I heard about that on the news last night
Good for you for donating your blood
I had to have 3 units transfered into me after the emergency c-section to deliver #1DS and felt very greatful that there are people willing to do this for complete strangers.
I have only been able to donate once & that was when I was a senior in HS. DH & I are now unable to donate at all because of living in Italy in the 90's.
American Red Cross :
In-Depth Discussion of Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease and Blood Donation
In some parts of the world, cattle can get an infectious, fatal brain disease called Mad Cow Disease. In these same locations, humans have started to get a new disease called variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) which is also a fatal brain disease. Scientists believe that vCJD is Mad Cow Disease that has somehow transferred to humans, possibly through the food chain.
There is now evidence from a small number of case reports involving patients and laboratory animal studies that vCJD can be transmitted through transfusion. There is no test for vCJD in humans that could be used to screen blood donors and to protect the blood supply. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep vCJD out of the blood supply by avoiding collections from those who have been where this disease is found.
At this time, the American Red Cross donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:
You are not eligible to donate if:
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in the United Kingdom (UK), or
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any country(ies) in the (UK). The UK includes any of the countries listed below.
Channel Islands
England
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames
From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany
From 1980 through 1996 - Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy or Greece.
You spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 5 years or more from January 1, 1980, to present, in any combination of country(ies) in Europe, including
in the UK from 1980 through 1996 as listed in above
on or associated with military bases as described above, and
in other countries in Europe as listed below:
Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia/Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland (Republic of)
Italy
Kosovo (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Montenegro (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Netherlands (Holland)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Yugoslavia (Federal Republic includes Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia)
I think I'm going to get out of here for a while tonight and go have a drink or something with my sister.
No one can stay with us!! We have two extra bedrooms, one is DH's "office"-I use quotes because there is so much crap in there he can't even walk into it. He uses the dining room table as his office. The other one actually has a bed, but it is so stuffed with all the crap DH pulled out of his "office" when he was going to "clean" it and I had to put it in there for DS8's birthday party. It's still there 2 weeks later. The nearest hotel is 8 miles away and is in Downtown Savannah, about $250/night...
I don't like visitors...it means I have to clean..
.., I was feeling just a little relaxed watching Dr. Phil..then I got to thinking, "I could really milk this donation thing..DH knows what happened to me the last time.." Then I realized the only way dinner was going to happen was for me to either grill the skirt steak I had marinating or go buy a pizza. I already put off the steak yesterday, so I decided we'd better eat it. It was AWFUL!!! I made a terriyaki marinade which is usually very good, but the low sodium soy sauce I used was anything BUT...It was almost too salty to eat. DS's complained the entire meal, so I let them eat the mac and cheese and green beans. Then they had brownie batter bowls for dessert..(surely y'all can figure out this desert...I made brownies, they both got a bowl to lick..Voila! Dessert!)
I know I read this every time I donate, but does this mean that YOU could have this disease w/o knowing it.. and w/o symptoms? Would if flare up at a later time? Scary stuff..those questions they ask me every time creep me out..."have you been with a prostitute or paid for sex in the past 6 months?"
