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[daveo42]

Can't. I take heart medication, meaning my blood is no good for donation.

 

[nekkid]

Do this every 4 months. The size of the bruise is inversely proportional to the length of service of the person taking it.

 

[Red Arremer]

I don't have blood that can be used (I have a liver disorder) , and even if I could, I wouldn't be allowed to donate. Would love to though.

 

[lukeskymac]

Merely keeping myself at a weight that's considered the lowest you can be while still being healthy is a struggle for me, so I'd rather not for now.

 

[PandaShake]

I donate from time to time, but remember my first experience being terrible. My blood may not have been coming out fast enough, so she slid the thick tube inside my arm in and out, in and out to find the spot. The pain was excruciating. Every time after has been pleasant. One sharp pinpoint stab and that’s it.

 

[SS4Gogita]

I donate platelets at the Red Cross every couple months and it's honestly one of the easiest ways to do a good thing.
If you're doing whole blood, it's just a quick sharp pain and then you lay down in a chair for a bit. For platelets, they generally do both arms and you have enough time to watch one of their movies. Not moving both arms for so long is a little weird but actually kind of enjoyable in a zen kind of way. But really, you're doing a good deed while watching Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

When I did platelets in June for the Pulse one year mark, they only did one arm.

But I agree, it's definitely up there on the list of easy things to do that can help other people. And not only that, but you usually get like snacks and gift cards and shit. It's a win-win.

 

[nekkid]

When I did platelets in June for the Pulse one year mark, they only did one arm.

But I agree, it's definitely up there on the list of easy things to do that can help other people. And not only that, but you usually get like snacks and gift cards and shit. It's a win-win.

Getting drunk afterwards is real cheap, too.

 

[BlueBadger]

Can't. Sexually active gay man in Canada.


I would if I could tho.

Pretty sure you can get in huge shit if you're caught lying too?

 

[SomedayTheFire]

This is the first time I've heard of this. What the fuck?!

AIDS ostracisation.

 

[TheSecondSpitter]

After donating platelets 5 months in a row, my hematocrit levels dropped down below 40. Amazing I can still go to gym 5 days a week.

 

[alternade]

Can't bc gay

 

[Paganmoon]

If thegy are going to screen out MSM they need to screen out promiscuous straight men and women.

But anyway, I am going to keep donating blood because it saves lives at the end of the day.

I refuse to support a system that helps to sustain and perpetuate societal bigotry against Gay and Bi men. The current rules serve to make sure that even 50 years after gay sex was decriminalised, it's still stigmatised and denigrated.


A straight dude can go out and fuck a different women every night for a year, no condoms, no checks, and then go give blood the next day.

A gay dude can have been totally celibate since he broke up with his long term boyfriend 2 months ago, who he only ever had sex with while wearing a condom, and be banned from giving blood.

Fuck. That.

I can't speak for any other country, but bolded is simply not true at all in Sweden, if you've recently had a new sexual partner you are not allowed to donate blood for 4 months, man, woman, straight or gay, doesn't matter. So no, you cannot donate blood the next day.

Also, it as has been mentioned earlier in the thread, donating blood is not a right, you are doing it to save someone elses life, not to get a pat on the back. The rules are there to protect people that in many cases are in critical conditions and need to be absolutely sure that the blood they're recieveing is 100% safe.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Donated today. Feels good man.

 

[GeoGonzo]

I usually donate twice a year but I haven't managed to during 2017: First in January they didn't want my blood because I had been to India less than 6 months ago, then in June because I had been to the USA one month earlier. I politely asked "Wait, really?" and was told that yeah, the USA is a low-risk country, but still in "the list". Had it been two months it would have been fine. Go figure.