this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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another one is, have you had allergies since you last donated?

i know some people just say to lie for every question. technically they screen every donation, but it's not supposedly a reliable test for something like HIV.

i'm pretty sure i'm just allergic to reality. sometimes just constant sneezing, even when i'm on an antihistamine.

obviously best to just be aware of one's behavior and risk factors. do they do this just avoid liability?

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[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 16 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Some people just say to lie for every question.

People say this? I've never heard anyone donating blood say this, and I personally would say that all precautions taken by the professionals that collect blood donations should be taken very seriously. It's not, at the end of the day, up to me to be the judge of what is or isn't a condition serious enough that my blood shouldn't be accepted. I'll give the professionals as much information as possible, and then let them judge whether or not it is safe to give my blood to someone else.

I would never even dream of lying in order to donate blood, when that could end up actively harming someone, and I honestly cannot see the argument in favour of doing that. The whole point of donating blood is helping people.

[–] Jikiya@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I should note, they said plasma donation, which in the US are usually places that will pay you for the "donation". The blood banks also take plasma donations, but I don't think they will pay. Plasma donation is something that seems to be marketed to people that are just barely getting by. And so people lying about their conditions tend to make more sense, as they are just trying to find ways to make ends meet, or have just a little bit of money to spend after expenses.

[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

This makes sense to me, I was thinking of the situation where I'm from, where you don't get much more than a pat on the back and the good feels of helping out when you donate blood.

It's honestly kind of insane to me that there is a system in place to get desperate people to literally sell their blood for money... No one should ever be made that desperate :(

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago

Some people just want to watch the world burn

I really wouldn't be surprised that there are people who know they have HIV that try to make blood donations anyway just because.

Sorry, I may sound cynical but I've seen so many people pull so much shit for no reason that I've sort of lost faith in humanity. It's like rule 34, call it rule 51, if it's a shitty thing to do, there will be people doing it just because they think it's amusing

[–] Twinklebreeze@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

I got turned away from selling plasma because I have a prince Albert. Said it was risky behaviour. I had been married for 5+ years at the time, and monogamous for ~10 years with the same woman. Lie on some of the questions.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

perhaps you've never met someone who was desperate? never been broke and tried to feed a hungry child?

shit's crazy. there's an entire micro economy around plasma. whatever is going on in your life, don't pretend

[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Ok, so systems for donating blood are different in different places, I get that. Where I'm from, the only benefit you get from donating blood is a thumbs up, pat on the back, and a popsicle or a coffee cup or some other small gift.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 0 points 4 days ago (2 children)

donating blood is NOT donating plasma.

blood is probably more valuable, especially if you're near something crazy, like a war or natural disaster. blood is so valuable it's insane

plasma, also super valuable, not so immediately helpful to people dying in a war zone

i was literally just asking about mosquito bites what the fuck

To be fair, what yanks call donating plasma is a misnomer. This confuses the rest of the world, who would call it what it actually is: selling plasma.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

i was literally just asking about mosquito bites what the fuck

You also asked if you should lie about safety on stuff to inject into other human beings who need medical aid. That shouldn't even be a question. Needing money is no excuse to gamble with the lives of others.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 days ago

Whether I should lie about critical safety matters was not the question, and I got a ton of disingenuous flack and you're buying into that.

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 18 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They do this because it is important. It's better to not donate, than to donate something that will kill someone.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

yeah but you're not hearing my question. literally no one is going to say sorry, can't donate, got a mosquito bite

edit i don't live somewhere that mosquitos are known for transmitting illness, like zika, malaria, whatever else

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yeah and then people will die because of it. Oopsie, right? If they ask you a question, answer it truthfully. If you have a question about it, ask them about it. If something isn't a big deal, they won't reject it. If it is, they will. Simple as.

[–] Kelly@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

a condition with scab formation?

Ask them if unsure but my guess is they mean conditions like Haemophilia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemophilia

Also don't rely on their screening. I believe the test a performed on bundles of donations for efficiency and a bad donation may cause the others in that bundle to be discarded too.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Haemophilia

yeah that would be bad. I have known people who relied on this as like a "checkup" on their own "risky" behavior.

it's not like it's cool to rely on this as an HIV check, but it comes with a ton of unnecessary and inappropriate judgment

[–] db2@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -4 points 4 days ago

all the fucking idiots had to do was forget

no one actually cares about your junk

the fucking morons are reminding us we should fight for human rights

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Are you sure that the question wasn't asking if you have a condition which prevents scab formation? That might indicate a clotting disorder or some other problem that may make donating blood/plasma a bad idea for you.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That would be a better and more helpful question. Again, I think they are backing that liability truck up to an anonymous loading dock in New Jersey

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, I think bodily fluid donation is governed by federal legislation, so it's a felony to violate the regulations, right? Canadian here. That would make me want to cover my ass too.

Our donations can't be paid and there are a lot fewer people donating, so all I know about it is that Canadian Blood Services would rather throw your blood out on the off-chance that you're lying than actually send it for testing. I guess they want a sure thing and the testing is a formality. Probably the US is the same.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Is or perhaps was regulated in the u.s. who knows It's like moral confetti

Need to clarify; blood donation is not plasma donation; I'm sure Canada has a million thousand qualified phlebotomists

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

...I am aware blood is not plasma. Canadian Blood Services oversees the donation of both since they are both blood products. I am using the term colloquially to help you understand my perspective since you are not Canadian.

Since you apparently don't understand that, bye.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So the distinction between blood and plasma is colloquial to you?

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So here is the context:

so all I know about it is that Canadian Blood Services would rather throw your blood out on the off-chance that you're lying than actually send it for testing

Yes, this is a colloquialism that I made purposely to illustrate my larger point. Again, if you can't understand that, there is no point in further discussion. Bye. If you reply again I will block you.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

When you give blood, often the "wrong" answer will just have them ask a followup after you submit the questionnaire. Like there is one asking if you had recently visited any of a list of countries of concern. I selected that I had because of a trip to Mexico, but I was still able to give blood that day because when they later asked which region, the one I had visited was considered safe.

I expect if you had been bitten by a mosquito in a place where that isn't a significant concern and developed no symptoms other than the itch, you would probably be approved to donate. Receiving plasma is less dangerous than receiving blood so I would be surprised if the safety evaluation is more strict.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yes.

We're all just blasted by nuance apparently

[–] LastoftheDinosaurs@reddthat.com 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That's fucked up to use donations as a checkup. Hope you were joking

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 days ago

I'm sorry this all went off the rails, but i don't use any of this for a checkup personally. I just know that people do that.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Much love for all the phlebotomists, the diligent scientists, the ones who look at our body bits in microscopes

cameras that cover the microscope and it put in a screen was a godsend for folks with poor vision in the field (and many in the field wear glasses.)

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz -2 points 4 days ago

to correct myself

Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in more than a million deaths.[1]

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever,[2] filariasis, tularemia, dirofilariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis,[3] Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Ross River fever, Barmah Forest fever, La Crosse encephalitis, and Zika fever,[3] as well as newly detected Keystone virus and Rift Valley fever. A preprint by Australian research group argues that Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative pathogen of Buruli ulcer is also transmitted by mosquitoes.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito-borne_disease

i am very fortunate to not have to deal with any of that