Reason #8. “I’m Afraid of Being Turned Down.”
We understand the frustration. You realize that blood donations are vital to the community, and you are excited about helping to save a life. And then if you visit the Blood Center to donate and you’re told that you are not eligible due to recent travel, medication, a tattoo, etc.
Fear not! Many deferrals are only temporary, so you may have waited out the period that you are ineligible to donate.
Plus, even if you were turned down before, you may now be able to donate - donor criteria is constantly changing, so it’s a good idea to let trained blood center staff help you determine your eligibility for donation.
Low iron is actually a common reason why people are temporarily turned down for blood donation. Simply changing your eating habits to include more greens, shellfish and red meat can help alleviate this dilemma.
Trying to up your iron for blood donation can also give you motivation to kick your coffee addiction — caffeine intake limits iron absorption. However, if you aren’t quite ready to part with your daily dose of coffee, drinking lots of liquids rich in Vitamin C can help improve iron absorption. Giving up your coffee four hours before you donate blood, however, is still a good idea to avoid dehydration after donating.
Prescription and over-the-counter medications can result in a deferral as well. Typically, taking over-the-counter medication only affects your ability to donate blood for a few days. Prescription medications result in a longer period of ineligibility, about a month a day after you stop taking the medication. A list of medications and how they affect donor eligibility is available online.
If you’d rather not deal with the headache of figuring out how your medication affects your eligibility, call the Blood Center at 800-223-6667 and our friendly, helpful staff will help you determine if you’re presently eligible.
Travel and living abroad in certain locales can also be a cause for deferral. In most cases, deferral for travel reasons is only temporary — unless you’ve lived abroad in certain countries for a few months or more, in which case deferral is currently indefinite. If you’ve taken your dream vacation to a tropical locale or have done mission work in high-risk malarial or HIV/AIDS areas, you may also want to check online or consult with blood center staff about your eligibility or any concerns you may have.
A list of donor eligibility requirements is available online at http://giveapint.org/information/donate_eligibility.php. More detailed information about restrictions caused travel is also available at http://giveapint.org/information/donate_travel.php.
