blood donating

[Krusing]

I have to remind myself that there is no such thing as a stupid question.  That, having been said, I'm interested in finding out about blood/plasma donation.  Can I donate since I have been und since week 4 of tx, and am now one year post-tx and my doc says I'm cured?
Thanks.....

[GoofyDad]

I've attempted organ donation on and off since my teenage years - sometimes with greater discrimination for the intended recipients than others. My pitch is not unlike frijole's: "Hey c'mon, it's better than death, right?"


Actually, I've carried a donor card since I was 16. It's a lot less likely anyone's gonna want my left over parts these days, but you never know. Donating your body to medical research is another way to go, so to speak.  

[frijole]

jd & ny - sorry about your friend.  THere is only so much others can do when someone won't help themselves.  We had a call a couple of weeks ago from a frined who had a liver transplant and kept drinking.  He actually sounded good and we are planning a trip to see him.  I hope he has straightened up.

mike - still I have a warm place for those with hpe C and wish I could designate it to someone who already has hep C.  

frijole

[jdwithhcv]

Nygirl7 and I had a mutual friend who received a Hep C+ liver and it prolonged his life for many years.  Sad to say, he never stopped drinking and using hard drugs, so he wore it out fast.  As you say, it is far better than death.

[mikesimon]

We never know about this stuff but I think it's important for our members to know that HCV+ livers are being used for liver transplantation. For a person liver failure a liver infected with Hep c would probably be far better than death. We can only hope that good judgment prevails when organs are chosen for transplantation.
I am well and I hope you are too.
Be well,
Mike

[frijole]

You know, Mike, I wish there were a special hep C donor list.  I asked my hepatologist who is with a transplant team and was surprised that they had no hep C specific list.  I have the organ donor card in my purse and still have active virus so I can't see that my liver would be good to give someone not also hep C -- but there's the rub.  My liver would be better than death, I guess.

Hope you are doing well
frijole

[mikesimon]

HCV+ livers (active virus) are sometimes transplanted into HCV+ recipients and the short term results compare well with HCV - donors to HCV+ recipients. You don't need to be SVR to be a liver organ donor. The decision to use the organ is made by the transplant team/surgeon.
Mike

[nygirl7]

I did the same thing Krusing even my kids are organ donors. I mean heck if you die outside of the hospital they just take it all out anyway.....why put it all back in again if somebody can use it!

[Krusing]

It is better to be safe, absolutely!!  I have been a complete organ/tissue donor for 30 years, in fact, I've told my family to be nice to me now because there will be NOTHING left of me because I'm also a cadavar donor  LOL

[jdwithhcv]

No, you can't donate.  Your blood will test positive for Hep C antibodies.  I suppose its a "better safe than sorry" sort of thing.  They test for antibodies and rule blood out based on that outcome.  How can they know who treated successfully and who didn't?  So they err on the side of caution.  

Too bad, and its commendable to want to donate, but there you have it.

jd

[Marcia2202]

Not a stupid question at all.

Unfortunately one will never be able to donate blood with positive HCV antibodies, even though one has no more virus in the blood. The blood banks screen and find antibodies. The would have to send the blood for 2 PCR's 6 months apart to be able to determine that one really is HCV free. As a PCR is very expensive, that would not make sense.

Once cured, one is allowed to donate organs though.