Donating blood while on AI ???

mawhinney

Can a person taking AI donate blood? I am wondering if meds such as Arimidex would  one's blood unsuitable for donation.

Anonymous

I don't know about the AI part, but once I was dx'd with bc they said I couldn't donate any more, forever.  I was bummed.

Member_of_the_Club

if you had invasive bc you will probably not be allowed to donate blood.  I had to remove myself from the bone marrow registry, which bummed me out.

jader

Me, too, I went to donate at the kids school and was turned away ....

tkone

I also do not know the ansewr to this, but thought I would pass on the information I was given by the local blood center.  With my diagnosis (IDC) and after doing chemo (T/C), I was told that I could give blood again after a year from my last chemo.  Might be worth checking with your local blood center.

KathyNSW

I was told after cancer you can't donate blood for 10 years.

Anonymous

"I had to remove myself from the bone marrow registry, which bummed me out."

MOTC - me too!!!

KJohnson

I had IDC and had radiation but not chemo.  When I went to donate blood, they told me that as long as it had been a year since radiation, I could donate.

Dawnbelle

I was told once I was DX'd with an invasive cancer I could never give blood again. I feel like hell, I have given blood every 3 months for years because I have some rare neg. thing that people who are very sick need.

Did I make them sick with my cancer? Anyone who got my blood? My surgeon said the lump had been growing for years. I realize you can't "catch" cancer. BUT, if a body would accept your blood, would it not accept anything in it? And how would they know there was not one cancer cell floating around in my blood?

HelenaJ

I was told that over here in Australia you not only can't donate blood but you also can't be an organ donor.  Absolutely devastating.  Kathy 10 years is better news though.

yellowrose

This is interesting.  I was informed by the bone marrow registry that I needed to remove myself (for life.)    They said anything greater than stage 0 was not allowed to be a donor.  Ageed, bummer.

I checked with the local American Red Cross office as I had also heard different time periods so wanted the official answer. I was told that I couldn't donate. BUT... I found this online  http://www.newenglandblood.org/giving/cancer.htm and this also

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.d8aaecf214c576bf971e4cfe43181aa0/?vgnextoid=e081912c9973b110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD#can

swimangel72

This is an excellent and timely question! Wow - I feel so much LESS quilty now because some women at my job were all travelling to a hospital to donate blood for a very sick child but I didn't feel up to going. Just the thought of giving blood made me feel weak - having endured so many needles during my hospitalization - and chemo - AND having had two blood transfusions myself - I just couldn't bear the thought of being in a hospital voluntarily with an IV in my arm. It never occured to me that I couldn't give blood though! Dawnbelle - I think your question is very valid. How do we know that cancer cells aren't floating around in our donated blood? Do scientists know for sure that cancer isn't contagious through donated blood??

Member_of_the_Club

I also had to remove myself from the bone marrow registry and my understanding is that I can never give blood.  I respect this.  If there is any chance that stray cancer cells could be conveyed in a blood transfusion, I would hate for that to happen.

lexislove

I was told no donating as well. Thats fine by me, all the blood tests that I've had in the last 2 years...I'm surprised I have any blood left!

Blundin2005

It's the same here...after diagnosis, no blood donation or organ donation.  It was one of those 'ah ha' moments in the cycle of this disease.  I didn't like it one bit.

Marilyn 

Roya

Same here in France.  Once you are dx'd you do not donate any part of yourself.  It's ok with me too.  If there is even a tiny chance of passing even one teenie tiny cancer cell on to someone else then my conscience says "no way!"  I would not even consider the risk of being the cause of someone else having to go through the hell I've been through with getting this disease treated and eradicated.  I would not knowingly accept any blood or organs from a post cancer person either....not for me or my family.   When you think about it, this sort of thing could end up in liability.

I can't comprehend how anyone could be told that they only have to wait one year from treatment to donate to others when most of us have to wait at least 5 years to even know if we are clear from recurrence ourselves.  This scares me.

swimangel72

Here's information from the American Cancer Society about donating blood after a cancer diagnosis - they say there is little chance of passing cancer through the blood - but still I have doubts!

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4x_Donation_by_Cancer_Survivors.asp

Dawnbelle

Thanks, swimangel.

I still feel VERY uncomfortable. The recipients body would except my blood as its own & the immune system would kill the cancer cell?

Why do they screen the blood so carefully for other blood born illnesses? And aren't most people receiving blood likely to have a weakened immune system or at least a temporarily weak immune system?

I understand our own bodies do not recognize cancer cells as foreign but, I fail to believe that beyond a shadow of a doubt that this information is correct. Yes, I doubt the Red Cross.

AND WHY!!! Would someone with cancer of the blood EVER donate blood?

That is insanity! I do not care if they have been NED for 20 years!!

Have they not confirmed cases of people contracting cancer via donor body parts?

I will not give blood again.

JMHO.

Anonymous

What about all the people donating blood and don't even know they have cancer (haven't been diagnosed)???  Scary stuff. 

My dd had a hip replacement and had donated her own blood for her surgery.  But she needed more than she had donated.  So when you know you are going to have surgery that makes you lose a lot of blood, try to bank as much blood as possible. 

fortunate1

I also figured I'm off the blood donor list for good. I hadn't yet thought about the organ donor sticker on my driver's license. 

One thing I found that I could do......today I gave blood for a cancer genebank research study.  

ktym

Dawnbelle, I think its an interesting question too.  Especially with people doing breast cancer research for circulating tumor cells.  People have received organs from donors no one knew had cancer and ended up with cancer from the donor organs.  So, I see why you question the blood issue.  I would assume the difference between circulating cells and solid organ or bone marrow transplants and especially the immunosuppression the recipients of solid organs or bone marrow are on make a difference.  That said, guess you can't assume anyone getting your blood isn't immunosuppressed.  Makes you wonder why they ask all the questions trying to figure out if you are at risk for unknowingly being HIV infected they don't ask if you've had a mammogram within the last year

wallycat

I heard 10 years after BC dx before one can donate.

 I worked in Paris during the big mad-cow scare, so couldn't donate even before then.

swimangel72

The question is - why can our bodies accept blood from donors but not organs without immunosuppresant drugs? Why do our bodies not REJECT blood (even if its the same type) - isn't there DNA in our blood cells showing that it's "alien"? Also wouldn't breast cancer cells have DNA that would mark it as "alien"? And if a person's immune system can kill of alien breast cancer cells in a blood donation - why can't the scientists come up with a way to MARK breast cancer cells as "alien" for all breast cancer patients so our immune systems will just kill them off the same way? Gosh these thoughts make me feel like I'm falling down the Rabbit hole in Alice-in-Breastcancerland!

Dawnbelle

Swimangel,

I read about a vaccine. I swear I read this before my DX, so it is vague in my filling memory bank of late. They have found a way to have some part of a fish( oil maybe?) attach to cancer cells, in turn the body sees it as an invading cell & fights it. I believe it was being tested in prostate cancer.

This seems to be on the right track. We need our own bodies to see the cancer for what it is, instead of accepting it.

Again, just my opinion.

Edited for question.

Am I correct in the thought that my body would fight & kill your breast cancer & your body would fight & kill mine?

swimangel72

I think you are correct Dawn..........so let's share our blood with each other and see what happens! My blood type is A+ what's yours? Lol!

Edited to add:  Maybe we're onto something here ladies? I wonder if something like exchanging blood WOULD work to fight BC? Wow - wouldn't that be a simple enough of a cure....too simple to work probably......just my science-fiction imagination going into overdrive.....still, maybe I should suggest it to my nephew (the PhD working on some other cancer studies). No doubt he'll set me straight - in complicated language I won't understand!

Dawnbelle

I am A positive too!!

Call the nephew, tell him you have a Nobel Peace Prize winning question.

We can get white blood cells in a donation can't we? Aren't the white blood cells what attacks the invading illness, signaling there is an infection when the white cell count is up?

I see Alex from Jeopardy, I hear the music.....

Anyone?

Hey! I am just a mom!

swimangel72

Me too - just a mom - we need to UNITE and join our brains together in a Vulcan Mind Meld to FIND A CURE! Sigh........ 

Dawnbelle

swimangel!!

I just laughed out loud & spit out my drink! I am actually watch Star Trek as I type.

Spock just did a mind meld with that rock eating monster thing who is really just protecting her eggs.

Live long & prosper.

ktym

How appropriate is that for this board.  Live long and prosper.  Wow, hadn't thought of it before although of course we all know star trek.  That will now go around and around in my mind and I like it

Brenda_R

I was told I can't be an organ donor anymore. I assumed it was the same for blood.

Roya

I so agree with you both Dawnbelle and Swimangel.  Brenda-R I did assume the same thing.   I would rather be safe and not donate.  We don't really understand all the many ways that the many forms of cancer are spread.....if we did there would not be nearly as many surprise recurrances.