Simply Having Diabetes Does Not Exclude You From Donating Blood
Simply being diagnosed with diabetes does not mean you cannot donate blood in the United States.
There are actually a huge variety of factors that can affect any persons ability to donate blood, regardless of having diabetes.
- You weigh less than 110 pounds
- You are at least 16 years old
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding
- Youve given birth within the last six weeks
- You have low iron levels
- You received a tattoo or piercing within the last year
- You have any type of cancer
- You have been in remission from cancer for less than one year
- You have a history of using recreational intravenous drugs
- You have a history of using intravenous steroids
- You have HIV/Aids, lung disease, heart disease, Lyme disease
When it comes to diabetes, there are a variety of specific details to consider before you head to your nearest donation center.
Can People With Diabetes Donate Blood
Every two seconds in the United States someone needs donated blood. If you have any type of diabetes, youve probably wondered how picky the American Red Cross really is when it comes to the amount of glucose in donated blood.
For every new donor, the ARC takes you through a screening process to ensure it is safe for you to donate blood. There are a variety of eligibility requirements and these vary depending on what part of the blood youre donating!
Its critical that you answer questions during your screening process honestly and thoroughly.
Here, well look at whether having diabetesor other health conditionsprevents you from being able to donate blood.
Weight Height And Sex
Your ability to give blood will depend on your weight, height and sex. You can check your eligibility to give blood online.
Are you transgender? Being transgender is not a reason to prevent you donating. A deferral period may apply for some transgender individuals. Read more at www.rodekruis.be/transgender.
You May Like: Can You Have Lupus And Lyme Disease
How To Remove A Tick
A tick must remain attached to the skin for at least 36 hours to spread Lyme disease. The best way of preventing Lyme disease is to remove a tick as soon as possible.
The blacklegged tick that spreads disease-causing bacteria resembles a tiny spider. Young ticks are around the size of a poppy seed, while adult ticks are around the size of a sesame seed. Ticks of all ages are reddish-brown.
Below are some steps for tick removal.
- Step 1: Use fine-tipped tweezers to gently grasp the tick near its head or mouth. Avoid squeezing the tick.
- Step 2: Using the tweezers, pull the tick carefully and steadily away from the skin. Avoid yanking or twisting the tick, as this could cause its mouthparts to remain in the skin.
- Step 3: After removing the tick, dispose of it by putting it in some alcohol or flushing it down the toilet.
- Step 4: Apply antiseptic to the tick bite.
Serological Testing Of Serum For The Diagnosis Of Lyme Disease
The most commonly used tests look for antibodies to the Borrelia species that cause Lyme disease in the UK and Europe, but they also detect infections from strains of Borrelia from the US.
The antibody response takes several weeks to reach a detectable level, so antibody tests in the first few weeks of infection may be negative. If the first sample was taken within 4 weeks from the onset of symptoms and is negative and there is a clinical suspicion of Lyme disease, then retesting in 4 to 6 weeks may be useful.
It is very rare for patients to have negative antibody tests in longstanding infections. Borrelia antibodies persist indefinitely in some patients and this does not indicate continuing disease or a need for re-treatment.
Serological testing for Lyme disease in the UK and much of the world follows a two-step approach:
Don’t Miss: What To Do If You Get Lyme Disease
Register Now For Future Organ Donation
To make a difference in the future, please register now for our tissue program. All patients with Lyme disease are encouraged to register with Lyme Disease Biobank Tissue Program through our partner NDRI, and please also register with MyLymeData. Registering for the Lyme Disease Biobank Tissue Program through our partner NDRI as a future donor of post-mortem organs is critical, as it is rarely possible to evaluate how tick-borne disease may infect vital organs such as a persons heart and/or brain. By also providing information about your symptoms and medical history to MyLymeData, you can assist researchers in understanding the disease. More information can be found by visiting NDRIs Private Donor Program website or by calling NDRI at 800-222-NDRI , Option 5.
Can Someone With Chronic Lyme Disease Donate Blood
Every year, there are cases of people contracting the chronic Lyme disease. This disease, though spread by ticks, is capable of beings transmitted via blood transfusion too. The tests for this disease are unreliable and hence, it is difficult to ascertain. There is a growing concern among donors and blood banks alike, and the bacteria is capable of surviving blood storage temperatures and duration. Read on to know whether people with the Lyme disease must be included among people who can donate blood or not.
Recommended Reading: Do Lyme Disease Symptoms Come And Go
Stealth Characteristics Of Mycoplasma
Stealth microbes are a stronger force together than when alone. In other words, mycoplasma may not be a problem unless another stealth microbe is present. Lyme disease may be a good example of this phenomenon.
Mycoplasma is a common Lyme coinfection: Its present in 75% or more of Lyme disease cases. Mycoplasma is known to be carried and spread by ticks, but it is also possible that mycoplasma is already present in the body when a bite from a tick carrying borrelia the primary bacteria associated with Lyme occurs.
Immune dysfunction caused by the new tick-borne infection or possible other coinfection allows mycoplasma to proliferate and cause multi-systemic symptoms throughout the body. Many symptoms that occur in Lyme disease can be caused by mycoplasma, too.
Recommended Reading: What Antibiotics Cure Lyme Disease
What Happens After Blood Donation
Your blood donation will be taken to a laboratory and will be tested for several things the first is blood type. The different blood types are: A, B, AB, and O. All blood types are eligible for blood donation.
Your blood will also be tested for any potential infections such as:
If your blood is positive to any of the above diseases, you will be notified by the donation center, and your blood will not be able to be used for donation.
You May Like: Lyme Disease Joint Pain Relief
Organ Or Tissue Transplant
If you have received human tissues, such as bone , ligaments, tendons, skin and corneas, you may be allowed to donate, depending on the reason for the procedure.
If you received any of the following types of transplants you will not be able to donate:
- Human organs such as heart, lung, liver or kidney
Also Check: Lyme Disease Doctors In Virginia
Donating Blood Might Worsen Certain Diabetes Complications
Like your diabetes diagnosis, a complication diagnosis doesnt automatically exclude you from donating, but it should be discussed carefully with your healthcare team. The most common complication that could play a role in your decision to donate blood is retinopathy.
If you are being treated for any stage of retinopathy and other serious eye conditions, donating blood can temporarily change the blood pressure in your eyes. Talk to your healthcare team before donating blood if you are managing any type of diabetes-related complication.
You May Like: Can You Get Lyme Disease From Eating Deer Meat
What Increases Your Risk
The main risk factor for Lyme disease is exposure to ticks that are infected with Lyme disease bacteria. In areas where Lyme disease is widespread, such as the eastern and south-central areas of Canada, southern British Columbia, and northeastern United States, several factors may increase your risk, including:
- Spending time outdoors during the warm months of the year when ticks are most active. This is usually between May and November, with peak activity in June and July.
- Having indoor/outdoor pets. They can bring infected ticks into the house. Although dogs and cats can become infected with the Lyme disease bacteria, they cannot pass the illness to humans. But the infected ticks can drop off the animal and then bite and infect a person.
- Having a stone fence or a bird feeder near your house. Stone fences often become homes for mice, and mice may feed on spilled seed from a bird feeder. Where there are mice, there are ticks.
Remove ticks right away, as soon as you notice them. Your risk for getting Lyme disease increases the longer a tick is attached to your body. Ticks generally cannot transmit Lyme disease until they are attached for at least 36 hours.
Stages: Identifying Disease Progression
There are three stages of Lyme disease. First, early localized Lyme is diagnosed and treated within 1-4 weeks of exposure. During this time, some patients may remain asymptomatic. Others may experience fever, flu-like symptoms, or the tell-tale rash. The treatment is a 28-day course of antibiotics.
The second stage is early disseminated, which means it is diagnosed and treated within 1-4 months of exposure. Patients in this stage will experience more severe symptoms. Dr. Tania Dempsey states that at this point:
the infection has likely infiltrated the joints, nervous system, and other parts of the body.
Patients in the early disseminated stage should seek multi-drug antibiotics to treat the infection. Letting it progress could lead to chronic Lyme disease.
In the late disseminated stage, Lyme is diagnosed and treated after 4 months of exposure. At this stage, patients may experience damage to the heart and joints that could be irreversible. Treatment requires multi-drug antibiotics, as the bacteria causing the disease may become resistant to one to two antibiotics. Learn more about this requirement in a Johns Hopkins study on treating Lyme with three antibiotics.
Also Check: S S Of Lyme Disease
Questions To Ask Your Veterinarian
If your dog has a positive Lyme test but no symptoms of the disease or protein in the urine, ask your veterinarian why he or she is recommending treatment. Experts currently recommend against antibiotic therapy under these circumstances because the dogs immune system is holding the bacteria in check and antibiotics are unable to eliminate the infection.
Dogs who have contracted Lyme disease do not develop prolonged, protective immunity and can be reinfected at a later date. Talk to your veterinarian about how best to prevent future infections. Options include measures to prevent the ticks that carry Lyme disease from biting your dog and Lyme vaccination.
You May Like: Dr Lee Cowden Lyme Disease
Can You Donate Blood With A Lyme Disease Diagnosis
People across the globe are experiencing an unprecedented time of uncertainty as COVID-19 continues to spread. However, this pandemic has also brought about something wonderful: people stepping up to help their fellow citizens. But there are concerns about blood donation. Who is allowed to donate? Can patients with Lyme disease donate blood?
Recommended Reading: Most Effective Treatment For Lyme Disease
How Does Babesia Get Into The Blood Supply
When screening blood donors, the American Red Cross does not ask whether donors have ever been bitten by a tick or had Lyme disease. It does state those who have had infections with Chagas Disease, Babesiosis or Leishmaniasis are not eligible to donate. The problem is many people with babesiosis are asymptomatic or had an infection that wasnt diagnosed because they were never tested or they were not tested properly.
The CDC has known for years that relatively healthy individuals infected with Babesia can unknowingly donate contaminated blood. However, it wasnt until 2011 that the CDC set a standard for surveillance and made babesiosis a reportable illness.
Unfortunately, only 31 states have implemented a system for reporting Babesia infections. Also in 2011, the CDC published a retrospective study showing 159 cases of babesiosis contracted by blood transfusions, with 70% of those infections occurring after the year 2000, resulting in at least 12 deaths.
Liaison Lyme Detect Diasorin Study
If you or anyone you know has recently been diagnosed with Lyme within the last 7 days, we’d like to hear from you.
ABOUT US
We are a patient-focused organization that works closely with our donors to create a space where plasma donations matter and diagnostic research thrives. Our donors are at the forefront of autoimmune and infectious disease diagnostic research. We offer our donors an opportunity to make a contribution that makes a difference.
Recommended Reading: Bee Sting Treatment For Lyme Disease
Only Two Types Of Diabetes Medications Can Exclude You From Donating
- Bovine insulin, derived from cows, poses a risk of carrying Mad Cow Disease. Even if its been years or decades since taking bovine insulin, you will not be eligible to donate.
- Warfarin is a blood thinner often used to treat high cholesterol, but it can also help lower blood sugar levels. It isnt safe or allowed to donate blood while taking a blood thinner.
You should never stop taking a prescribed medication just to change your eligibility to donate blood.
Whats The Difference Between Donating Blood And Plasma
Plasma donation can be done more frequently than whole blood donation because a portion of the blood is returned to the body.
For some people, this makes plasma donation easier and less likely to cause side effects than whole blood donation.
And while there are generally no financial incentives for whole blood donations, private companies often pay donors for plasma donations.
This distinction isnt a hard and fast rule. But paying for whole blood donations isnt the industry standard.
The chart below outlines some of the major differences between whole blood vs. plasma donations.
| Whole Blood |
Read Also: Lyme Disease Support Group Nj
Don’t Miss: How To Tell If Your Cat Has Lyme Disease
Bone Marrow Donation Guidelines
These bone marrow donation guidelines provide an overview of many medical conditions. They do not include every medical situation that may prevent you from donating. Its important to note that marrow donation guidelines are not the same as blood donation guidelines.
If you have questions about these guidelines or a medical condition not listed here, please call 1 MARROW-2.
Can You Donate Plasma If Youve Had Lyme Disease
If you have recently been diagnosed with Lyme Disease within the last month or are currently experiencing some of the symptoms found below you may have an opportunity to receive up to $1000 per week for participating in our Plasma Donation Program. Timing is critical. Please contact us immediately.
Read Also: Lyme Disease Ticks In Florida
Who Can Donate Blood
If you have more specific questions regarding your eligibility,please contact Miller-Keystone Blood Centers Donor Recruitment
The following conditions may affect your eligibility to donate blood:
AgeDonors must be 16 years of age or older. State law requires written consent by a parent or guardian for 16-year-olds to donate blood.
Persons 17 years of age or older may donate without consent of a parent or guardian .
BabesiosisAnyone diagnosed withBabesiosisisnot eligibleto donate.
Blood Exposure / Accidental Needle StickA person who has been exposed to someone elses blood is deferred for three months following the date of exposure.
CancerAnyone withthe following types of cancermay donate: SquamousorBasal Cell Carcinomaof the skin, and those withMelanoma may be eligibleafter evaluation by our Medical Director.
Persons with other forms of cancermay donate one yearafter recovery.
Individuals withBlood Cancerare not eligible to donate.
Chagas DiseaseAny individual who has tested positive forChagas Disease is not eligible to donate blood.
COVID-19 / Coronavirus VaccineIndividuals receiving the COVID-19 vaccine or the Monoclonal Antibody Infusion are accepted for whole blood, red cell, platelet or plasma donation.
DiabetesPotential donors with diabetes are eligible as long as it is controlled. Those who have ever taken bovine insulin are not eligible to donate.
If your own blood was used for your transfusion, you may be eligible sooner.
Do You Have Active Lyme Disease Donate Plasma Earn $$ And Help Others Call Today And Learn More
Have you recently been diagnosed with active Lyme disease? Do you want to help others? We have a unique plasma donation program just for you. Your plasma is needed for further research by researchers and diagnostic companies to research the disease as well as to manufacture your plasma into the controls for test kits to diagnose others.
Participants will donate plasma which is very similar to donating blood like at a red cross but you can do this twice in a 7 day period because you get your red blood cells back thru this process/procedure. If you qualify you will be compensated $500 each time you donate and all/any travel related expenses are pre-paid by us so you can participate at no cost to you.
To learn more visit us at www.accessclinical.com or call us at 800-510-4003 to speak to an agent today about the program.
Basic Qualifications:
Don’t Miss: Natural Remedies To Cure Lyme Disease