my dh was recently diagnosed with having too much iron in the blood and the only way to remove the iron is to have 1 pint of blood drawn weekly for a year. The ONLY institute approved to actually take is blood and re use it is over three hours away from us. So I guess now all his blood will go to waste instead of being able to be reused for someone who may need it. Even his specialist said, that is so stupid!
No, he can't donate blood because of his condition. The FDA has to grant special permission for a place to collect blood from Hemochromatosis patients for donation, and the only one in our state is three hours away from us. I don't think they will ship the blood over to the center that can collect it.
He stopped by his reg. doctor today since it is on his way to his work. They said they will not draw the blood for him either. So at this point we aren't even sure who will draw the blood for him.
yeah I know .. I told him Im glad it's him and not me going through this, cause the site of blood or the idea of having a needle stuck in me .. *shudder* I know I would pass out every single time.
my landlady had this and yes, pain (literal and figurative) to have to have blood drawn so often.
but....she lived into her late 80s and died as a result of complications of a stroke.
3 hours......is there anything else "there" that makes it worth the trip?
can local lab/hospital apply for permit?
I do have family that lives over by that city, but we have a sick pet in the family that requires medication twice a day and cannot be left unattended for that many hours.
He has to go to the hospital tonight for another blood test, we are going to talk to them about it.
I used to work at our local blood center, and you can actually donate every 8 weeks, but that is completely different from coming in for a medical reason. We had several hemochromatosis patients come in weekly to be drawn.
Is the center 3 hours away the only one, or just the only one that can use it for donation? I know it seems like a waste, but with that condition, you wouldn't want anyone receiving that blood.
I do feel for him, because it's bad enough just getting your blood drawn that often! I couldn't imagine having a 17 gauge needle in my arm for at least 10 minutes every week!
wow -- look at all the info on hemochromatosis on this pdf! http://www.hemochromatosis.org/phyref.pdf
There is only one center in our state that can take that blood and reuse according to FDA guidelines. They are the only ones with the permit in the state as far as we have researched. I guess we have figured that he will have the blood drawn at the hospital and they will just dispose of it.
Dough, thank you for that link. There is a lot of information on that site! We actually found out in December of last year that he had this condition, but the dr suggested he try change of diet for 3 months, which he did, and when he went back in for bloodwork 3 months ago, his condition did not improve. Because our insurance does not cover this "specialist" we had to get those bills paid off before making another appointment with him (you know, to rack up another couple hundred dollars) Thats why he just went in today to see what the next step is, and that is the blood draws.
At the drs office his nurse called the nearest Red Cross center, and they said they would not take his blood at all because of his condition. I guess they don't take any blood from people if they have liver conditions and his liver enzymes are elevated, most likely from the extra iron.
Nooo... my husband has hemochromatosis and the Red Cross welcomes him with open arms. His blood is too rich---there are many people who have exactly the oppostite problem and need what he has. He gives every 5 (I think) weeks
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