Because not everyone who is eligible to give blood donates at least once a year, there are periodic shortages, like the one the American Red Cross declared on Sept. 11, 2023.
In 1983, during the early days of the AIDS epidemic, the US Food and Drug Administration made the decision to ban gay men from donating blood. Now, 40 years later, it is dropping that rule.
We calculated there was a one in 1.4 billion chance of someone contracting vCJD from a blood transfusion. And that risk will get even smaller with time.
Your blood can hold a record of past illnesses. That information can reveal how many people have had a certain infection – like 58% of Americans having had COVID-19 by the end of February 2022.
The reasons for the hesitancy to donate blood are complex and include a fear of needles and lack of awareness. Awareness and education drives to dispel the fear of donating are important.
A potential shortage of crucial blood plasma highlights the case for paying Canadians for plasma donations, rather than continuing to import most plasma from the United States, where donors are paid.
Australia is a cultural melting pot, but our blood donors are less diverse. We need a broad mix of ethnicities in our donor pool to meet the needs of patients with rare blood types.
Canada suffers a shortage of vital blood plasma. Paying donors, through a non-profit like Canadian Blood Services, would secure a local supply without lining the pockets of corporate shareholders.
In the the wake of the Orlando massacre, many people directly affected by this homophobic hate crime are prevented from offering help due to homophobic regulations.
News that a Sydney man has contracted Creutzfeld-Jacob disease serves to highlight that we still don’t know how to prevent a disease that most often goes unreported, and unremarked on.