Donating blood

Since you are knowledgeable in this area, I've never been able to donate blood because I was given a 4 pint blood transfusion in 1980. Since then even with negative HIV testing I've been told they don't want my blood. Can I donate platelets? Is that affected by my having had a transfusion? Just curious cause I'd be willing.

My guess would be antibodies. When you got that blood your body produces a reaction to it and developed some antibodies. They don't hurt you. Not a great thing for people who get a lot of blood.

It came up when I was on the kidney transplant list. Many dialysis patients get blood and develop antibodies. It's much harder for them to match with a kidney. When I got the call I was #3 to get the kidney. Someone in front of me didn't. I've never had any blood products.

This could be the reason. I never worked at the blood bank. It could be some other reason. I can never give blood again. My son does though.

I don't have any advice about donating whole blood vs platelets or anything of that nature.

What I do have is a great big THANK YOU to all of you who donate. Donated blood has saved my life several times over. Quite literally.

Many people are alive today because of the kindness of strangers. You donators make a difference, and I hope you all know it.

I also have a healthy appreciation for those who are able to give blood and blood products. They saved me both times.

I have had to have 2 units PRBC's 2 different times, once when I hemorrahged after childbirth, lost so much blood my ears rang. They had to give me a pit drip wide open and trendelenburg position . Again when my anemia was found. ..had an intestinal twist that prompted hospital visit,..blood count was so low they gave me 2 units and brought Hgb up to 9.would not tell me that til discharge. Dr gave me a script for iron that had intrinsic factor in it/said it was required to utilize iron,and I had none.. told me "liver is the perfect food." Now I take organic grass fed calf /buffalo liver to keep my iron up, have serious allergy to needles.

Our Surgeon told Both Mom and Myself we were not under any cir****tances to give blood, because our blood counts would not recover at a normal rate. We had an extensive WLS that is not currently done, worked and I have many complications. Without the surgery I would not be able to do much of what I currently do.

Many, if not most, people who've had the RnY can no longer produce enough intrinsic factor. Hence the numerous postops with pernicious anemia that end up with iron infusions.

I'm curious though - what type of iron are you taking that contains intrinsic factor? I've yet to see one that we can absorb with much success. I'd be really interested in looking into that if you could provide a name or brand or some such.

Amy R, There is a prescription one, that is easy to swallow, a small capsule... trade name is Foltrin, now available in generic. I also have chroni gastritis, and have become unable to tolerate even this one. It cramps me.

I don't know how much of my story I have posted,recently about what I have experienced in last few years..so will give you a quick response to what i have found./and why I have approached with naturals. My surgery was 2 decades ago and was one of the earlier surgeries that combined many restrictions and even two bowle resections, one in small intestine and one in large intestine. so in addition to a RNY, i have a huge lack of most digestive enzymes. My anemia was found, when I was doing a highly physical job, 3-5 years after WLS. I had gastritis, which was complicated with lactose intolerance and carbonation intolerance, causing a twisted gut. That sent me to hospital and anemia was so severe would not give me the exact numbers...until I had blood already infused. Dr was concerned the info alone would send me into shock. After release from the hospital i had another medical issue and was sent back to the Dr who had treated me in hospital..He is the surgeon who told me my problem was from the surgery and was astonished i had built blood count..( from making liver patties and eating one ounce of those 2 times a day for 6 weeks.) When i told him what i had done, He said yep, "Liver is the prefect food." fast forward several years, my intolerance to eating liver 2x a day for 5 days a week is gone. I began to search for alternatives to getting the nutrition. My Parents both became ill at the same time and DH( disabled) and I became full time caregivers to one parent *****quired speciality care, and the other *****quired custodial care. Since i have medical training, it was possible.The responsibility fell heavily on me. I often got 3-5 hours of sleep and it was broken I neglected my self in care for them. Only when Mom passed did I realize how exhausted and low I had become. I had even lost ROM in my right hip! I had no medical coverage, there is none provided for caregivers. so i have no numbers but was newly symptomatic in that i became dizzy when i got up., sat up. I treated other causes of any symptoms and they persisted.(sinus, ear congestion issues).

I found a liver capsule... Carlson Labs has a Buffalo calf liver that is grass fed-organically Non GMo.. thru vita cost it is on sale 18o capsules, also thru amazon/cheaper..about 32$. dose is considered 6, I use 2-3 day . When one consumes a product with intrinsic factor - iron consumed from other sources is also absorbed.

It has taken me about 2 years to get my iron levels up enough I no longer have anemia symptoms. When I am able to obtain insurance I need labs done, but meinwhile my mucus membranes are no longer pale white, but healthy pink,. There are some other brands and kinds sourced from Beef calf organic, grass/range fed.. I don't remember where I got them, but they were sourced from Argentina.They had a similar capsule count as a dose. With my gastric problems I find using a small amount daily, causes less dispruptions in my life. Pork/Chicken/Rabbit liver is also effective if you can find any grass fed. It shoudl be dessicated for longest storage. I get, dehydrate, and powder, freeze for future use...any liver I obtain....from organic sources.Eating with cooked greens and eggs also helps absorbtions.

There is also a VERY large viamin with Iron, thru walgreens... it has calcium and magnesium so would not be acceptable...something would get cancelled out.

Thanks - I'll check out all of this info. I've just never heard of a way to absorb intrinsic factor by way of vitamins or even foods like liver. Iron yes, but not the IF. I'll have infusions for life for a number of reasons but if I can somehow ingest the IF and it's actually able to equal what I should be producing on my own it might help me go longer between infusions. So I'm really looking forward to checking all of this out. Thanks again!


edited: grammar spelling punctuation and probably a few other things too

You are welcome!Liver is the ONLY food source for Intrinsic Factor according to this surgeon. It is in all livers, pork ,rab*****icken, beef, buffalo. I have tried venison liver and i do not recommend it.

Here is my recipe for chicken liver patties.. any liveer can be done the same way, and works as well . one lb chicken livers. slice open and soak in sal****er,one tablespoon per cup..at least 30 min.. rinse well ,put in food processor w/2 large eggs, 2 servings of protein powder- chocolate and vanilla both work well, Blend well..add enough flour, maybe 2 tablespoons?... to thicken to consistency of cornbread/biscuit/pancakes. drop by tablespoons on hot, lightly oiled non stick skillet turn heat to med.( coconut, or olive oil or sun butter..1/2 tsp or less.) Use spoon to smash-to make sure they are thin enough to cook thru. turn over after first side browned, add another 1/2 tsp of oil if needed,add a tablespoon of water, put tight fitting lid on turn heat down. allow steam to finish cooking. each should be close to 3/4 ounce and I use two for a serving, depending on weight. These can be popped in ziplock and frozen for quick thaw and use as needed... for quick protein and intrinsic factor... I do not remember how many it made- but enough me and my daughter would eat on them for a week...

He did not need to operate but reduced the edema and twist with low intermittent suction, It took 5.5-6 days for bowel to un-twist. They also put me on TPN(complete nutrition given IV) for those days.. I have done all I could to avoid a repeat preformance..LOL