I gave blood every six months for almost eight years. It gave me a warm feeling of saving people's lives and an insurance that would entitle me to have free blood transfusion in case i would, God forbid, need one.
Last time i gave blood, a year ago, i received a letter from the Israeli Blood Bank director, Dr. Eilat Shen'ar. The letter said that a test had shown that i was found positive for Hepatitis C, but then they re-tested it and found that it was a false positive. Nevertheless, she wrote, i am kindly asked not to donate again.
My physician confirmed that i'm negative and healthy.
It pissed me off, so i called them and asked for an explanation, mentioning that i have the O-negative blood type, which is in high demand. They told me that it is Standard Procedure and advised to wait one year and call again.
I won't tell the long story of the bureaucracy and the misunderstandings on the way, but after a year i did that test and today i got the results. False positive again. They don't want my blood, even though they know that i'm healthy and that it can save someones life in case the bank runs out of O-negative, which often happens, especially in Israel, with all the explosions and the wars, not to mention the numerous car accidents. Standard Procedure, they say.
I am not a doctor, but even they admit that it's not a matter of science but rather of bureaucracy. Here's a proof that bureaucracy kills. Now i feel really bad, even though i probably did my best here. The best you can is good enough, you say? I am not convinced.
9 comments:
what do you mean:"False positive again"? did the second time come out positive? what's wrong with the test? do you feel like an ethiopian now?
i'm so sorry for you, I just donated a few weeks ago (when the war was going on) and i can understand your feelings...
Hi Noa,
Thanks for your kind words.
Do i know you from somewhere? (מרקיה? בלשנות? בור?)
what do you mean:"False positive again"?
They did the same tests like a year ago: A simple one, which they call סקר ("survey"??) and it showed that i am positive and then they did a second test and it showed that i am negative. They say that if the second test is negative, then i don't have to worry about my health, but if the first one is positive then i can't donate blood, because that's the procedure.
They asked me - "Would you want to take blood from someone who had positive results in one of the tests?" I said that i would, if my life depended on it, 'cuz what does it matter how i die? It didn't convince them, of course.
> do you feel like an ethiopian now?
Not really. With the Ethiopians it was different - MDA took their blood and then lied to them and didn't tell that they are throwing it away. In my case they are at least telling me.
But i am stilled pissed off, because i want to donate and cannot, because of pure bureaucracy.
Someone told me - "If you want to donate so much, why not donate money?" And the answer is simple - millions won't help you if the blood bank is empty. And from what i've heard, the Israeli blood bank runs out of O- blood type quite often. So when someone needs it and there is none, he might just die.
I still don't give up - i want to complain to the Ministry of Health.
ehafxv
Balshanut + Mrakia: Thats me.
I don't hang out in "borot"...
(ok maybe once in the army, but i didnt know you then...)
speaking of marakia, did you preform already?
I'm glad to see you here.
The Bor was in the army of course. There were a couple of Noas in mine.
I haven't performed yet, but i hope to do it soon enough - in the next couple of weeks.
I don't have your email to notify you, but you can follow the Blog.
I started following that Eyeone band from Marakia. They played at the Gula on Tuesday.
bdvdcg
I am not surprised... My daughter spent a year in Romania as an exchange student. Another exchange student to the same country was recently told that she can NEVER give blood in the US, at least not to the Red Cross. Although she is perfectly healthy, because of past problems with HIV-risky behavior among eastern bloc physicians (needle sharing, etc.), the Red Cross doesn't accept blood from anyone who's lived in Eastern Bloc countries. Shame..... I think they miss a lot of great donors that way.
Hi Aharoni,
Long time no talk...
Anyway, I hate to spoil the party even more but - it does have ETHIOPIAN written all over it. Want to know why?
Well - it is true that OLIM (immigrants) from Russia have a higher probability of carrying Hepatitis C (because of not using disposable needles a while back when vaccinating at schools there). But is it coincidence that only immigrants from the eastern block are tested for H C? I don't think so..
http://www.eshtagea.com/almogblog
Hi Almog,
Thanks for being sincere.
You may be right, but as i said - "I gave blood every six months for almost eight years". Since i was 18. Why did it take them eight years to tell me that?
No way i'm giving up now. I'll show them.
ouwytth
FYI they don't take British Blood either. Mad Cows, foot n' mouth, Anti-semitism - we're just as diseased as the next discriminated-against minority...
I heard about the British. And the French too.
But for them they have some kind of a scientific explanation, and for me nothing but "Procedure".
I just want to make sure that the MDA High General Commissioner Secretary Manager Doctor Person knows it. And the Minister of Health too (although he probably wouldn't give a damn). And the newspapers. And the relatives of people who are sick or dead because there isn't enough blood in the bank.
God, am i pissed off.
zkrhxzb
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