blood donations(?)

[rick]

I know a number of the very good people on this board recommended giving blood as a way to help with our current tragedies, and I DO think it was and in many ways still a good idea esp if we do indeed send ground troops. And hospitals etc have been low on blood esp this summer when donations are down so I know its a good thing to get some more in reserves,...However I'm wondering if there is a lot of (too much?) profiteering going on? In our small area alone we have collected thousands of pints of blood. Add that to all the donations all over the US (I understand there are lines of people waiting to give) and who is using it? The amt of people injured and needing blood was not all that high,..and most of that need has already been met. Our local hospital is collecting blood because of this emergency,...but they tell me no blood is going to the victims, (they are NOT telling the public of this) but its going to the hospital banks to use at the hospital,.. The rationale is,.."well we don't have to buy it from the Red Cross and it saves any they get to go to the victims",.(it happens to save them a lot of money too),..another target is that it also gives a chance for local hospitals and the Red Cross to get people on their records to try and get them to be regular donors. Greatly expanding future donations. This MIGHT be good and noble,..except the money made in dealing with whole blood and its components is a big for profit business. The Red Cross is still calling for blood,.My understanding is that excess blood will be sold and some of that money then "can" be used for there other efforts. At their option.
Now, at this time, it may seem like its un-American to criticize,..
(and I know there are always someone who will criticize something) And we could ask what is the bigger picture? ,..but maybe people should question at least a bit if things are not running correctly,.If I'm not mistaken, I believe I remember that the head of the Red Cross was paid more than the president of the United States,. (that was more than ten years ago,)..and then there is a lot of high paid execs.at the RC,.. I understand that large "businesses" must pay some type of parity for execs,..but it seemed to me as a lot for a business that seems to act like its a charity. How much of donated dollars get to the intended people? BTW our local hospital Ceo gets 240,000 a year for a small community hospital.(seems like a lot to me too) but maybe paying 300,000 or more to the CEO of Red Cross isn't much (?) Maybe it just seems that to me,..
Maybe the service guys can give their opinions of the RC,...I just remember my Uncles and a few other saying they would not donate to the Red Cross because they made them pay for much of the services,,.."smokes" candy bars, etc. Maybe that was only in some areas,..
Again, the cause is noble,..but is there better ways such as the salvation army to donate to?
BTW,..I believe in giving blood,.for what good it does for others,and for some selfish reasons,..there are some good studies that show if males give blood at least 3x a year they reduce their iron stores.(it might take a while if your iron stores are high) males and females past menopause live statically quite a bit longer in doing so,..many Cardiologists and biochemists feel its valid,..iron greatly defeats antioxidants in your diet and oxidizes cholesterol. They feel its not cholesterol but oxidized Chol. that is the killer,..Bears have Chol of >1500 w/o problems,..humans start having problems with it at above 150,... Dr. Sullivan a Cardio researcher from Rice U states that he is NOT telling you to not eat right,..and not telling you not to exercise,...but giving blood (after a while) reduces your heart attack/strok risk about as much as doing the recommended "good" diet and exercises,.he advises doing both,..you can find more about this I'm sure in an internet search.

[Chad]

Rick,

One thing that came to mind is that if everyone gives blood today, who will give blood tomorrow. The blood is only good for something like 30-45 days and I believe we have to wait around 60 days to give again. It would be nice if people stagger their giving. Maybe this isnt a concern since there are so many people wanting to give and all cant get in at once.

[Rick]

Chad,
They can freeze whole blood now,..not the best thing to do to it but they can hold back some of it,..BTW on NPR there was a story that money was comming in so fast to the Red Cross that it was a problem right now,..I think they said 140 million and lots comming in every day,..I guess thats good news if they spend it correctly. They said the United way has gotten 110 million and ghaven't spent any of it on this situation yet as they are not sure how to apply it yet. I guess money doesn't solve everything. A number of people I know went down there (about 160 miles from here) and were turned away as they said they had more than enough volunteers,..2 that were carpenters were not allowed on the site but were given the task of making dog houses for the rescue dogs,..they were disappointed but I guess it filled on need. I seems to me a lot of the firemen etc. are so overworked and working long hours w/o a spell,..I hear they are sleeping in tents and other rather rough living conditions,..I also heard that NYC hotels are less than half cap. I would think these two problems could be solved with each other with all the charity money and the government pledging billions???

[Another Thing]

Did you notice how the all oh so concerned Hollywood types are "Donating their time" to do PSA's? You know Mr or Mrs. I made 3 million in my last movie. They donated their time. How bout some of your millions???? Or when they go doa game show for charity, they take the money that they won and donate it to a charity. Wanna impress me Mr. Rap Star? How about matching it with YOUR money??? Can you spare 50,000 as a write off? Let's see, you made 100 Million last year!!! Or the few athletes in the NFL that were so worried what would happen to their weekly check for the week they did not play! Let's see here Mr football head, you make 12 million a year, with a signing bonus of 5 million, and you're worried about missing one check!!! You make me wanna puke! These are our role models? These are the people we are supposed to be like? These are the people we are supposed to fall down in front of and be oh so happy they have grace our prescence or TV screen? Ya right. I thought about you all as I barfed into the toilet the last time! My heros? My money? My money is on those who died, those who are working nearly round the clock and sleepin in the streets. As for me, ya I gave blood, I donated money, and I sent needed clothing for the victims, and I am unemployed!!!! Hollywood, kiss my backside! (Must note, there are actually some who are doing something. Robin Williams comes to mind, he went and gave blood)

[Backwater Eddy]

Is blood plasma a better option for long term storage and does it offer more user options for medics in the field?

I know you can get on a donation schedule for plasma as many college students do now.

Any MD's out there, I would be interested to know?

[bluelund]

Read in this morning's paper that Julia Roberts donated $1 million to the Red Cross disaster relief fund and $1 million to the September 11 charity fund. It would sure be nice to see some more of these wealthy celebrities match her donations.

Good Fishing,
Bob M

[Another Thing]

Gee, I always liked her!

[Todd_NE]

I manage 5 med clinics and work for a hospital system, been in healthcare admin for 10 years. (I'm not saying that for any reason than to add a little credibility)

1. Blood lasts approximately 56 days right now (two of my own lab people couldn't agree on the exact days)- unfortunately we (healthcare) thought there would be many more living victims than ultimately there were - the New York Hospital Association sent out an emergency call for blood which spurred the blood drive. The nation's blood supply is "tighter" than people know in normal times by the way. Plus, it's a good idea to get in the habit of donating at all times, especially with the possibility of more American casualties.

2. Blood prices are "set". No possibility of profiteering - period.

3. Amercicans are compassionate helpful people and most of us want to help in anyway we can. Those who take advantage of this situation will face our wrath here on earth or in the beyond.

4. The interest earned on the money not spent by the RC, UW, SA, etc., will help them a great deal and even their rough spots of donations ahead. Don't forget that natural disasters and other things that don't gain the national notoriety also have depleted their resources too over the year (at times). I think they are all strong financially now, but we are very fortunate to have good charities that have low admin costs.

5. The President of the US is underpayed. In fact, while it's popular to criticize political salaries - most politicians are underpaid. A Nebraska State Representative earns 14k. What this does is keep politicians in office who can AFFORD to run in the first place. In other words, we get what we pay for.

Todd

[Backwater Eddy]

Todd if you can, can you answer my question on blood plasma vrs. whole blood storage?

Thank's