Shouldn’t we find out, rather than allowing the self-appointed to determine our morals for us? After all, once we have found out then at least we’d know what those morals are costing us. Or even, what their morals are costing us.
Shouldn’t we find out, rather than allowing the self-appointed to determine our morals for us? After all, once we have found out then at least we’d know what those morals are costing us. Or even, what their morals are costing us.
‘ After years of rejecting donors, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)…’
Trial of paid v voluntary: if donors – whether paid or voluntary – are being turned away because idiots are in charge, that is a significant confounding factor in the trial isn’t it?
USA is suffering similar shortages of blood – I wonder could there be a common reason for this?
Call me a cynic but I suspect the problem has nowt to do with paying, or not, for blood. I suspect that the Blood Transfusion Service has simply fallen into the hands of the sort of incompetent leftists who fuck up everything they touch.
They stopped going round with their vans so now people have to make an effort.
I used to give blood regularly, just about every time I saw a van, but can’t remember last time I donated.
So I want to their (crap) website and was met with this:
“Age
NEW DONORS
If you have never given blood before you may register at the age of 16 but can only give blood between your 17th and 66th birthday [including on your 66th birthday]. If you attend as a first time donor before you are 17 or after you are 66 we would not be able to accept you.”
Seriously, we’ve got the baby boomers all too old to start donating but being of an age where they’re more likely to need operations and they’re putting up barriers?
Amongst other things, I suspect there is a really nasty problem brewing that the window of possible donors is narrowing sharply.
Obvs they need clean blood. This means they turn away anyone who ticks ANY of the following boxes:
– injected drugs (leaves only the middle classes)
– has a tattoo (that’s a narrowing population)
– ins’tt on any meds (which rules out the mums on anti-depressants)
– has spent any time camping or trekking in any of a very wide list of countries (which now rules out most of the middle classes with their dahling gap yah trips)
Basically they’re looking for the empty set. I spent 5 weeks trekking round South America the best part of 3 decades ago and they’re nervous about taking my blood. (plus I often have a bit of a snuffly nose which they don’t like)
You basically have to have the physique of a fighter pilot with both the narrow horizons of someone who has never left their nice village in the Cotswolds AND YET hasn’t succumbed to the neds selling you stuff to relieve the boredom.
It’s a really dwindling supply, but no-one is going to have the balls to relax the constraints and see a replay of the 1980s contaminated blood scandal.
We’re doomed.
I am informed that the present problems are due to a shortage of staff rather than a shortage of donors.
Well, yes. I remember wandering up to a blood donation van when I was out shopping. I said that they wouldn’t take me because of my heart op, and did this still apply.
Yes, it did.
@P-G: d’ye mean they haven’t ruled out people with jabs’ worth of spike protein in their blood? Bit risky, don’t you think?
I used to give blood routinely: I haven’t for ages because I’m always on medication, plus had a nasty infection with severe after effects once from an insect bite in Central Europe.
A large part of the 1980s blood scandal turned out to be a civil service balls up: the English NHS refused an offer from the Scottish NHS and bought from the US instead. Nobody seems ever to have been hanged for it though.
And lastly: don’t mention the race aspect. Just don’t!
Moving to Canada from U.K. I can’t donate blood, they removed restrictions for China and a host of other countries homosexuals (or as they refer to them, men who have anal sex), because it was discriminatory. Apparently the mad cow outbreak in the U.K. all those years ago makes me forever potentially tainted though
As we’re talking important distinctions, a “paid donor” is a seller.
US reader here. In the US, one thing that isn’t explained is why should we donate blood? It surely isn’t given to patients for free. I’m guessing historically it came from a time when there more non-profit hospitals, so it made sense for someone to donate blood. But now, with most of the hospitals run for profit, why should I donate to help someone corporate entity’s bottom line?