Giving Blood---I am a 5 year

sflow · December 2011

BC survivor--sounds great to say that! There is a blood drive for a little 8 yr old girl in our community with leukemia. When are we survivors allowed to donate blood? I have heard various opinions on this topic.

Wren44 · December 2011

My blood bank said I could donate one year after completing treatment. I didn't think to ask if that meant a year after completing AIs.

sflow · December 2011

Ok--I am still on AI's. When I looked at the Red Cross website, the info was confusing.

SpecialK · December 2011

Each blood bank will have different criteria on how long from treatment, if at all, and allow donation with only certain daily medications. I would pose the AI question directly to them in an email or phone call. I worked for Floria Blood Services, I know they have the one year post treatment time rule, not sure about the AIs either. I worked on the transfusion end of things, not the collection end.

comingtoterms · December 2011

Our local blood donor organization here in WNY, will not take a cancer survivor's blood until they reach the ten-year mark. A bit of overkill, I think.

momof3boys · December 2011

I will never donate blood again. I don't care what the American Cancer Society thinks is safe.

I read the book "Anti Cancer" written by a Dr who is battling brain cancer. In it, he describes a man who had an organ transplant from a "donor" then became ill several months out. Turns out the man had "breast cancer cells" in his system. They removed the organ. The donor was a long time breast cancer survivor who later died (not of breast cancer) and donated her organs.

Also, my aunt passed away this July after having been a breast cancer survivor of 18 years. The cancer returned with a vengeance after all that time. And yes, it was a recurrence of the original breast cancer.

My husband was in an accident...tractor trailer rear ended him. He had a cadaver bone fused into his neck. Three years later, at age 40, he was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer (carcinoid). I asked his specialist about the cadaver bone doner and the possibility that there were cancer cells in it. He said it was highly unlikely, but not impossible.

So, I could never in good conscience donate.

SpecialK · December 2011

momof3 - I agree with you, and as I said above, I worked in the field. I could not donate in good conscience when I really don't know what my status is. I feel guilty about the blood I donated in the several years before I was diagnosed, that I know was transfused, since it is the common belief that we all have breast cancer long before we are diagnosed.

Dr. Servan Schreiber, the author of The Anti Cancer Diet, sadly just passed away in July. I believe that he outlived his prognosis significantly though.

momof3boys · December 2011

SpecialK... I did not know that he died. Yes, he certainly outlived his prognosis. What an intelligent man.

Anonymous · January 2012

There is a difference between being a blood donor and an organ donor. According to cancer.org there are no reports of cancer from blood transfusion but there are from organ donation. They generally recommend cancer patients not be organ donors unless you have been cancer free for an extended period of time. Then certain organs can be used. It also stated that corneas can always be donated (unless you had eye cancer) so they recommend you still mark organ donor on your driver's license but family members should indicate you were a previous cancer patient.

gfbaker · January 2012

I recently got a letter from the Red Cross saying that they have changed their guidelines and I am now able to donate blood 3 1/2 years after diagnosis. Give them a call and you can see if you fit their new guidelines. It does feel nice to be able to help someone else rather than the one being helped.

SpecialK · January 2012

I am going to throw this out there - and as I said above, I worked in Transfusion Services - because you can donate doesn't mean that you should. I am not sure if a compromised or elderly or unstable patient, including breast cancer and other cancer patients who are transfused regularly, should receive blood donated by someone with a previous BC diagnosis.

dlb823 · January 2012

I'm with SpecialK on this one. Just because we're NED doesn't mean there may not be a cancer cell or two floating around somewhere that hopefully our immune systems will take care of. But unless it was a life or death emergency and there were absolutely no other options, I sure wouldn't want blood from someone who was treated for cancer even 10 years ago, and I feel doubly strongly about that for children. I can't quote any scientific research to support my thoughts on this, but when some women have recurrences 5, 10, 15 and more years down the road, and when there's absolutely no way to ascertain who that's going to be, it just seems like common sense to me that we shouldn't be blood donors. JMHO... Deanna

momof3boys · January 2012

I agree....please see my post above. My aunt had one recurrence after 18 years. She passed away this past July. I don't care what they say is acceptable. I will never donate. I think it's one of those things that in years to come people will say "what the hell were they thinking?" IMHO

dlb823 · January 2012

momof3boys, I'm sorry about your aunt. Someone close to me was very recently dx'd with a metastatic recurrence -- 10 years after her initial, early stage bc dx. But according to the varying guidelines quoted here, it sounds like in many areas she could have been donating blood for 5 or more years. That just sounds unreasonably risky to me. Deanna

momof3boys · January 2012

Thank you, Deanna. She was a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, after she and my uncle retired and moved from CT to DE, it seems like her BC follow up fell thru the cracks. She had annual mammograms on her remaining breast, but was told by her new GP that after so many years with no recurrence, nothing but her annual mammogram was needed. Unfortunately, we learned too late that wasn't the case. Johns Hopkins said she should have had regular blood work and PET scans.

Angelfalls · January 2012

I live in the UK and here, you cannot give blood or donate organs for the rest of your life after any type of cancer. I find it fascinating that the situation should be so different in different countries. I wonder what the guidelines are elsewhere in the world...

elimar86861 · January 2012

The Blood Centers can screen for some diseases, but until they can screen the blood for cancer cells, I don't think I will donate again. Maybe that is overly cautious, I don't know.

SpecialK · January 2012

elimar - it isn't overly cautious, it is appropriately sensible and shows that you have concern for the recipient of that donated blood. It always feels good to donate, like one is doing a noble thing - but in our case we have to think about the sick person on the other end who will be receiving the blood or plasma, and whether or not this is the best thing for them. I am firmly convinced that it is not!

elimar86861 · January 2012

I do agree. However, what I meant by the last comment was, I don't think there is any real ANSWER out there that the "cured" (or NED, if you will) might not have some stray cells still circulating and WOULD they be a danger to a recipient? But then it becomes even muddier if you subscribe to the theory that even the healthy have cancer cells in circulation that their bodies might take care of so that they never develop cancer, but when someone needs a transfusion, they are not healthy or in good shape and cancer is opportunistic, to say the least.

The blood collection agencies take blood from the healthy, screen it (like for AIDS) but it MAY have some cancer cells, and that MAY or MAY NOT be a danger. No definitive answer. I HAD cancer, and may still have cells in me that MAY or MAY NOT be a danger. No definitive answer there either. (I am not figuring the organ transplant cases into this.) So, when you look at the possibility that my blood may only be as "cancer-y" as the so-called "healthy" person, for me not to donate might actually be OVER cautious. I don't know. I don't thnk they know either. I just prefer to wait until that factor is known.

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And, of course, my decision is based on the pre-apocalyptic conditions now. In a post-apocalyptic world where my blood might mean life or death for my child, I think I would donate in the blink of an eye. Never say never. Wink

SpecialK · January 2012

elimar - cancer-y - that made me laugh! Maybe we could exchange NED for non-cancer-y? You basically outlined why it is not a great idea to donate. Unless the blood supply dwindles and they are begging for blood from everyone, I won't do it. Usually, major donation centers are short of a particular type (and it is usually Oneg and ABpos and ABneg, because they are either universal or rare) but for most of the population that is Apos or Opos there is plenty of blood available, so us potentially cancer-y peeps are off the hook!

dreaming · January 2012

One the things I do at the hospital I work is to explain that if one had cancer, any kind, never to donate.

I know that some places in the US are more relaxed, but my cancer center is very clear, no blood donation. Remember 5 years is a goal for other cancer, but breast can come back even after many years. Personally even if they are relaxed, I would not, there are many other ways you can help.

Giving Blood---I am a 5 year

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