Blood bank ends appeal for O negative type
(CNS) UPDATED WEDNESDAY 10:25am: The Cayman Islands Blood Bank has ended its appeal for O negative blood, as the Health Services Authority says it has received enough donations to fulfill the immediate need for this blood type. Yesterday, the HSA made a critical appeal for Type O-negative blood, explaining that supply chain delays from the US due to Hurricane Ian had slowed the receipt of blood, and health officials here said they needed local blood donations to meet the needs of patients. Healthy volunteers are still encouraged to donate blood throughout the year to help maintain a stable blood supply.
Just 2.4% of residents are currently blood donors but the HSA is aiming to more than double the number to reach at least 5% of the population.
People under 18 and over 70 or with serious conditions are excluded from giving blood. Anyone who lived in the UK for a cumulative period of at least three months between 1980 and 1996 cannot donate blood because of the outbreak of a fatal variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. People who have had COVID-19 in the past can give blood but those who may have been positive recently or come into contact with the virus are asked to wait at least two weeks before giving blood.
Men can donate every three months and women every four months. Donations can be made Monday –Friday from 7:00am-6:30pm, and Saturdays from 9am to 5:30pm at the Cayman Islands Hospital.
For more information and to book an appointment, visit www.bloodbank.ky or call 244-2674. Walk-ins are also accepted. Those who have not donated before with the Blood Bank can take a brief eligibility test on its website before scheduling an appointment.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Health, Medical Health
Blood bank can go screw themselves. I am a willing donor but because I lived in the UK a million years ago my blood is no good. Beggars can’t be choosers.
LOL you need my blood but won’t accept it.
Once again HSA at the forefront of best practice regarding blood donation, so very late 1980’s rather than current.
Good luck to you HSA, I’m more than happy to continue to get paid for my donations in the US.
I’ve seen a lot of negativity here regarding the local donation rules that exclude a number of willing donors because of their residence through to the 90’s. I’m a Caymanian and active blood donor, I attempted to donate blood in the UK a few years ago and was declined because by mother was born in Central America. It was for medical purposes more than 60 years prior and she only stayed there for a few weeks before returning to Cayman for the rest of her life. The justification was that there was a risk of transmission of yellow fever. Think about how remote that risk is.
Let us all be respectful of the rules that each country imposes.
Why should be ‘respectful’? The UK rule you describe is silly. Cayman’s rule is silly. We all know that. I have spoken to doctors who agree 100%. So why should we be respectful of it?
The UK rule is not silly, its completely made up.
I will tell the person that’s been in a car crash and desperately needs blood that they should be respectful of the rules, and that its perfectly reasonable to balance the chances of their catching an extraordinary rare and non contagious disease against them dying from loss of blood.
PS Your comment about being denied in the UK because of your mom is, with respect, rubbish. UK won’t refuse even if you had yellow fever yourself, let alone your parents being exposed to it, if it was more than 6 months ago. Its more likely to be because you are from Cayman, which is a risk zone for zika and chikungunya. You wouldn’t be allowed to give blood if you had been in Cayman within 4 weeks. All of which seems a little more reasonable than banning people for residence in the UK 30 years ago.
What utter nonsense regarding current/past UK blood donation.
I would suggest that you look at bllod.co.uk and read the “Who can’t give blood” section.
So vital to give blood. They should give incentives like juice and cookies for donating like when I donate to the sperm banks. A little thank you gesture for a noble cause is always appreciated.
Pretty sure they do this already. Juice at least.
is juice & cookies an incentive?
I thought they were given for reasons related to the the stability of a donor, in terms of healthiness…somehow.
Naive??
Kindly do not meat-grind me for being honest.
Meant to deal with blood sugar and fluid volume. Years ago the UK used to offer you Guinness after – fluid, iron and an incentive!
I am 0- and have a condition that requires me to have an amount of blood removed every couple of months = I’ve been a blood donor elsewhere and my 0- blood has been very useful, but here in Cayman they don’t want my blood because I lived in Scandinavia years ago. In fact I now have to pay 60,- to have blood removed and thrown away. Anybody know where I can get a leech?
05 @ 7:58 pm – There are quite a few leeches available in Cayman. You can find a number of them in the House of Parliament downtown. Quite a lot more can be found in the Government Offices Admin Building on Elgin Avenue – perhaps the upper floors.
Ask Franz Manderson for directions.
haha… really funny! But I’d say you know quite a bit about leeches in CIG, but obviously, you are blind to those that are hidden away in “Private sectors and in plain sight”. Seems you have a real beef with CIG and the MPs of these Islands and that is a big leech on you!!
Ima Speak – my beef is with the leeches of public resources and those in the machine who allow and condone it.
You can focus on the private sector, not my business.
It’s not just having lived in the UK .. if you’ve lived in Scandinavia they exclude you.
I’d love to donate as I’m O- though current EU rules on donation prohibit. It’s disappointing that we can’t help our community.
So let me get this straight, the Cayman Islands does not allow people to give blood because of a disease overseas some 26-42 years ago.
Quit begging for my O-Negative blood – you Cayman Islands blood bank are the reason why there is a shortage of blood.
Signed,
Veteran who served in West Germany 1986
what about the tattooed or the LGBTQI?
Tattoo is fine if older than 6 months I believe.
WTF – LGBTQ? Because you are worried you might catch gay?
I tried , woman was so rude ranting that i lived in uk when mad cow was around , i thought i only see one mad cow around here and left. Never again will i offer
In Australia they have scrap stupid cow mad rule! I am happy to give blood.
Moo 🐮
I’d be delighted to donate – I used to regularly when I lived in the UK. But I am not allowed to here because of a fake scare story from 30 years ago.
the irony of this situation is that the USA have had MULTIPLE outbreaks of BSE in the past decade yet Americans can give blood.
If they ditched these backwards rules then their bloodbank would always be full.
Maybe a stretch to say it would always be full considering only 2.5% donate now. There are also lots of other exclusions….prescriptions, etc.
But yes, I agree, they would likely have more donors.
Maybe if they’d allow the thousands of Brits to donate, they wouldn’t have this issue. Ridiculous rule.
What is the easiest way to find out your blood type?
Have a car accident?
They will test it for your at the Blood Bank. They will gladly have any blood type come in so if you are interested, you should book an appointment. There is an eligibility quiz on their website. bloodbank.ky
Get rid of the mad cow disease rule and you would get an immediate jump in numbers. Absolutely crazy that we turn away everyone who lived in England 30 years ago
HSA needs to change this ridiculous rule urgently, people’s lives are at risk.
My husband and myself used to give blood regularly. Then we were told we couldn’t because we had lived in Uk during the Mad Cow Disease outbreak. I can however give blood in the UK without any issues.
The HSA has adopted their current regulations from the US and the US are the suppliers of the blood coming from overseas.
So no conflict of interest there then….(not surprizing)
I am 0- but have lived in the EU so they don’t want my blood!
Australia has just lifted the ban on previous UK residents donating, and Cayman should do the same. There are thousands of potential donors in the Islands excluded by this outdated rule, and the clinical evidence is now clear that the risk of transmitting CJD is so negligible as to be effectively non-existent.
I dunno. Liz Truss doesn’t give us much confidence that the effects have yet fully waned.
Same rule in the US. Very frustrating.
Please people – if you can. I wish I could but an autoimmune disorder excludes me.
I would love to and used to in the UK. But Cayman is worried I might give someone mad cow. Apparently that’s a bigger risk issue than them not having blood at all.