Donating Life: What priceless gift costs you nothing?

I have thought about giving blood for a very long time. One of the reasons for this is that I have O Negative blood: the universal blood type used in emergency situations where the patient’s own blood type may not be readily available. O Negative blood is also fairly rare which means it is always in high demand. So, a few weeks ago, when I saw a Facebook post about the critical shortage of O Negative blood supplies, I decided it was finally time to commit my time and potentially save three other people’s lives.

I’ve been a bit squeamish about needles for years, but as anyone who has experienced the joys of IVF treatment can attest, twice daily jabs of self administered medications and countless blood draws soon remove any fear one might have of needles, blood, doctors, nurses (and the notion of ‘private parts’ but that’s another story). What I did not realise, however, is just how difficult it can be to become a blood donor in Australia. It’s for good reason - Australia is one of the safest places in the world to both give and receive blood - but it also makes it vital that anyone who is of excellent physical health and meets the strict criteria gives as often as they can.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service is the agency responsible for collecting donated blood and other blood products such as plasma and platelets. The process begins by logging on to their website (which you can find here) and answering a few questions based on your lifestyle, health and travel history to determine your eligibility to donate. Some potential donors are immediately ineligible, including people like my husband who grew up in England and lived there during the outbreak of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as ‘Mad Cow Disease’. But after answering the initial questions on the 20 second eligibility quiz, I was excited to find that I was possibly eligible to donate, I continued entering the required information and made an appointment and suddenly, I was doing it. I was becoming a blood donor and at the same time filling with a cloud of smugness at my graciousness.

So a few days later, when the Red Cross Blood service called me, I was disappointed to find out that my 2014 trip to Papua New Guinea to hike the Kokoda Trail proved me ineligible until the third anniversary of that epic adventure. I’ve since been back to redo the eligibility quiz and noticed at the bottom of the page is a little asterisk that reads ‘Additional eligibility criteria apply’. Thankfully, it was only another three weeks wait so I immediately changed my appointment to the day after I became eligible again, organised to leave work an hour early and started to look forward to the experience.

As the day approached, I received reminder texts about drinking plenty of water and eating a substantial meal of savoury food before my appointment. Hydrated and eager to get into the process, I arrived at the Town Hall Blood Donor Centre and began chatting with the friendly receptionist. He clarified it was my first time, gave me a sticker to put on my chest, an application form to fill out and an actual round of applause, making me feel like I’d just given my first ever show and tell in primary school. Insert smiley smug face here.

All was going smashingly but there was one hurdle to face that I had not anticipated, but probably should have…

In January this year, I experienced a seizure whilst I was asleep in bed. I have no recollection of the event other than regaining consciousness and feeling utter confusion at seeing a paramedic in front of me. My husband was beside himself, that much I remember too, but the rest is a blur. After a few stitches, two nights in hospital, and every kind of scan you might imagine they found very little evidence of anything that might have caused the attack. They ‘think’ I have epilepsy but they can’t say for sure. The rest of that is another story but when I came to a question on the Blood Donor Application Form, that asked if I had ever had an epileptic seizure, I thought for a moment that I might tick no. I really wanted to give blood and I didn’t want anything to get in my way this time. But I didn’t. I didn’t want to have another seizure and as one of the triggers for an episode is dehydration, I knew that I had to let them know.

They called the Blood Donor doctors on the phone and explained my circumstances. I’m on medication, but the medication isn’t the issue. It’s just too dangerous for me to give blood until I have had three years without a seizure, which means that my awesomely useful O Negative blood has to stay inside of my body rather than being used to save the lives of other people.

Who would have thought it would be so difficult?! Becoming a blood donor is not as easy as rocking up to the Mobile Collection Centre and waiting in line, whilst munching on Arnotts biscuits and sipping free milkshakes. Whilst there are thousands of people needing donated blood products every day, supply does not easily meet demand and not everyone who commits to giving is able to do so. Blood donation saves lives but it also feels good to know that you are doing something that costs you nothing yet makes a massive difference to the people who need it and the families who would be hideously impacted if that life was not able to be saved. It’s a feeling that I won’t be experiencing in the near future, perhaps never. If you are healthy, meet the strict donation criteria and are able to give it is crucial that you try to do so. And if it turns out that you can’t, you still get the free biscuits, a sparkly sticker and as the nurse at the blood Donor Centre told me, ‘You still get kudos for trying.’

Call the Red Cross Blood Service now on 13 14 15 or visit http://www.donateblood.com.au/ to take their eligibility test and read the FAQs if you have any doubt about whether you might be eligible.