Donating blood

Searching through past posts, it looks like some people are told they can never donate blood again after RNY, some are told they can after a year, and some after 6 months. I just emailed my doc's office, but while I wait for a response, what did your doc say? Have you donated blood since surgery? I tried every time the bloodmobile came to my office pre-op, but my iron was almost always too low. However, my labs have been normal (for the first time ever!) since surgery, so I'm hoping to start again if I'm allowed.

On another note, does anyone know much about blood donation? The Red Cross always leaves me voicemails saying there's an "urgent need for your blood type." I'm AB+...it's not very common, but I always thought the only people who could use my blood were others who are AB+, so I'd think mine would be pretty useless compared to, say, the O- crowd.

I don't recall it ever coming up with my surgeon; however, I can't think of any inherent reason we shouldn't be able to donate.

I was advised to rethink blood donation because of low-iron risk. Therefore, I have not donated, don't plan to, and know little. I do know lab workers used to hate hunting for my fat-buried type-A veins but loved how easy my DH's type-O veins bulged in plain sight. They especially liked his universal Type-O blood. I especially liked the goodie tray to snack from after donating blood and before leaving the lab : /

The only blood type that there is an urgent need for is O negative. There are very few AB+ people. I am AB+ and do not donate because I do not want to risk low iron.

My work was having a blood drive so I went to donate. My iron level was too low and they wouldn't take my blood. When I called the surgeon's office to tell them, the NP said, "You shouldn't be giving blood anyways." Oops. I didn't know...?

Once you are completely recovered from surgery, the limiting factor is iron. A lot of WLSers end up low on iron, so you have to be careful.

The Red Cross only checks your hematocrit right before donation. That's the iron in your blood right now. Another significant iron number to watch is ferritin. That's stored iron your body can draw upon. Think of it in monetary terms. Your hematocrit number will show the money in your pocket, the ferritin is money in the bank. You can have money in your pocket, but no savings. So they might take your blood, but that might leave you iron bankrupt. If you are going to donate, it's best to know what all your lab numbers are.

I donate platelets every two weeks. It's a long process, about three hours, as opposed to ten minutes for a pint of blood. What they do is filter the platelets out with an apheresis machine, and return the red cells and plasma to me. That's less of a strain on my iron needs than donating red cells or whole blood.

I'm O negative, which is the universal donor for whole blood and red cells. AB is actually the universal donor for platelets and plasma. Ideally, they'd rather have my red cells, being O negative. But you can only donate whole blood 6 times a year, red cells 3 times a year, and platelets 24 times a year. So while my platelets aren't in as much demand, I give a lot more of them. If I only donated a couple times a year, they'd take the red cells.

My O negative whole blood could go to anyone, even your AB+. But depending on what your issue was, they might prefer to give you "real" AB+. And since only about 4 percent have your blood type, it can be pretty hard to find. Sometimes, they even dig a little deeper, and select a specific AB+ profile that matches yours. The Red Cross posts a little sign where you check in, letting donors know when their blood or platelets were used for a specific recipient. It's a nice feeling to know you were the best match for someone. This summer some person in Vermont was getting mine pretty regularly. I like to imagine they're a vegan. Or used to be.

Literally laughed out loud, then tried to explain why to my husband. He didn't get it.

Thanks for all the great info, Grim! That makes a lot of sense. My last ferritin level was 28 with a wide reference range of 10-291. It was the first time it was ever in the normal range, but it's still not very far in. My hemoglobin was 12.3 (first time it's ever been above 12) and hematocrit was 37.9 (first time it's ever been above 35). If I remember correctly though, depending on the agency, you either need hemoglobin above 12.5 or hematocrit above 38 to donate, so I might be SOL anyway. I'll see what my 6 month numbers are.

I wouldn't even think of donating with a ferritin level of 28. You'll end up being a patient yourself.

I no longer have a period. Yet when my ferritin drops below 30... I get iron infusions.  My ferritin are now 120, and rest of my numbers are great.. But I work very hard to maintain that. 

No way would I donate blood...unless it for a specific person - family or a very close friend.. 

Why? Becuase most of the time I am a few months away from needing blood myself.. 

Beside iron - what are your other numbers? Vitamins? Minerals? All of them... D, E, K, A, etc etc..?