The rule is an aggregate of 6 months in the UK.
The Red Cross site [link] says 3 months. It's 6 months for certain European countries.
I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad. It's... depressing.
Tara ,'Get It Done'
Spike's Bitches 48: I Say, We Go Out There, and Kick a Little Demon Ass.
[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.
Ginger - Oct 15, 2014 5:02:06 am PDT #13749 of 30002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Amy - Oct 15, 2014 5:08:29 am PDT #13750 of 30002
Because books.
How do they check on the iron? Or do you have to have lab slips that prove you're eligible? (Mine is always, always low.)
Steph L. - Oct 15, 2014 5:11:45 am PDT #13751 of 30002
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
They do a hemoglobin test, don't they? That fingerstick thing where they check to see if a drop of your blood floats or sinks. (Although you can have a normal hemoglobin level and still have low iron.)
SuziQ - Oct 15, 2014 5:20:29 am PDT #13752 of 30002
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame
When I used to donate, that hemoglobin test would let me know if I needed to make an appointment with my hemotologist.
I just had my physical and while they didn't run the iron test that my hemo would run, all my other blood results came back well within limits, so I'm assuming I'm ok for the moment. My B12 is low so I'm doing weekly shots. Joy. CJ takes a bit too much pleasure sticking me with the needle.
Kate P. - Oct 15, 2014 6:59:03 am PDT #13753 of 30002
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love
Yeah, they do the fingerstick. The threshold for donating is a couple points above the threshold for anemia, but after several low readings in a row, I figured maybe I should start taking an iron supplement. I don't know if it's made a difference in how I feel day-to-day, but it put me above the donation threshold, so I'm happy.
Strix - Oct 15, 2014 7:13:22 am PDT #13754 of 30002
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
I betcha anything I wouldn't have been eligible for donating before my hysterectomy.
erikaj - Oct 15, 2014 8:14:04 am PDT #13755 of 30002
Always Anti-fascist!
My mother got really hurt the last time she donated. They went in the artery or something...huge bruise.
Dana - Oct 15, 2014 10:10:20 am PDT #13756 of 30002
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
I donated at Dragoncon. And almost passed out.
Ginger - Oct 15, 2014 10:21:42 am PDT #13757 of 30002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
My mother got really hurt the last time she donated
If possible, get a phlebotomist and not a nurse at a blood drive. You want the person who sticks people all day long day after day. Most nurses don't have nearly that much practice.
I first donated blood to meet Robert Heinlein at MidAmericon.
Atropa - Oct 15, 2014 10:30:03 am PDT #13758 of 30002
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
I haven't been able to donate blood for the past few years because I keep getting tattoos, within 12 months of each other. But if I don't get new ink by December, I should go donate.