Blood Bank Donation

[MJo]

Just had interesting conversation with Blood Bank rep. I can't give blood until five years after end of treatment. She was counting my radiation ending July 2006 as end of treatment. I asked her if Herceptin (ended 11/2006) counts as treatment. She didn't know and she's going to check it and call me back. So I don't know if I can start giving blood again in July 2011 or December 2011.

I thought it was interesting that the Blood Bank rep had never heard of Herceptin and that she didn't know whether to count it as treatment or not.

[Susan]

I was told by my blood bank representative, I can't give blood until I'm done with Arimidex.

[Westcoastgirl]

Wow, I am really surprised. I gave blood regularly but up here in Canada they are no longer interested in me giving blood....ever again.

[Yorkiegirl]

I was told by mine I would have wait the 5 yrs from end of Herceptin, which would be for me August 2011.

[Westcoastgirl]

This is what I copied from the World Blood Bank.

Cancer: Basal cell, squamous cell skin cancers and keratosis; can not donate until removed and healed. Melanoma; can not donate. Malignant tumors; can donate five years after removal of early stage contained solid tumor, no chemotherapy, and in remission.

[Montana]

Just wondering about being an organ donor?

[StephN]

Regarding organ donor:

I was told that in Washington State they will not accept any organs, even eyes, from anyone who has/had cancer.
That was a few years back - I had to remove "Organ Donor" from my drivers license.

[v-ness]

interesting this topic has come up. over the years i have donated about 7 gallons of blood to the local hospital and the Red Cross. i just donated to the RC bloodmobile this july, then got diagnosed with breast cancer in late august so i've always worried what happened with my blood. the Red Cross has called me 3x in the past couple months asking me to donate, and each time i ask them to put me on a Do Not Call list because i have cancer and have no idea when i will ever be able to donate again. maybe when i go to Oncology thursday for my chemo i will pop in to see my old blood bank friends and ask them about cancer and blood donation. the funny thing is, you never see a question about cancer on the huge form you have to fill in when you go to donate blood! Mad Cow Disease, sure. cancer, nope.

i too am an Organ Donor and i should hope that when you are so many years in remission or considered cured that you can certainly still donate your organs. my husband died 3 yrs ago january 14 of advanced esophageal cancer and he was not an organ donor. still, when i got home from the hospital that morning the organ donor bank called to ask me if i would donate his corneas and i said yes. they knew full well he died of cancer and still his corneas now help 2 people see once again.

i would really be interested in the blood issue because way too many people don't bother giving blood and make excuses like 'scared of needles' or 'no time', etc. my bob lived a couple months longer thanks to blood donors. when he was first admitted and diagnosed he had to have 4 pints transfused immediately. we only had 10 more weeks together, but it might have been a lot less than that without life-giving blood.

valerie

[hutchibk]

My doctor told me that I cannot ever donate blood, organs, etc... probably because I am mets patient. But, I can donate my body to science someday, and that is what I am getting ready to research.

[Colleens_Husband]

Colleen has rare B negative blood and she regularly got calls from the Red Cross to donate blood in emergencies. The American Red Cross told Colleen that after HER2 cancer she could never donate blood again.

I was told that there are also blood and organ donation warnings if you have taken Neupogen during chemo.

I understand that the odds of causing the person receiving the donation harm is very slight, but you give donations in a spirit of giving and an altruistic sense of the greater good of society. With that in mind, I believe that you shouldn't donate blood or organs if there is even the slightest chance that you can harm someone else.

[v-ness]

i believe donating an organ is one thing and could possibly infect someone else with cancer cells. blood may be a whole other ballgame. they broke my blood down into parts since i was a long time donor. i went on the American Cancer Society website and apparently there have never been any reports of a blood recipient getting cancer from a transfusion from a cancer survivor. i donated my blood in july when my cancer was active and growing, unbeknownst to me, and reported it to the Red Cross when i found out 2 months later. they did not seem very fazed and said that the process usually kills cancer cells anyway. many, many people have probably donated 'infected' blood in the very same way i did, and always will, not knowing that they have cancer or some other disease. it seems to me that the hospital or Red Cross would know best whether or not to accept blood from someone who'd had cancer MANY years before and had had a long-time clean bill of health. if you notify them when you donate, they always have the option to reject you or not use your blood. the info page on this subject is at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4x_Donation_by_Cancer_Survivors.asp?sitearea =ETO. i am still curious about my hospital's policy and will ask the blood bank and oncologist tomorrow. valerie