OneGuyFromBarlick

You can understand the NHS being super careful. Look at the continuing fall-out from contaminated serum imported from abroad..... May are still suffering.

Indeed, the medical screening is a lot more searching than it was when I first started as a donor.

As a follow up to my last donation, I received a text to say that my donation had been passed to Manchester Royal Infirmary for use as required.

This was just after the two week notification of donor illness had passed, you are asked to inform if you become unwell in the fortnight after your donation, up to this point all products can still be traced and withdrawn.

Having just completed my 3rd Kidney Transplant anniversary and given the OK by the Consultants down here at Treliske, I can only ever thank donors

Good news from the consultants I hope it continues.

NHS Blood and Transplant

Links at the bottom for associated registers or click here:

Organ Donation

Bone Marrow Registry

Platelet Donation

Tissue and Eye Donation

Cord Blood Donation

and here is a link to JPAC, (Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee) which tells you how it all works

Blood Transfusion

I will bump this for the links in my previous post. This week is National Organ Donor Week. A push to raise awareness of the disparity between the number of patients requiring transplants and the number of organs available. If you sign up make sure you discuss your wishes with your family members.

More info here:

NHS News and Campaigns - Organ Donation

Just got my appointment for my flu jab this year, two days after my next donation session on the 19th. If it was the other way round they would probably not want me. My donor appointment and questionnaire came today.

Tomorrow Jack gets his annual jabs and an hour later I get my flu jab at the surgery.

Amongst my reminder texts for my donor appointment this time I received one to ring the blood donor service if you have been to Italy recently. Not relevant for me but I did ask about it when I was there yesterday. West Nile virus is prevalent but the text was to alert for the possibility of Chick V which has been detected particularly around Anzio, the Lazio region and Vatican City. West Nile requires a 6 month recovery and the possibility of Chick V and extra screening test on your samples.

The learning curve goes on and I have only just noticed that your donation goes into four interlinked bags rather that a single one which is what I always assumed. I watched them setting up on the chair in front of mine while I was waiting for the cannula nurse. Julie in my case this time, same nurse who had just done my health screening and haemoglobin test. As usual hardly a mark on me from the experience.

I found out from the brew and biscuits stop that this session will be the last to be delivered by the Lancaster team . Barlick sessions are being handed over to the Leeds team. I think Lancaster has been doing ours for about the last two years, it was Manchester before that and Leeds when I first started anyway Barlick blood will be flowing back into Yorkshire from January.

Thursday 1st February, my next session at Rolls.

I have received two texts from NHSBT since my donation last week, this seems to be the norm now. First was to thank me for keeping my appointment and for my donation. Second, received today was to say my donation has been passed to University Hospital in Birmingham.

Nice to know where it has gone.....

Got my invitation to the next session at Rolls on 1st February. It should be the Leeds team taking the donations according to info given last time. I'm fairly certain that it was the Leeds team that used to run the sessions at St Joseph's when I first started, well over 10 years ago though. All the paperwork comes centrally from Bristol so has no relevance to the teams running the sessions.

My next appointment isn't until March but I will be going to Rolls on the 1st Feb, hopefully I can get a 'walk in' which will put me back in line with Paulette. It's much easier to go at the same time as there's only one of us needs to remember the appointment

Mines in the afternoon session at 15.35 so I may see you Kev. Double sessions now in Barlick a month apart due to demand. Have you just returned to donating? The 12 weeks regime for blokes is handy if you need to jig the routine around a bit, the normal rotation still runs on the 16 weeks. I take it there are no available slots on the website for February?

PanBiker wrote: ↑22 Jan 2018, 14:13 I take it there are no available slots on the website for February?

Unfortunately not and yes, I had a gap of around 10 years due to medication, they've had two armfuls recently.

Well, you're big enough Kev.

That'll be right......

My wife says I'm a typical tight-fisted Tyke so to prove her wrong I took her out for tea and biscuits. It was quite exciting as she had never given blood before.

You think that will do it?

Today's session at Rolls was the first with our new (old) team from Leeds. I started donating with the Leeds team years ago, Barlick was then passed to the Manchester team for a few years and then the Lancaster team, full circle now. Can't say I recognise anyone but it was quite e few years ago now.

The donation procedure has changed a bit since the last session as well.

First of all there are a few more questions on the medical screening sheet, mainly to do with over the counter painkillers and opiates.

When you check in now you are asked to hold onto your paperwork instead of your form going into a tray. Your name is added to a list and each screening nurse comes and selects from there.

You are still asked to take your 500ml of hydration while you read through the procedure and warning notes until called.

The nurse does your screening and checks your notes does the haemoglobin test as before but then takes you to a chair and stays with you while she prepares your donation packs and sample phials. She stays with you until a donation chair becomes free.

You are then taken to the chair and the same nurse does the cannula and sets you off after the normal cross check of identity. Nurse then goes on general duty around the chairs.

I think the next nurse that finalises a donor then goes to select a new donor from the list.

My nurse was with me from start to finish as she returned when my finished alarm went off and I picked up that this is probably going to become the norm. When I was waiting on the chair for a donation chair to come vacant the nurse had to step away for a while but had to re check my identity when she returned.

They seemed to be on a bit of a learning curve of the new procedure but I think the object is for the donor to have the same nurse all through the procedure.

Every so often they take time out to run the reception desk and the tea and biscuits. That used to be two separate people. To aid on the brewing, that has gone more self service with the addition of a machine which takes sachets of tea, coffee, chocolate or green tea, cold beverages are available as before in jugs along with the selection of biscuits and crisps.

Whoever is running the reception and brews no longer has a laptop for booking your next appointment. That has gone to self booking now, online, via the phone app or by telephone but the onus is on the donor to make their next appointment.

I think this is streamlining in an attempt to use less staff by having each nurse multi task by doing all sections of the donation procedure.

I was through the system from start to finish in about 35 - 40 minutes including the brew.

Must go online now and look for my next session, as a male donor I can choose any venue and available slot as long as it is 12 weeks from now. I believe the system will offer me all that I am eligible for.

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Just been on the phone app and now remember that I will not be able to book my next appointment until the database is updated with today's donation. That happens when the team gets back to base and all today's activity is recorded.

It only offers today's session and gives me the option to cancel at the moment. The system is not yet aware that today's session has ended.

Just been on and secured my next slot, I can donate again after 12 weeks as a male. Unfortunately the May session is full so I have gone for July. Still 16 weeks for the females. There are 100 slots available as I post.

I would be interested to see if Gloria's team have adopted the same routine as the Leeds gang.

Gave up my armful last night. As mentioned above there's a small change in the booking arrangements now, you can't book at the donation session anymore...

Welcome back Kev. How long were you out of the system and how did you find the chairs? They are much better for the donors as they massively reduce the incidence of fainting. Not as well liked by what I hear from the staff as they induce lower back problems with having to rotate the donors in the chairs which is a manual shifting operation which is causing the problem.

PanBiker wrote: ↑07 Mar 2018, 18:16 Welcome back Kev. How long were you out of the system and how did you find the chairs? They are much better for the donors as they massively reduce the incidence of fainting. Not as well liked by what I hear from the staff as they induce lower back problems with having to rotate the donors in the chairs which is a manual shifting operation which is causing the problem.

They stopped wanting my blood in 2006, this is my third donation since they decided I am no longer 'unclean' . The chairs were a lot less messing about from a donor perspective but, as you say, I can see them causing issues for the staff.

Next session booked for July.

My next is July also Kev.

Did you have the same nurse all the way through the session?

PanBiker wrote: ↑09 Mar 2018, 12:18 My next is July also Kev.

Did you have the same nurse all the way through the session?

Nearly, she was 'unplugging' someone else when my alarm went off.