Is is true that you can donate blood if you have tested positive for Lyme in the past, but cannot if you have been positive for Babesia??
My sister is pregnant and possibly needs a blood transfusion and we are both B+. We are asking as many people we know if they are B+. Please respond. Thank you.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
In Louisiana you can donate if you have been symptom free
From bb for 7 years. Never if diagnosed with babesia.
However, I wouldn't donate ever.
I hope this works out for your sister.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I wouldn't donate EVER.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
pini,
here's what i did for my left hip surgery 2 years ago. they said i'd need 2 pints of blood.
I DONATED MY OWN TO BE USED FOR MY SURGERY!! you can give once only every 2 weeks! and must be used WITHIN ONE MONTH or charges apply!!
insurance paid this but i was astounded they charged $800 - $1000 for the process due to all the blood typing, etc!
anyway, i got my OWN blood back!! so there is an option for your sister!! you just have to plan ahead, and long paperwork to do; very detailed Q/A but NOTHING ABOUT LYME MENTIONED ... only malaria close to our co-infections!
Posted by Sojourner (Member # 9424) on :
Thank You! to the people with lyme that don't donate their blood!
I am always astounded with the number of people with MS that love to tout their blood giving prowess! They are so happy to be able to give back (and I don't mean to be overly harsh here, but!).
If one has a SERIOUS neurological disease with an UNKNOWN origin couldn't they find some other way to "give back" to the community. I mean, I THINK MS probably has an infectious cause (and I'm kookoo ), but what if it really does have an infectious cause??
So I always tell the MSers to keep their blood, because I don't want it. That seems to get some of them REALLY angry! My fall back, of course, is that my husband and sister are both MS dx'd and would never, ever donate their blood.
[ 03-18-2009, 11:51 AM: Message edited by: Sojourner ]
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
It seems bazarre to donate blood if you have an illness of unknown origin. Duh! If you don't know what causes it, why would you pass your blood on to others.
I will never give blood. I was not tested but clinically diagnosed with Babesia, so I would never think of passing my blood on to others. LD is another thing. My doc says you can't pass LD through the blood supply. It doesn't survive the temp changes; but babs suvives everything.
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
quote:Originally posted by sutherngrl: My doc says you can't pass LD through the blood supply. It doesn't survive the temp changes; but babs suvives everything.
I'm sorry to say that your doctor is wrong here. Very wrong. There have been several studies (maybe more I have not seen) that have shown Borrelia burgdorferi to survive extreme temps for as long as the studies ran - there was no outset limit found.
I would be concerned if that doctor calls themselves an LLMD, because that is a very important and basic fact, and telling someone it is ok to donate when they have Lyme is very dangerous.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by sutherngrl: My doc says you can't pass LD through the blood supply. It doesn't survive the temp changes; but babs suvives everything. [/QB]
He's got to be kidding.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
You guys are freaking out! He did not say it is okay for me to donate blood! My doc is a Lyme researcher and a member of ILADS.
BB may survive temperature changes in the studies you speak of; he just says that all the changes that blood goes through during donation process, storing it, freezing it, etc; that LD is not likely to survive. S**t he has studied it for 30 years. Babesia on the other hand does; and is a serious problem in our blood supply in this country.
I hate in when you guys do that!!!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I stand by what I said. And I DIDN'T say he gave you permission to donate.
Posted by radfaraf (Member # 11909) on :
I think they are just concerned for others safety. We don't want them to go through what we have. Therefore sometimes that translates into looking like we are overreacting. I think people are just being cautious.
Posted by Kreynolds (Member # 15117) on :
I would have to agree with Lymetoo... Why even chance it??
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
Well, I don't want anyone to think I am not going to be cautious as well. I would never give my blood, ever. And my LLMD does not recommend I give it.
I didn't think that I was coming across that way, but maybe I was. But for the record....No one who has ever had LD should ever give blood.
I still stand by what I said.....it is very likely that Lyme cannot be passed through the blood suppy; but the co-infection babesia definetly can therefore no one diagnosed with LD or babesia should donate blood.
Why do you think that people with LD run below normal temperatures? It is because that is the temp that spirochetes best survive. They do not survive well in extreme temperatures. This is just my opinion from all information that I have gathered.
![[tsk]](graemlins/tsk.gif)
(and I don't mean to be overly harsh here, but!).![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
), but what if it really does have an infectious cause??