Blood donation after stopping in Labadee.

[cello56]

I was just able to donate to OneBlood in Orlando. Their questionnaire asked if I had been out of the country in the last three years. I answered yes. In the private interview the nurse asked if I had spent more than 24 hours in any country, and I said no. She said fine, and that was that. Never even asked what countries I visited. I am guessing that the 24 hour rule is put there specifically for people on cruises. There was a separate Zika Virus question sheet. You had to have been back home for 4 weeks after visiting a country with active Zika. They had a very long list of countries that had Zika, and many stipulations.

 

Good news for those who wish to donate and cruise too.

[Kamloops50]

I was just able to donate to OneBlood in Orlando. Their questionnaire asked if I had been out of the country in the last three years. I answered yes. In the private interview the nurse asked if I had spent more than 24 hours in any country, and I said no. She said fine, and that was that. Never even asked what countries I visited. I am guessing that the 24 hour rule is put there specifically for people on cruises. There was a separate Zika Virus question sheet. You had to have been back home for 4 weeks after visiting a country with active Zika. They had a very long list of countries that had Zika, and many stipulations.

 

Good news for those who wish to donate and cruise too.

 

In Canada if you travel to where mosquitoes carry malaria and zika , you'll not be allowed to donate blood for 12 months after your arrival home.

[setsail]

In Canada if you travel to where mosquitoes carry malaria and zika , you'll not be allowed to donate blood for 12 months after your arrival home.

 

That's a good thing:)

[cruisegirl1]

I was just able to donate to OneBlood in Orlando. Their questionnaire asked if I had been out of the country in the last three years. I answered yes. In the private interview the nurse asked if I had spent more than 24 hours in any country, and I said no. She said fine, and that was that. Never even asked what countries I visited. I am guessing that the 24 hour rule is put there specifically for people on cruises. There was a separate Zika Virus question sheet. You had to have been back home for 4 weeks after visiting a country with active Zika. They had a very long list of countries that had Zika, and many stipulations.

 

Good news for those who wish to donate and cruise too.

 

Thank you for wanting to donate blood, and I am happy you were able. THANK YOU.

 

M

[AQFan]

I have previously been deferred for a year after having been on a cruise that visited Labadee They have relaxed the rules now so that if you are there less than 24 hours, you may donate. I did run into a Zika defer for an April cruise and had to wait 28 days before I could donate You have to respect their worry about receiving tainted blood but during the summer, donations do drop so that it is nice to see the blood banks have some flexibility. Thanks to all that donate blood and especially those that rushed to donate last week in Orlando.

[yogimax]

Thank you cello56 for your blood donation. I'm sure the supplies are very low in Florida right now. You are to be commended!

[Garavar]

OneBlood is a scam...you "donate" your blood for free, they sell it to hospitals and pay their CEO a hefty salary. They should be paying you.

 

If you want to donate blood go directly to the hospital

[Garavar]

And since I know CC members like to bash, please read this article http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83673719/ as well as forbes and google OneBlood before bashing me

[awestover89]

In Canada if you travel to where mosquitoes carry malaria and zika , you'll not be allowed to donate blood for 12 months after your arrival home.

 

In America if you are a gay man you can't donate blood at all. :( (Actually, they just changed the law to 12 months since your last "activity" but it used to be a lifetime ban)

[cello56]

Well I WAS feeling pretty good what I did today. Regardless of which collection group I gave to, the blood is going to end up helping someone. Since I live in Orlando - you know, site of the worst mass shooting in American history - we are not being too picky right now about how the blood is collected. They are just desperate to get it. In all the news stories, not ONCE did they suggest that people go to any hospital to donate. They listed the potential donation sites, and guess what? They were at OneBlood. :)

[bennybear]

Thank you cello 56.

[awestover89]

Well I WAS feeling pretty good what I did today. Regardless of which collection group I gave to, the blood is going to end up helping someone. Since I live in Orlando - you know, site of the worst mass shooting in American history - we are not being too picky right now about how the blood is collected. They are just desperate to get it. In all the news stories, not ONCE did they suggest that people go to any hospital to donate. They listed the potential donation sites, and guess what? They were at OneBlood. :)

 

You definitely should feel good. Thanks for your donation

[MsK64]

I'm taking a cruise that includes a stop at Labadee, and as I have O- negative blood and give quite often, the idea of not being able to for a year was so concerning to me that I was planning to not get off the ship while there. But luckily I called both the American Red Cross and the NY Blood Center and they both confirmed what some of the previous posters have said: if you're staying for less than 24 hours in Haiti, there is no deferral at all. The rep did say that sometimes folks at the blood bank or blood drives don't always know about the change and that if you go to give blood and they say anything, you should tell them to check again because there's been a change in the rules. For other places in the Caribbean, there is a 28 deferral because of the Zika virus.

[fletch5727]

Actually, I don't think the article that was referenced was that negative. Specifically, this portion below,

 

Like all blood banks, OneBlood solicits and takes donated blood, tests it for safety, breaks it up into different components and sells it to hospitals and clinics.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[xpcdoojk]

They have relaxed the rule in just the last year in the USA. I give blood hyper regularly, and I have avoided Labadee and Belize for that specific reason. We went to Belize last year, and I could donate, as long as I stayed in Belize city and for less than 24 hours.

 

I was deferred back in 2006 for visiting Costa Maya, even though I didn't get off the ship and because it was raining all day there, I never even went outside.

 

JC

[BeachChik]

OneBlood is a scam...you "donate" your blood for free, they sell it to hospitals and pay their CEO a hefty salary. They should be paying you.

 

If you want to donate blood go directly to the hospital

 

It is in no way a scam. All blood donation centers sell what you freely donated back to hospitals. They have operating costs that have to be paid and all companies have a CEO that isn't going to work for free.

 

And in fact when the pulse shooting first happened the hospitals were telling people to go to the blood donation centers and not the hospitals.

[Hoppy2cruise]

OneBlood is a scam...you "donate" your blood for free, they sell it to hospitals and pay their CEO a hefty salary. They should be paying you.

 

If you want to donate blood go directly to the hospital

 

A quick Google search shows that no hospitals in our area have blood donation centers. I have no problem donating to the local center that devotes a of time and expense drawing blood, processing, etc before selling it to hospitals.

 

Hoppy

[avalon007]

Over here in Australia you donate at permanent blood donation centres & they also have mobile blood banks that set up in different towns for a few days to accept donations, so people can do so whilst on their lunch break or after work in inner city areas & regional towns where the hospital may be further afield.

 

It's understandable to refuse blood from people in high risk categories for HIV/Aids, Zika etc - nobody wants to be the unfortunate victim of receiving infected blood that could potentially ruin your life, no matter how well meant the donation was.

 

So sorry for what has happened in Florida & California not so long before that, I expect something similar with large loss of life to happen here in Australia sooner or later - we may have stricter firearms laws, but it doesn't really stop terrorism, they just use pressure cookers & potentially worse things. In fact Australia's first such attack was actually on new years day 101 years ago in 1915! 4 people were killed & 7 wounded but hardly anybody knows about it - it was called the Battle of Broken Hill.

[Merion_Mom]

This was a very informative thread on several counts.

 

Thank you for donating blood in Orlando, cello56, since the gay men who live there and most wanted to donate were not permitted. :(

[DonnaK]

After reading all the information here, I feel inspired to donate blood. I will seek out a local donation center tomorrow! (Although I don't live in Orlando, levels are always low at blood banks nationwide)

[A&L_Ont]

In Canada if you travel to where mosquitoes carry malaria and zika , you'll not be allowed to donate blood for 12 months after your arrival home.

 

With us being at Labadee 1-2 times a year I took my name of the donors list last year. I had been donating since 9/11 but with the change relating to Red Cross travel restrictions for Canadians I haven't been able to donate for years. If we stop cruising, or the restrictions are changed, I can always start to donate again. :)

[cello56]

After reading all the information here, I feel inspired to donate blood. I will seek out a local donation center tomorrow! (Although I don't live in Orlando, levels are always low at blood banks nationwide)

 

Thank you so much! Your donation will help SO many people!

[luvscruising2007]

Does anyone know if there is an age limit to give blood? Are there other restrictions. I have never given blood but have been thinking about it for awhile. I am approaching 70 so was wondering if I could. Are there health issued that limit whether you can donate?

Thanks

[matj2000]

If you want to donate blood go directly to the hospital

You can't just show up and donate.

 

Most hospitals do not have a blood donation center.

 

[DonnaK]

Does anyone know if there is an age limit to give blood? Are there other restrictions. I have never given blood but have been thinking about it for awhile. I am approaching 70 so was wondering if I could. Are there health issued that limit whether you can donate?

Thanks

 

According to the American Red Cross site, there is no upper age limit for blood donation as long as you are well with no restrictions or limitations to your activities.

 

It also says that if you have chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension, you can donate as long as those conditions are well-controlled

 

http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-topic