Calling all long standing blood donors

[Andrew]

Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.

If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.

It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.

In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.

Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.

Andrew

[Chris Hogg]

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I was a donor for several years, starting in the mid-sixties. I was
given a little light-blue booklet, maybe 3" x 2", into which they
stuck an extra page after each donation. After a certain number of
donations I received a little enamel lapel-pin, but can't remember how
many donations qualified me for that. Eventually I stopped donating
after 25 donations, so about 12 years at twice a year, thinking that
was quite enough. I remember being rather discouraged when I received
a letter addressed to Mrs Hogg, and thinking 'surely they must be able
to tell the sex of the donor simply from the blood'.

I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe. I don't have
either the booklet or the pin now. Must have got rid of them in a
clear-out at some time.

I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

[Sam Plusnet]

Post by Chris Hogg

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I was a donor for several years, starting in the mid-sixties. I was
given a little light-blue booklet, maybe 3" x 2", into which they
stuck an extra page after each donation. After a certain number of
donations I received a little enamel lapel-pin, but can't remember how
many donations qualified me for that. Eventually I stopped donating
after 25 donations, so about 12 years at twice a year, thinking that
was quite enough. I remember being rather discouraged when I received
a letter addressed to Mrs Hogg, and thinking 'surely they must be able
to tell the sex of the donor simply from the blood'.

Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2" -
more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with a
new sheet pasted in each time. It became a bit unwieldy after a while.

<digs in drawer>
I have two lapel badges, one says "50", but the smaller one has no
number on it, so maybe 25?

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe. I don't have
either the booklet or the pin now. Must have got rid of them in a
clear-out at some time.
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

Upper limit is age 70 - unless you are a regular donor & keep on going
(I'm 74 & still go three or four times a year).
IIRC, a break in donations of 2 years, once you pass 70, is enough to
disqualify you.

Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2" -
more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with a
new sheet pasted in each time. It became a bit unwieldy after a while.

[SteveW]

Post by Sam Plusnet

Post by Chris Hogg

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I was a donor for several years, starting in the mid-sixties. I was
given a little light-blue booklet, maybe 3" x 2", into which they
stuck an extra page after each donation. After a certain number of
donations I received a little enamel lapel-pin, but can't remember how
many donations qualified me for that. Eventually I stopped donating
after 25 donations, so about 12 years at twice a year, thinking that
was quite enough. I remember being rather discouraged when I received
a letter addressed to Mrs Hogg, and thinking 'surely they must be able
to tell the sex of the donor simply from the blood'.

Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2" -
more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with a
new sheet pasted in each time.  It became a bit unwieldy after a while.
<digs in drawer>
I have two lapel badges, one says "50", but the smaller one has no
number on it, so maybe 25?

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe. I don't have
either the booklet or the pin now. Must have got rid of them in a
clear-out at some time.
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

Upper limit is age 70 - unless you are a regular donor & keep on going
(I'm 74 & still go three or four times a year).
IIRC, a break in donations of 2 years, once you pass 70, is enough to
disqualify you.
Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2" -
more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with a
new sheet pasted in each time.  It became a bit unwieldy after a while.

I stil have my booklet, but after suffering Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, they
did not want my blood for 5 years. In that period, at least in my area,
they stopped doing collections in large workplaces and switched to
office hours only, pre-booked appointments, at various centres that
donors had to travel to ... effectively making it too difficult for
hourly paid workers to donate, so I have never resumed.

My wife is not allowed to donate, having received a blood transfusion,
following a post-partum haemorrhage.

[John Miller]

Post by SteveW

Post by Sam Plusnet

Post by Chris Hogg

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I was a donor for several years, starting in the mid-sixties. I was
given a little light-blue booklet, maybe 3" x 2", into which they
stuck an extra page after each donation. After a certain number of
donations I received a little enamel lapel-pin, but can't remember how
many donations qualified me for that. Eventually I stopped donating
after 25 donations, so about 12 years at twice a year, thinking that
was quite enough. I remember being rather discouraged when I received
a letter addressed to Mrs Hogg, and thinking 'surely they must be able
to tell the sex of the donor simply from the blood'.

Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2"
- more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with
a new sheet pasted in each time.  It became a bit unwieldy after a while.
<digs in drawer>
I have two lapel badges, one says "50", but the smaller one has no
number on it, so maybe 25?

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe. I don't have
either the booklet or the pin now. Must have got rid of them in a
clear-out at some time.
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

Upper limit is age 70 - unless you are a regular donor & keep on going
(I'm 74 & still go three or four times a year).
IIRC, a break in donations of 2 years, once you pass 70, is enough to
disqualify you.
Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2"
- more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with
a new sheet pasted in each time.  It became a bit unwieldy after a while.

I stil have my booklet, but after suffering Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, they
did not want my blood for 5 years. In that period, at least in my area,
they stopped doing collections in large workplaces and switched to
office hours only, pre-booked appointments, at various centres that
donors had to travel to ... effectively making it too difficult for
hourly paid workers to donate, so I have never resumed.
My wife is not allowed to donate, having received a blood transfusion,
following a post-partum haemorrhage.

I was a donor for many years from the age of 18 and had the little blue
book with a new sticker after every donation. Can't remember what
happened to it. Had to give up after my 100th donation when I had the
heart stent fitted and went onto statins, etc. Did get a lovely
Edinburgh crystal plate after 75 donations and a crystal decanter after
the 100. Both times with a meal and formal presentation to which my wife
was also invited. I would have been happy to continue but the tablets
put a block on any more donations. Can't remember any yellow sticker though.

[alan_m]

Post by John Miller
I was a donor for many years from the age of 18 and had the little blue
book with a new sticker after every donation.

I seem to remember that the blue covered book was changed to a silver
covered book after a certain number of donations.

I gave blood regularly for a good number of years until I had an illness
that stopped me giving for 6 months. This coincided with the blood
service no longer visiting my place of work and my employer still paying
for the time taken to give blood. I did not give blood again after my
illness.

At the time of the blood service visiting my place of work the workforce
was around 2000 employees and the uptake on giving blood was quite high,
probably hundreds of whole arm-fulls.

[Andrew]

Post by SteveW

Post by Sam Plusnet

Post by Chris Hogg

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I was a donor for several years, starting in the mid-sixties. I was
given a little light-blue booklet, maybe 3" x 2", into which they
stuck an extra page after each donation. After a certain number of
donations I received a little enamel lapel-pin, but can't remember how
many donations qualified me for that. Eventually I stopped donating
after 25 donations, so about 12 years at twice a year, thinking that
was quite enough. I remember being rather discouraged when I received
a letter addressed to Mrs Hogg, and thinking 'surely they must be able
to tell the sex of the donor simply from the blood'.

Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2"
- more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with
a new sheet pasted in each time.  It became a bit unwieldy after a while.
<digs in drawer>
I have two lapel badges, one says "50", but the smaller one has no
number on it, so maybe 25?

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe. I don't have
either the booklet or the pin now. Must have got rid of them in a
clear-out at some time.
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

Upper limit is age 70 - unless you are a regular donor & keep on going
(I'm 74 & still go three or four times a year).
IIRC, a break in donations of 2 years, once you pass 70, is enough to
disqualify you.
Yes, I had a booklet (I recall it as being a bit smaller than 3" x 2"
- more like an old Student Union card/booklet from the 60s & 70s) with
a new sheet pasted in each time.  It became a bit unwieldy after a while.

I stil have my booklet, but after suffering Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, they
did not want my blood for 5 years. In that period, at least in my area,
they stopped doing collections in large workplaces and switched to
office hours only, pre-booked appointments, at various centres that
donors had to travel to ... effectively making it too difficult for
hourly paid workers to donate, so I have never resumed.
My wife is not allowed to donate, having received a blood transfusion,
following a post-partum haemorrhage.

I have that booklet and inside the front cover is a sticker which they
type up with your name, address, ABO+RH group and the date you became
donor. I am curious to know what colour your name+address label is
and if there are any letters after the date of first donation ?

[Max Demian]

Post by Sam Plusnet

Post by Chris Hogg
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

Upper limit is age 70 - unless you are a regular donor & keep on going
(I'm 74 & still go three or four times a year).

They'll take your last drop.

Do they drain corpses? If not, why not? They take organs from dead
people, so why not blood? (I hope they are dead; do organ donors and
recipients always have different doctors? If not, there could be a
conflict of interest.)

[N_Cook]

Post by Chris Hogg

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I was a donor for several years, starting in the mid-sixties. I was
given a little light-blue booklet, maybe 3" x 2", into which they
stuck an extra page after each donation. After a certain number of
donations I received a little enamel lapel-pin, but can't remember how
many donations qualified me for that. Eventually I stopped donating
after 25 donations, so about 12 years at twice a year, thinking that
was quite enough. I remember being rather discouraged when I received
a letter addressed to Mrs Hogg, and thinking 'surely they must be able
to tell the sex of the donor simply from the blood'.
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe. I don't have
either the booklet or the pin now. Must have got rid of them in a
clear-out at some time.
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

I'd dug out my book in the last month ,in case it was still with a
letter from the blood donor centre, but no. Letter, decades ago ,
routine testing of my then donation showed an albumen level above 1.0
IRRC, advising to have a test at my then GP, which was back below 1, and
no ongoing diabetes or whatever.
Potentially a useful add-on function to this altruism.
On a recent blood test , my GP trying to understand the results, and
apparently although decades ago, having a temporary peak of albumen ,
was useful in the recent assesment.

Anyway blue folded card is 10 x 7cm with yellow insert page, no
mysterious letter groups other than blood group and loads of donation
inserts that always unstuck.

It may also be of interest in this thread. My mother had a rare blood
group, unknown what, but she was often called upon to give in-vivo
transfusions in urgent real life or death situations.

[Max Demian]

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe.

Afro/Caribbeans are often group B, and need transfusions as many have
sickle cell disease (because of malaria - look it up).

For some reason they are reluctant to donate.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Post by Max Demian

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe.

Afro/Caribbeans are often group B, and need transfusions as many have
sickle cell disease (because of malaria - look it up).

My S Indian friend has that, too.

Post by Max Demian
For some reason they are reluctant to donate.

--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

[Andrew]

Post by Max Demian

Post by Chris Hogg
I was B Rh-positive, which is quite rare, I believe.

Afro/Caribbeans are often group B, and need transfusions as many have
sickle cell disease (because of malaria - look it up).
For some reason they are reluctant to donate.

Indeed. Anyone who is Rh-negative is of more interest to the
Transfusion service. O-Neg is really valuable because it can be
given without cross-matching in a dire emergency.

[charles]

Yes, I was one in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. But, I have no idea where my
Blue Book is. I stopped giving blood after having had a holiday in Egypt.

I don't remember a Yellow sticker, Sorry

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

[John R Walliker]

Post by charles
Yes, I was one in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. But, I have no idea where my
Blue Book is. I stopped giving blood after having had a holiday in Egypt.
I don't remember a Yellow sticker, Sorry

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I got the lapel pin. I think it was after 10 donations.
As for the book, I doubt I still have it, but I will
have a look. My blood is also B+ and they seemed
quite keen to have it.
John

[tim+]

Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.If so you would have been given a dark blue walletwith a sticker inside the front cover with your name,address, ABO and RH group.It would have stated 'issued by'(SOUTH LONDON BTS,75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) andthe date that you gave your first donation.In my case the letters HVP appear after the dateand this label is coloured yellow.Out of interest, does any other blood donors herehave a yellow sticker and if not what other colouris theirs and what is the significance ?.Andrew

Had you had chickenpox not long before your first donation? The
HVP could stand for herpes varicella plasma. Plasma from people
who have recently recovered is a useful commodity for
immunocompromised people (and pregnant women I believe).

Some people go on producing higher levels of antibodiesb and it
could be you were one of these.

Just a theory...

Tim
--

[Jeff Layman]

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.

I'm not sure where my blue book is, but I doubt that it has a yellow
sticker. Somewhere I've got my 25 donations badge.

I started donations in the late 60s, but was banned after 47 donations
as I'd visited rural Argentina and Chile in 1991. I was told that I
could be a carrier for Chagas' Disease (with which I amused people by
pronouncing it "Shagger's Disease!), and there was no way of testing for
it. An examination of blood /might/ reveal the parasite if it was there,
but probably would not. More than 30 years on I'm still around, so guess
I never had it.

[Andrew]

Post by Jeff Layman

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.

I'm not sure where my blue book is, but I doubt that it has a yellow
sticker. Somewhere I've got my 25 donations badge.
I started donations in the late 60s, but was banned after 47 donations
as I'd visited rural Argentina and Chile in 1991. I was told that I
could be a carrier for Chagas' Disease (with which I amused people by
pronouncing it "Shagger's Disease!), and there was no way of testing for
it. An examination of blood /might/ reveal the parasite if it was there,
but probably would not. More than 30 years on I'm still around, so guess
I never had it.

Yes, they banned me in 1991/2 because I had travelled through South
America in 1990 and did sleep rough in adobe mud huts in the Pantanal.

Then they relented because they had developed a test (I think), and
I carried on donating for a few more years.

[Max Demian]

Post by Andrew

Post by Jeff Layman
I started donations in the late 60s, but was banned after 47 donations
as I'd visited rural Argentina and Chile in 1991. I was told that I
could be a carrier for Chagas' Disease (with which I amused people by
pronouncing it "Shagger's Disease!), and there was no way of testing
for it. An examination of blood /might/ reveal the parasite if it was
there, but probably would not. More than 30 years on I'm still around,
so guess I never had it.

Yes, they banned me in 1991/2 because I had travelled through South
 America in 1990 and did sleep rough in adobe mud huts in the Pantanal.
Then they relented because they had developed a test (I think), and
I carried on donating for a few more years.

I think donation invitations should be sent under "plain cover". Who
would want to advertise that they have such an unexciting lifestyle that
they qualify as donors?

[charles]

If I ever have a blood test in which a phlebotomist ("vampire nurse"!)
has to take a sample, I warn them that the veins in my arms are either
very deep or else unusually small internal diameter. Quite often I end
up with several punctures as they try various vein sites in both arms.

I often had the same problem with blood tests and I was given the advice
to drink a couple of pints of water an hour or so before the needle was
due to go in. This seems have significantly eased the problem and its
been many years since I have had to use both arms to get a small sample :)

I was given that advice last week, I need another blood test tomorrow,
something odd with last week's results. so I'll do the water drinking first

[NY]

Post by Andrew
Yes, they banned me in 1991/2 because I had travelled through South
 America in 1990 and did sleep rough in adobe mud huts in the Pantanal.
Then they relented because they had developed a test (I think), and
I carried on donating for a few more years.

I wasn't banned as such, but after donating for about 10 years I was
advised to stop because the doctors were finding it harder and harder to
locate a vein that had sufficient blood flow to be able to take their
"nearly an armful" in the time slot that I had been allocated. (*)

If I ever have a blood test in which a phlebotomist ("vampire nurse"!)
has to take a sample, I warn them that the veins in my arms are either
very deep or else unusually small internal diameter. Quite often I end
up with several punctures as they try various vein sites in both arms.


(*) I had a bad experience when an elderly doctor who looked like Rosa
Klebb tried numerous times to find a vein for donation, causing a lot of
subcutaneous bleeding and leaving me in considerable pain. A younger
nurse noticed that the doctor was having problems and discreetly
invented a reason to call the doctor to another patient, and then she
(nurse) found a vein almost immediately.

[alan_m]

If I ever have a blood test in which a phlebotomist ("vampire nurse"!)
has to take a sample, I warn them that the veins in my arms are either
very deep or else unusually small internal diameter. Quite often I end
up with several punctures as they try various vein sites in both arms.

I often had the same problem with blood tests and I was given the advice
to drink a couple of pints of water an hour or so before the needle was
due to go in. This seems have significantly eased the problem and its
been many years since I have had to use both arms to get a small sample :)

[Fritz Wuehler]

Post by Max Demian

Post by Sam Plusnet

Post by Chris Hogg
I had thought vaguely of starting again, but is there an upper age
limit on donors?

Upper limit is age 70 - unless you are a regular donor & keep on

going

Post by Max Demian

Post by Sam Plusnet
(I'm 74 & still go three or four times a year).

They'll take your last drop.
Do they drain corpses? If not, why not? They take organs from dead
people, so why not blood? (I hope they are dead; do organ donors and
recipients always have different doctors? If not, there could be a
conflict of interest.)

Your lot are well known organ thieves.
But refuse to take a blood donation from what you call "blood impure".
https://imgur.com/a/Y2Y1Js0
Just ask Dr death (korvakian) or shipman who they stole, murdered
for... kiev and tel aviv.

[Allan]

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

Started donating in 1983. Have a blue cardboard wallet/booklet (small
diary size) that contains the slips of paper I got with each donation
(including the first donation in 1983) at the time. Wallet/small
booklet says it was issued in 1994 with 18 previous donations, which is
similar to the layout/text you describe. Can't remember what I had
before 1994. No sticker.

Yikes! Seems that I've been giving blood for 40 years. Currently up at
109 donations, but although they say they would invite me to some sort
of presentation, doesn't seem to have happened ...

[Bob Martin]

Post by Allan

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

Started donating in 1983. Have a blue cardboard wallet/booklet (small
diary size) that contains the slips of paper I got with each donation
(including the first donation in 1983) at the time. Wallet/small
booklet says it was issued in 1994 with 18 previous donations, which is
similar to the layout/text you describe. Can't remember what I had
before 1994. No sticker.
Yikes! Seems that I've been giving blood for 40 years. Currently up at
109 donations, but although they say they would invite me to some sort
of presentation, doesn't seem to have happened ...

I have the small blue one (first donation 9 Sept 1959 at RAF Bridgnorth)
and a slightly larger silver one issued Jan 1997 when the blue one was
pensioned off.

The yellow label inside the blue one says issued by
"6A, SHOPLATCH, SHREWSBURY"

[Andrew]

Post by Bob Martin

Post by Allan

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

Started donating in 1983. Have a blue cardboard wallet/booklet (small
diary size) that contains the slips of paper I got with each donation
(including the first donation in 1983) at the time. Wallet/small
booklet says it was issued in 1994 with 18 previous donations, which is
similar to the layout/text you describe. Can't remember what I had
before 1994. No sticker.
Yikes! Seems that I've been giving blood for 40 years. Currently up at
109 donations, but although they say they would invite me to some sort
of presentation, doesn't seem to have happened ...

I have the small blue one (first donation 9 Sept 1959 at RAF Bridgnorth)
and a slightly larger silver one issued Jan 1997 when the blue one was
pensioned off.
The yellow label inside the blue one says issued by
"6A, SHOPLATCH, SHREWSBURY"

Ah, so everyone had a *yellow* label sticker inside the front cover
by the sound of it, and it is not an indicator of a condition (If you
have had or still have Hepatitis B, and a few other conditions that can
be passed via blood/cuts/needles etc, then the request form that
accompanies any bloods for path lab testing will have a yellow sticker
and the whole lot sealed inside a plastic envelope).

[Alistair Tyrrell]

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I have two wallet stickers. First is dated 1978, no yellow
mark, letters CL after the date. I was 18 then so this
must have been my first donation. Stuck on top of it is
another one dated 1989 with my updated home address, the
letters 'dc' in lower case, no yellow.

I stopped bringing it with me, and stopped getting the
paper certificate added each donation, in 1998.

[alan_m]

Senior Management still donates. She tells me they no long serve tea and
biscuits.

That was to keep you there for a period of 10 minutes or so after giving
blood. If someone is going to have a reaction to losing nearly an
arm-full it will be in those first few minutes. When I last gave blood
decades ago it seemed that the wait was only for those giving blood for
the first time or if you had problems on the previous occasion(s). If
someone reacted to giving blood the cure was to lie on your back, feet
up, for 5 to 10 minutes whilst being observed.

When I had my covid jabs they also recommended sitting in the waiting
area (or sitting in your car in the adjoining car park) for 10 minutes
before leaving.

[Paul]

Senior Management still donates. She tells me they no long serve tea and
biscuits.

That was to keep you there for a period of 10 minutes or so after giving blood. If someone is going to have a reaction to losing nearly an arm-full it will be in those first few minutes.  When I last gave blood decades ago it seemed that the wait was only for those giving blood for the first time or if you had problems on the previous occasion(s). If someone reacted to giving blood the cure was to lie on your back, feet up, for 5 to 10 minutes whilst being observed.
When I had my covid jabs they also recommended sitting in the waiting area (or sitting in your car in the adjoining car park) for 10 minutes before leaving.

It's better to wait in the room. I know when I'm sitting in the
recovery room, I'm watching the other patients for signs. That's
because there isn't always a medical professional in the recovery
room. They roll in and roll out again, and don't stay in the room.
If your throat swells up, you want to alert someone right away.
You can't afford to wait until your airway is cut off, because
there might not be someone there to hit you with an Epipen, or
to fit you with an esophageal airway. Even in a hospital, the
skill at fitting an airway, isn't a given. Histamine reactions
can be so bad, that you can't stop them, but a vaccine is unlikely
to elicit something like that. They ask you questions about your
allergy history, and it would be silly on your part, to not be
honest about these things.

But that's in case you have a histamine reaction to the injection.
For some reason, COVID (if say, made with an egg method), might have
the same egg-reaction concern as the flu shots that are based on eggs.
I think the flu shot was 10 or 15 minutes wait. Even the MRNA shots
have a histamine concern, but it's because of trace materials in
some of the first lots. Later on, they were less concerned, and I
guess the statistics did not indicate much of a problem with the MRNA ones.
But you will still find the policy varies from one vaccine
campaign to another (the pharmacy makes you wait ten minutes).

Blood donation is more likely to be shock.

When I was 17-18, they had a blood donation clinic in the school.
The nurses there, would tell the students not to do anything
too demanding, during the waiting period after donating. They made
you wait, might have had a sugary fruit juice as a beverage.

One young lad (could have been on our football team, I did not
keep track of such things), was determined that he was a super-athlete
and was made of sterner stuff. He was standing near the nurse, said
he didn't have to listen to any of this... and proceeded to sprint
down the school hallway (we were standing in a wide hallway).
After about I would guess fifty feet of running, he passed out
and hit the floor :-) Just about the best demo you could have,
of the need for care after your donation, I would say.
Good work, Mr.Athlete. I didn't stick around to see the
look on his pasty white face, when he came to :-)
I hope the nurse gave him a couple kicks in the bum
for being a fool.

When you're young, you frequently have no idea what shock is.
Later in life, you have enough experiences to be "calibrated"
and you can tell from your symptoms, when it is "brace for impact"
or "find a nice spot for a short sleep on the floor" :-) Once your
systolic drops to about 90 or so, you don't have that many more
feet to go before the crash landing. You can have as little as
five seconds to make up your mind (this is in a case where the
odds are good of shock happening, so shock does not come as a
surprise to you, but the symptoms can still sneak up on you).
Like the kid who ran down the hall.

The reason our football team was not "noteworthy", is they did not
seem to be participating in any "league". And as such, I didn't
care if you wore an outfit with a number on it, it didn't mean
a lot if you weren't actively participating. You might as well
be in the Chess Club :-) I don't remember the reason the team
was not playing. But at least nominally, I suspect the individual
was on the football team. Maybe that's why he felt defensive
about his manhood, and being told he might be a pansy.
Most of the other students thought his address to the
nurse, was out of proportion to the situation. But
the demo, was chefs kiss. Couldn't have trained better in
acting class.

Paul

[Brian]

Post by Andrew
Was anyone here a donor back in the 1980's or earlier ?.
If so you would have been given a dark blue wallet
with a sticker inside the front cover with your name,
address, ABO and RH group.
It would have stated 'issued by'
(SOUTH LONDON BTS,
75 Cranmer Terrace, Tooting in my case) and
the date that you gave your first donation.
In my case the letters HVP appear after the date
and this label is coloured yellow.
Out of interest, does any other blood donors here
have a yellow sticker and if not what other colour
is theirs and what is the significance ?.
Andrew

I started about 1976 but I don’t recall yellow stickers.

Not sure where my original little book thing is. They stopped the sticker
things years ago - long before I was forced to stop donating ( after a
stroke ) in 2006.


Senior Management still donates. She tells me they no long serve tea and
biscuits. The first place I donated was in a Working Man’s Club, you got a
voucher for a free pint. Of course back then, a pint cost about 12p.