Blood donation

[Chri5ti]

Good morning. I was just wondering if anyone ran into any issues donating blood? I have recurrent viral meningitis. Have had 7x over the past 15years. Latest bout was February 2023. They have not found my cause yet even though I have had my spinal fluid tested twice for the most common culprits. I am O negative blood type so try to donate every 2months. I moved and had a lot of family issues so I haven't donated since moving to upstate New York 18months ago. I saw a local Red Cross donation so I signed up. They had an old address and I was having trouble remembering the old address correctly as it was 2 moves ago and I still have pretty bad brain fog and recall issues from February bout. When I did remember and explained away by my VM they questioned me. This is not covered in the standard questionnaire you answer each time you donate. They called main office and they said I couldn't donate. Ummmmm ever again? I'm a little confused and just wanted to know if anyone has faced this or just general thoughts.

[Jonad724]

I also have recurrent aseptic viral meningitis (also known as Mollaret’s). I was told that as the cause of the recurrence is unknown, and that Mollaret’s is so rare, that they could not accept a blood donation from me due to the potential risks involved. In fact the blood donation service here in the UK had to go away research the recurrence before they would give me an answer. Hope this helps.

[Chri5ti in reply to Jonad724]

Wow. Ok well it's upsetting but I guess I understand. I was confused because I go years in between bouts and I've donated since having it. Only because, again, there isn't any questions on the very long questionnaire you fill out every time you donate. Thanks for letting me know!

[Jonad724 in reply to Chri5ti]

I think the criteria varies by country though. The NHS was hit by a contaminated donated blood scandal 35 or so years ago and it’s still rumbling on now. They are much less likely to take a risk with blood donation especially if they don’t know what the condition is, what causes it and how they screen the blood. Might be worth checking locally?

[Chri5ti in reply to Jonad724]

This was a mobile drive. I plan on asking my doctor and I’ll go from there. If it’s not safe to donate I won’t. But I want to make sure since they always need/want o negative.

[Jonad724]

My blood group is o pos which is as common as rain here so that would explain why they’re not bothered with me 😞

[kelpie25]

I wouldn't even think about donating blood with your medical history and current condition. I've never been able to donate blood (nothing to do with VM) because of the very strict UK restrictions and understand the necessity of these.

[kelpie25]

I'm B+