awhile” but she had never told me! My current PCP has told me to start taking an iron supplement.
I use to fail the Iron level but then it was just a simple thing of not drinking tea in the morning i was giving blood. I did not think this was it but it was simple. So now i am back on schedule every 60 days.
I’ve been doing it for years and I like to help out if and when I can. That said I wanted to donate bone marrow to help in a good cause but no such luck because of my condition and the risks, there’s no harm in trying but if the risk is way to high then so be it. Hence the blood giving.
I donated once while in high school. However, afterward I was sitting at a table drinking the recommended juice (my BS wasn’t low) and passed out. I then was dizzy and puking for 24 hours. So, I haven’t donated since.
I have donated about 8 gallons lifetime, but a couple of years ago the blood bank gave me an updated set of questions that included one about injection drug use. Of course I use injection drugs every day. The blood bank put me on a permanent deferral list (a lifetime ban) because in the early 1980s I was using beef insulin from Eli Lilly, and couldn’t guarantee that the cows were all from the US. The blood bank apparently thought that my blood could transmit mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) from British cows. No more blood donations because of a dumb (IMHO) question from the blood bankers.
Yes! I just did for the first time two weeks ago. I found out that as long as you have well controlled blood sugars, donating blood as a type 1 diabetic is fine! The people at the donation center never even asked if I was diabetic and it was not one of the qualifying questions. I have yet to see where my donation has gone but knowing that I can donate in the future is great!
As a LADA (dx 7 yrs ago), I’d already been donating for years. Found no “exclusion” on the in-take questionnaire, so I’m still at it. By the end of the year, I’ll have 100 donations to my name. I encourage all to check again if you were previously told NO, as there seems to be a lot of mis-information out there.
I have donated UNTIL returning from living abroad in France for 3 years (decades ago). Have been banned since they say it’s because of the possibility of having been exposed to mad cow disease.
I do donate, but they always have trouble finding a “good” vein. I always end up getting bruises from the probing for a vein and the little circular, metal thing that is pressed into my skin to mark the location of the vein. Sometimes the machine keeps alarming because the bag is filling up too slow or not filling at all, or something. Then you are in danger of the blood being tossed because there is not enough in the bag. 😐 Argh.