So, with being as vague so as not to identify anyone on here...my coworker's daughter may have Leukemia. We're hoping it isn't but the tests have not been able to eliminate it from the realm of possibilities.
I donate platelets every 2 weeks which go to various cancer/leukemia patients and recently I was matched with someone at Hopkins and they keep me coming back. Anyway, I know that for Leukemmia in kids, they do bone marrow transplants from hips of donors.
So anyway, I figured, "if I can donate blood, why not bone marrow?" I went to marrow.org or whatever the web site was and was going through the checklist to determine if I was eligible to be a donor and saw Diabetes as one of the conditions that may defer me from being able to donate. I called their 800 number and talked to a very nice woman who informed me that insulin-dependent diabetics cannot donate bone marrow since it is a surgical procedure and they worry that we will not recover/heal like non-diabetics.
I can understand this but I think it's such a kick in the nuts when you want to help and can't. Hopefully my platelets are a match if she needs 'em at all (which I hope she doesn't). Anyway, I'm writing because I'm pissed that I can't help and while we can donate blood/platelets, we can't donate anything else.
At least you can donate blood! Any diabetic in Canada taking insulin, even if they are Type 2 taking one shot a day of Lantus or something, isn't allowed to donate. If I was a Type 2 and used pills/diet to control my diabetes, I'd be allowed to. I even wrote a letter when I found that out, and got a reply that the Canadian Diabetes Association (who deals mostly with Type 2's in my experience) is the one who made that guideline for Diabetics wanting to donate blood!
But it's the thought that counts, at least you tried and want to help someone out with bone marrow! :)
That does suck. It seems like we should all be able to make informed decisions about our own bodies. Especially in cases like bone marrow, where I imagine that many times the people who step up to do something like personally know the potential recipient. I think it's totally reasonable to weigh the potential risk of diabetes-related complications from being a donor against the likely scenario that anyone - let alone a loved one - would die without a transplant and decide to take the risk.
But I digress. ITA that it was great that you tried to help, and it definitely sounds like you're doing your part.
I actually didn't know that type 1s could donate blood. I would have thought that losing all of that blood would be a potential hypo/hyperglycemia nightmare. (I haven't been missing out on donating for all of these years because I didn't bother to check...in my case, I know it's a moot point because of the also backwards blood donor guidelines that discriminate against all gay men. But now that I know I could donate without my own health being at risk, I am all the more angry about that one.) The Canadian policy sounds even more regressive...am I to assume that the criteria being insulin vs. oral meds means that it is also about fear of shared needles? Really? The US FDA blood policies, as overly reactionary as they are, at least pertain to activities that at one time, without proper precautions that we now know about, resulted in an unforeseeable spread of HIV among certain populations. I've never heard of someone getting HIV from injecting insulin. I can't imagine even before the AIDS epidemic insulin-dependent diabetics were told to share syringes?
In the US you can be an organ donor when you die even though you have diabetes. I myself want to donate my body to science. Maybe scientists will figure out a cure one day. Also, I cannot donate blood either, but it is because I don't weigh enough. Maybe I need to bulk up so I can donate. :)
The Canadian policy sounds even more regressive...am I to assume that the criteria being insulin vs. oral meds means that it is also about fear of shared needles?
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Actually, if I understand what I was told correctly, it's actually because of the insulin itself when it comes to insulin vs oral medication. Since insulin used to, and I believe there still is some, taken from pigs and cows, it's a contamination thing and the whole Mad Cow Disease stuff. My friend who was in France during an outbreak of Mad Cow, is also not allowed to donate by Canada's standards because she apparently might carry the virus...even though she lived there over 20years ago when she was just a toddler and wasn't eating meat.
The Canadian policy sounds even more regressive...am I to assume that the criteria being insulin vs. oral meds means that it is also about fear of shared needles?
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Actually, if I understand what I was told correctly, it's actually because of the insulin itself when it comes to insulin vs oral medication. Since insulin used to, and I believe there still is some, taken from pigs and cows, it's a contamination thing and the whole Mad Cow Disease stuff. My friend who was in France during an outbreak of Mad Cow, is also not allowed to donate by Canada's standards because she apparently might carry the virus...even though she lived there over 20years ago when she was just a toddler and wasn't eating meat.
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That's interesting...so why on earth would the guidelines be "anyone who has taken bovine insulin in the past X years," instead of any and all insulin?
Yeah so it turns out she does have Leukemia...Type ALL. Which is according to her doctors "The kind of Leukemia you want" if you were to get it I guess. 95% cure rate and after 6 months of chemotherapy she should be good to go depending on the result of her spinal tap today :-/
Hope she's ok. She can have my platelets, just not my marrow I guess. Stupid diabetes
I'm sorry to hear of your co-workers daughter. I wanted to say that I have had 3 friends have children with ALL now and all of them are doing great and it's been a few years since diagnoses. You are a great person for being so upset about not being able to give your marrow :)
The Canadian policy sounds even more regressive...am I to assume that the criteria being insulin vs. oral meds means that it is also about fear of shared needles?
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Actually, if I understand what I was told correctly, it's actually because of the insulin itself when it comes to insulin vs oral medication. Since insulin used to, and I believe there still is some, taken from pigs and cows, it's a contamination thing and the whole Mad Cow Disease stuff. My friend who was in France during an outbreak of Mad Cow, is also not allowed to donate by Canada's standards because she apparently might carry the virus...even though she lived there over 20years ago when she was just a toddler and wasn't eating meat.
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That's interesting...so why on earth would the guidelines be "anyone who has taken bovine insulin in the past X years," instead of any and all insulin?
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I was turned down by the American Red Cross because I'd taken beef/pork insulin in the 70's and 80's (that's all that was available then). The reason is that Mad Cow Disease can stay in your system for 20 years. Sounds silly to me, but I understand the Red Cross is trying to be safe.
I was turned down by the American Red Cross because I'd taken beef/pork insulin in the 70's and 80's (that's all that was available then). The reason is that Mad Cow Disease can stay in your system for 20 years. Sounds silly to me, but I understand the Red Cross is trying to be safe.
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Yeah that's one of the medical deferrals - bovine insulin. I was happy when I was dx'd that I could still donate blood. It helps people and gives me stuff to do for a couple hours on the weekends :)
I wanted to donate blood and bone marrow also and was told I cannot. Since then, I've been trying to get friends and family to give what they can (blood, marrow, volunteer time) since I cannot give but just volunteer.
I find it a little confusing when in Canada (where I'm from) I cannot donate blood, marrow etc but I can be a donor for organs and such. I don't know why that would be different from donating blood or marrow but maybe they have a reason.