Life as you knew it has ceased to exist.

[Miss Tequila]

May 6, 2021 14:50:03 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

If the transplant list is too long, consider or ask your MD about locating to AZ. Temporarily.

A friend up north needed a heart transplant fast. He was a long way down on the list. They moved to AZ and he had a heart within 3 months.

By the by, who on this board knows their blood type? I know mine, DH doesn't. Do pregnant women get blood typed like I did?

I always thought i knew mine but I wasn't 100% positive.  Last year when I was in the hospital, they did test my blood type.  I'm assuming they had to so I got the correct plasma?  Anyway, I was correct but now I know for positive.  

[wvugurl26]

I know mine. I donated blood one time before realizing it wasn't a great idea for me personally.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I know mine.   I'm A negative.  I had to get RhoGAM when I was pregnant because DH is A positive.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I'm O-, the universal blood. Have donated 45 times, then took some time off due to moving. I started up again here with a different blood bank but with the 2 times I went they got a bad stick and it clotted. So no donation. I'm leery about trying them again. 

[nidena]

My workplace has a mobile blood bank come out every 60ish days.  I've donated twice so far and plan to donate every time they come out, especially since I'm universal.

[finnime]

My DH doesn't know his either. I do know mine; I have since childhood. My mother wrote it in our baby books.

[Artemis Windsong]

Giving blood is the cheap way to get your blood type.

[Lizard Queen]

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

[daisylu]

I know everyone in my households blood type. Here it is listed on your band whenever you seek care hospital care.

[dannylion]

I didn't know my blood type until I was in the Air Force.  It's one of the items of information that goes on your dogtags.  

[swamp]

A+

[nidena]

I can never remember, right away, if I'm negative or position for O but then I remember that + or - is for the Rh protein which I know I don't have.  lol

[empress of self-improvement]

May 6, 2021 16:34:00 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

Be glad you don't get it from the top of your hand. Veins are all collapsed in my arms. I have been told that eventually they'll have to use my feet. I hope i'm dead at that point.

[imawino]

May 6, 2021 14:50:03 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

If the transplant list is too long, consider or ask your MD about locating to AZ. Temporarily.

A friend up north needed a heart transplant fast. He was a long way down on the list. They moved to AZ and he had a heart within 3 months.

By the by, who on this board knows their blood type? I know mine, DH doesn't. Do pregnant women get blood typed like I did?

I was told mine years ago by the Red Cross when they called to ask me to donate more blood.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

O+ here, but now I am a difficult recipient.

The last surgery I had where I needed to be transfused, it took them a long time to cross match me.  When they finally found 2 units that matched, all it did was expose me to more minor antigens.  I really wish I had argued more against being transfused, my surgeon normally only transfused to how you feel....not numbers.  He had left town after that surgery and his PA thought I should be transfused.  

Between this, and badly scarred veins from so many needle sticks, I try to minimize who sticks me, and for what reason.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 7, 2021 12:37:02 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

May 6, 2021 16:34:00 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

Be glad you don't get it from the top of your hand. Veins are all collapsed in my arms. I have been told that eventually they'll have to use my feet. I hope i'm dead at that point.

Don’t EVER let them go after your feet.  I have a pretty high pain threshold and this put me on the ceiling.  

[Deleted]

May 6, 2021 16:34:00 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

The trick is not to watch!

My blood type is A+.   I've been donating for years.

[Lizard Queen]

May 7, 2021 17:44:13 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

May 6, 2021 16:34:00 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

The trick is not to watch!

My blood type is A+.   I've been donating for years.

I don't. Its not that. I used to not have any problem,  then I started fainting if they took too many vials. I would be just fine talking, and out with no warning.  By trial and error, i know I'm good with 3 vials. Then I was pregnant,  and just fine no matter how much they took. 

[Deleted]

May 7, 2021 17:54:25 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I used to not have any problem,  then I started fainting if they took too many vials. I would be just fine talking, and out with no warning.  By trial and error, i know I'm good with 3 vials. Then I was pregnant,  and just fine no matter how much they took. 

Interesting- you do have a lot more blood in your body during pregnancy. I asked my OB if I could donate when I was pregnant given that I had more than normal and he said, "Only if it's family emergency". I'd been reading "Journey" by Robert and Suzanne Massey, a memoir of dealing with their son's hemophilia and realized how important donated blood was for many people.

[taz157]

May 6, 2021 16:34:00 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

After one of my miscarriages, I had some genetic testing done on me through blood. They took 15 vials!! Some of were small and some not as much. Fortunately, I didn’t faint and everything was fine but 😱 on the amount.

[taz157]

I only know my type as I got a copy of my medical records when I flew when I was pregnant with DD1. I’m B+. I don’t know if DH knows his type.

[minnesotapaintlady]

May 6, 2021 15:16:09 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I know mine.   I'm A negative.  I had to get RhoGAM when I was pregnant because DH is A positive.

Same for me. 

[NancysSummerSip]

I am a platelet donor, as my blood type is not useful for donations. My platelets are fabulous because apparently, they are universal. I am an AB-. The blood center tells me my donation goes straight to a hospital for use, usually the same day.

[Lizard Queen]

May 7, 2021 19:36:09 GMT -5 taz157 said:

May 6, 2021 16:34:00 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I pass out when they take 5 vials. I don't think I can handle donating blood.

After one of my miscarriages, I had some genetic testing done on me through blood. They took 15 vials!! Some of were small and some not as much. Fortunately, I didn’t faint and everything was fine but 😱 on the amount.

Holy crap!

[steph08]

I gave blood for a while after I turned 16, but back then, I was on the cusp of the weight limit and couldn't always give. I stopped for a long time but started back up last year as a way to give back in some way.

I try to do it as often as I can, but I won't give if I am within a few weeks of a race, as it usually negatively affects my running.

I'm O+, the universal donor, so they love my blood. Just gave a pint on Wednesday! I want better snacks afterwards though! Throw a gal a donut instead of pretzels and apple juice.

[busymom]

I tried to find out the blood type of both of my kids, but apparently they don't test kids for type anymore.  Unless they need surgery.  I've known my type since I was little.  

[finnime]

Recently DH has asked a few of his doctors if they know and will give him his blood type. They've all refused, because what's in his records is not a verified blood bank test result. I know he's gotten transfusions while in the hospital a few years ago.

Me, I'm O+.

I do wonder what the transplant center will cover that takes 4 hours on Zoom. I understand they need to emphasize the risks and the requirements for lifetime immune-suppressant treatment, but it seems like a very long session.

[Deleted]

May 8, 2021 6:35:06 GMT -5 finnime said:

I do wonder what the transplant center will cover that takes 4 hours on Zoom. I understand they need to emphasize the risks and the requirements for lifetime immune-suppressant treatment, but it seems like a very long session.

We kinda hijacked your thread, didn't we?     They're probably going to have you meet with multiple specialists- the people from the transplant registry, the potential surgeon, someone to talk about post-op recovery and what to expect.  I hope you get bathroom breaks!

Two things I've learned in listening/reading to a lot of medical articles:  a transplant form a live donor has a better chance of success, and if a friend or family member wants to donate a kidney but isn't compatible, it can still move you way up on the list if they donate it to someone else on the list.

May 7, 2021 21:27:51 GMT -5 steph08 said:

I'm O+, the universal donor, so they love my blood. [img src="https://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/JiminiChristmas/ymamsmiles/tongue2.png" alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png" class="smile"] Just gave a pint on Wednesday! I want better snacks afterwards though! Throw a gal a donut instead of pretzels and apple juice.

Nutter Butters. I might stop donating if they no longer provide Nutter Butters.

[finnime]

Threads wander. It's the nature of the net. And blood type is really on point.

Nuts. I just realized it is possible I will not be considered a viable kidney donor. I had viral hepatitis when I was 43, a complication of mononucleosis. It happens. But ever since then blood banks have refused my donations, although the hepatitis is long since gone.

[buystoys]

May 8, 2021 7:27:26 GMT -5 finnime said:

Threads wander. It's the nature of the net. And blood type is really on point.

Nuts. I just realized it is possible I will not be considered a viable kidney donor. I had viral hepatitis when I was 43, a complication of mononucleosis. It happens. But ever since then blood banks have refused my donations, although the hepatitis is long since gone.

Yeah, hepatitis is a life long denial for donating blood.  I had it so can't donate.  The last time DH went in to donate, he had a coughing fit.  He has COPD, so that happens.  They wouldn't let him donate.  I think they were thinking Covid symptom even though he's always tested negative. 

I think the Zoom video is probably one of the recent changes in pre-op preparation.  (By recent, I mean five years or so.)  I had to watch a 2-hour video before my back surgery.  I also had to go to a psychiatrist before the doctor's office would schedule the surgery.  They had one they used and that was who I had to go to.  It cost me $400.  I wonder how people who don't have the money get their surgeries?  They may have insurance to cover the surgery, but no funds for all the "extras" you need to have now.

Thinking of you and your husband, finnime.