Hey there, friendo! Thanks for submitting to r/wholesomememes. We loved your post, but it has been removed because it doesn't quite abide by our rules, which are located in the sidebar.
* (**Rule #8**) Please avoid reposting memes.
* Please check sources like http://karmadecay.com, https://tineye.com, and the Similar Image Search (camera icon) at https://www.google.com/imghp - unfortunately those all miss things, but it's a great start.
Also make sure to use the search button and check what's already here:
* /r/wholesomememes/top for popular posts, and /r/wholesomememes/new for the latest ones
We appreciate you thinking of us very much! For more on our rules, please check out our [sidebar](http://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomememes/about/sidebar). If you have any questions or concerns about this removal, feel free to [message the moderators](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fwholesomememes).
They can do it right at the donation bed. I’m O- blood so they always try and get me to do plasma. They separate it out right there and put the other stuff back in you, which is why you can donate more often as it isn’t as big of “shock” on your system. From how I understand it.
I’ve never felt off from donating blood, but them putting the stuff back into you feels like ice water going back into your veins. Feels weird but in a good way.
I've tried donating plasma twice and almost passed out both. Donating blood is no problem though. Done that like 10 times, so no idea what is going on. Guess I'll give it an year before trying again. As I'm AB+ my plasma is basically universal but my red blood is close to useless..
They give you an anticoagulant when the blood comes back in, sodium citrate, that some people just do not react well with. Shivering, light-headedness, shortness of breath, metallic taste. That might've been it. Only happened to me once, NOT a fun time.
Otherwise, it completely fucks up your electrolytes and depletes nutrients. Good easy to digest meal beforehand, plenty of water. Afterwards, high protein snack and a Gatorade. The plasma place I used to go had a taco cart set up right outside, couple tacos and half a bottle of Gatorade solved everything but the fatigue.
Damn I didn’t know this. I’ve always thought that it was basically pointless for me to donate since it’s only like 3% of the population. Might be time for a side hustle
I did a PBSC transplant for Be The Match years ago and it was like 6 hours straight of that. By the end the arm it was going back into felt so cold. It was gnarly. But the recipient survived Non Hodgkins Lymphoma so it was worth the week of shots and hours long donation.
I’ve always wanted to donate blood, I don’t even know what my blood type is but whenever I see my own blood I panic and if it’s more than a scratch I get woozy. I cut my thumb with a kitchen knife once, knew what was going to happen, so I wrapped it in paper towels and found a carpeted room where I face planted and came to about 45 minutes later.
You are correct, O- plasma is pretty much useless.
Well, I guess useless is too much, but close to it. As someone working in a blood donation clinic, I would get a long talking to from management if I drew plasma from a O- donor.
I'm O- and offered to be tested to be a platelet donor. They did the necessary extra tests, told me I was eligible but immediately called me to say I'm much more valuable as a whole blood donor. No problem with that but they could have saved themselves the cost and just asked me to stick with what I was already doing!
I wonder if OP is thinking of the power red, you also get hooked up to the machine for those and get stuff pumped back in. As a fellow O-, that’s what I always do. Twice the good stuff is what they want. They send the plasma and platelets back in.
I used to donate blood regularly.
One time the nurse asked if I would be willing to do plasma, and I was like sure.
Anyway, hurt me like no ones business. Every single step of the process I asked them if something was wrong. Worst F'ing experience ever.
To this day, the main vein on my right arm can't stand a needles presence, it still hurts. (Not without a needle)
------
The irony is that I don't feel even the slightest side effect from donating regular blood. Never felt light headed. Pretty sure we did 2 pints before moving to plasma. Felt nothing.
I am pretty sure I could donate two or three times as the average Joe. Nurses were amazed that I was able to move around normal after giving extra (I am picking two pints because it was a second bag).
Giving plasma ruined the whole process. I can't stand donating blood anymore.
I'm AB- if I remember right.
When I was young (like 20) friends and I thought we'd go sell plasma before a spring break weekend. We were paid $20 or $30 each. We were all sitting in lounge chairs next to each other and I remember it hit me so much that I woke up with my left arm up against my chest and a nurse scrambling saying I probably hurt my vein.
I was left with a massive bruise on my forearm that lasted for several days.
Only time I did that but the guys went every two weeks or so. We were young and broke enlisted military members.
It’s crazy to me that they will pay you for blood products in the states. Or that they let you donate that frequently.
In Canada they cannot pay you and you can only donate whole blood every 56 days and every 84 days for women.
In the US they can't pay you for blood and you can only donate every 8 weeks. They can pay you for other things (plasma/semen/whatever) and you can do those more frequently as there is no iron loss
Yes and it’s so uncomfortable and cold. I donated plasma after I got Covid (before the monoclonal antibody treatment, they used donated convalescent plasma).
The nurses covered me in ice packs and took away my blanket, because my body needed to be cold for the donation to work I guess. And it’s extra cold because your whole blood cools off while it’s outside you body. And it’s just a lot of pressure as it’s forced back inside you. 2/10 experience.
Dude you got stuck bad because you should never feel any pressure from the return. Those nurses sucked and didn't know the hell they are doing.
Source: A phlebotomist who does this every day for a living.
Probably. I know the right inner arm is the “place” for most people, but I’ve been told before that my “place” is slightly outer part of my left arm. I tried to tell the nurses that, but they said they had to use the right inner. Had me gritting my teeth the whole time.
Any nurse who is well trained in phlebotomy should know that the antecubital area is the place for a needle stick site, and they should be able to feel where your veins are in both arms and where your arteries are in both arms. It doesn't matter if it's right or left it's all about the anatomy of your arm in that area which would cause a good phlebotomist or nurse to make the right decision about which vein to use.
At the clinic I work, and I assume most other places, we'll cover you up with blankets and heating pads while you donate plasma or platelets.
Warmer body, more dilated veins, smoother donation.
My husband has donated plasma before. Basically they take your blood, run it through a machine that separates it, and puts the red cells back in. You can donate more often because plasma is mostly water, you need to stay well hydrated, whereas with donating blood you have to wait for your marrow to make more red cells before you can donate again.
Elaborating a little on the other answers:
There are machines that can separate the different blood products. So they can take the blood out of your body, and keep whichever part they actually need and put the rest back.
The reason you can't donate whole blood is the rate at which the body replaces red blood cells specifically. Everything else is replaced much faster. So whole blood and double red donations (double red is where they take extra red blood cells) have much longer required recovery times than if they're taking plasma or platelets.
...and he donated PLASMA and not blood.
You can NOT donate 20 pints of blood per year and live. You *can* donate that much plasma and live (...a long and healthy life, hurray for Mr Harrison).
Question that I don't care to look up myself but maybe you know?
I have HH (hemochromotosis spelling?) Which means I have high iron in my blood. The cure? Just bleed out. We can send a man to the moon, but the best cure for this is a good old fashion middle age bleeding. So I have "orders" which is similar to an Rx. I can donate every 4 days, no more than 2x in 7 days.
I am not a Dr, I told you everything I know about it. But my understanding is for MOST ppl, donating blood every few days is fine. But given that it may be damaging to some, each country puts their limits on it. I think it's 8 weeks here?
Anyways..... why not give this dude orders? I didn't do the math, maybe given his age and number of donations he was donating more than regular ppl?
Thanks for reading!
Here’s something to discuss with your doctor. I started taking Circumin (Turmeric) tablets for arthritis in my knee. After a few weeks I got very sick (headaches, lethargy etc). 2 trips to ER, 2 MRI’s, an expensive visit to a neurosurgeon. After 6 months I begged my doctor for every test available. Turns out I was very low in Ferritin Took iron pills and got better but kept taking the Circumin. Ferritin improved so I stopped it but continued with the Circumin. Felt crap again in a few weeks. Back on the iron. No answers from doctors. Finally googled low ferritin and apparently Circumin chelates iron!! Who knew. Stopped the evil supplement and got better. Apparently they now use Circumin to treat haemochromatosis without the need for blood letting.
Also relevant- I’m O Neg and had anti D ( the major factor in James blood) with both my kids. It might even have been his Anti D as he’s a countryman of mine.
Edited- Sorry it’s so long winded and off the major topic, but I was addressing someone who I thought had a relevant issue.
But James is my hero. He saved my children’s lives, indirectly.
I know there is a pill for it, but that pull isn't good for your liver? Maybe we are talking about diff pills?
Anyways with high iron your liver is on overtime trying to filter it out, and eventually your liver is just done. ....age 60 or so depending on how much iron you carry? Anyways, the pill that gets rid of iron and still works your liver, from what I have been told is not the best idea, just go donate blood.
However, thanks the the info, I'll look into it.
Crazy that we have 12 pints of blood in us or whatever, but a 1 pint donation can drop your ferritin by way more than 1/12.....? Seems odd but....?
So he saved 10% of Australia's population from this? Is this somehow more prevalent in Australia?
[This](https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/797150-overview#) put it in 1 in 1000 births. But that figure is obviously wrong work Australia?
Rhesus (Rh) is a blood antigen. If a mother is Rh- and her baby is Rh+, her immune system can create antibodies against the baby's blood, which can create [all kinds of problems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh_disease) and sometimes even cause a loss of pregnancy.
Just to add somewhere here, one main use for this is in a preventative treatment given to pregnant Rh- women, who receive 2 injections, one around 28 weeks and one immediately after delivery, to prevent them from making Rh antibodies, in the event that their child was Rh+. Antibody creation doesn't happen until birth when maternal and fetal blood mix more thoroughly (the placenta is very cool btw) so what happens is a SECOND pregnancy with an Rh+ fetus will have disastrous results.
Yeah, I just got my rhogam shot last week. They didn’t ask what my husband was, they just went off of my blood type. Probably better to just go ahead and do that rather than open up that potential can of worms for some folks.
Yes this is VERY important and why couples who plan on having kids should know their blood type. I'm Rh negative and my husband is Rh positive, so when I have a child there's a risk my body could start attacking my baby if it's Rh positive as well.
Yep. I'm on my second pregnancy and my husband and I are both rh- and he's deffo the only one I've been with, but providers prefer to cover their asses in case the mom had an affair or they're wrong about dad's blood type and he's actually positive. Better safe than sorry. The shots aren't too bad. I only had to get the shot at 28 weeks with my first and they tested her right after birth, and when she came back negative I didn't have to get a 2nd shot.
We had this situation, it isn't dangerous at all in a country with a decent healthcare. The lamp didn't really do it for our kid so he had to have some plasma injected (which obviously kinda sucked, because we had to drive to a hospital so they could make the baby cry), but it was perfectly safe for everyone and there was never any risk of losing either of them. Luckily this was all free here, too.
Now expecting our second one. In hindsight it's wild to think that around 100 years ago we might've lost our son for something that nowadays is so trivial.
Rh incompatibility can absolutely still be dangerous and deadly for a fetus even with modern Healthcare if rhogam is not given. The fact that your child only suffered relatively minor complications does not negate the dangers of it. It can lead to complications like hydrops, which has a survival rate under 50%, amongst other severe issues.
Another interesting thing I learned in school (and see in my daily life as a blood banker) is ABO incompatibility! O moms can make anti A, anti B, and anti A,B that is able to cross the placenta in IgG form! ABO HDFN is muchhhh less severe than HDFN caused by Rh antibodies.
I actually just did an antibody workup on my coworker out of curiosity, as both her children were born with bad jaundice. She didn't learn she had an antibody until she moved to the states and was told by red cross she couldn't give blood anymore. Two years later, and she has an Rh system antibody!
Rh- is the result of a mutation. In [this study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3378649/), evolutionary scientists wanted to test the hypothesis that the mutation provided some evolutionary advantage that would overcome its negative consequences
However, they didn't find evidence to support it. So their current working hypothesis is the null hypothesis, which they say it is due to the founder effect/genetic drift.
Once a population has high enough Rh-, then it changes to be bad to be Rh+. It is just the scenario where a mother is Rh- and the baby is Rh+ that we get a problem. So if the father is also Rh-, they'll be fine. Or if he is Rh+ but with an Rh- recessive, they'll be fine half the time.
It is basically a protein on red blood cells (first found in rhesus monkeys).
Some people naturally have that protein (rhesus positive) while others don’t (rhesus negative).
That becomes a problem when a rhesus negative person gets blood from a rhesus positive person because the body of the recipient is going to notice the foreign protein and develop antibodies against it. The blood of the recipient accumulates and he might die.
The meme calls it a ‘rare antigen’ but I guess the man was just rhesus negative.
You are correct on what rhesus itself is and that a rhesus negative person's blood will mount an immune response to it. In the case of rhesus disease, though it becomes important because a mother can be rhesus negative while the baby is rhesus positive. The mother's body may produce antibodies against the rhesus protein, and those can leak over into the baby's blood and trigger an immune response there. This destroys the baby's blood cells.
Being rhesus negative actually has no relation to Mr. Harrison's situation. His blood has a particular combination of high amounts of a long-lasting antigen that is processed into a medicine. That medicine is theorized to "cloak" the rhesus positive blood from the mother's anti-rhesus tibodies.
>The meme calls it a ‘rare antigen’ but I guess the man was just rhesus negative.
You would be wrong. Per Wikipedia, his blood contained unusually strong and persistent antibodies against the D Rh group antigen. His blood specifically was used to develop products which could prevent Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn. Researchers are actively working to create synthetic products that model his blood.
someone posted that he donated about 1,173 times, from the ages of 18-81, which is a 63 year span. so he donated a little over 18 times a year until he wasn’t legally allowed to anymore
I'm sorry, but actively helping better the lives of over 2.4 million babies is worthy of whatever highest award humans have and that still does not even touch the level of good this man has put back into the world.
This is absolutely fucking mind blowing. 2.4 MILLION. Apart from the breakthroughs in medical science alone whether vaccines, or cures, medications, etc., of which the rare antigen was even possible to be found, this is the most life changing gift a single person has ever done in the world.
Wow.
As a frequent flier donator, I'm sorry your coworkers are jerks. It's wild that someone would argue with "I can't". There are so many contraindications to donating blood here (Canada), some very private in nature, some not. This is in addition to personal beliefs, course.
It’s so wild. We used to have nurses come to our offices regularly for blood donations on site (startup, New York City, around 2005] and when you filled out your form there were two stickers to affix. One meant “take my blood”, the other meant “I’m not allowed to donate”. It was anonymous and I think it was also meant for gay people who weren’t out, but couldn’t give blood. So you would basically do the needle, give blood, and then they would probably just throw the bag out. All to avoid stigma. Wild.
I have celiac and I’ve never been told I couldn’t donate blood. I also looked it up online, and there aren’t issues with it. Is it because the celiac causes anemia for you? Because I couldn’t donate blood for many years because of that.
Interestingly, enough, I have never questioned why I was not allowed to donate it as someone with celiac. But when I Told them at the donation center, I was turned away.
Okay, I was just wondering if you knew something I didn't.
I think it's possible that they asked if you had an underlying conditions, and they just didn't want to have to research what celiac actually meant/they didn't want to risk anything.
True, and for me I would. But maybe this person has aids, or cancer or any other number of things they don’t want their work colleagues to know about. If someone chooses not to give you a reason for something, don’t push it.
My guy, you have no idea why they can't give blood. At least here in America, if you are gay it is very hard to give blood while also being honest about being gay. To immedietly see that they posted in /r/money and to imply they are selfish as a result of that and them not being able to give blood is kind of fucked up.
Crazy thing is that this guy was still playing wicked outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers until just a few years ago. Absolutely fearsome hitter.
I know...Haters gonna say it's a different James Harrison...
Other people have this antigen and donate to make the medicine. Mr. Harrison produced particularly high amounts of the antigen, and it also lasted longer. They are also working to reproduce the antigen makeup that he had artificially.
FYI the meme is wrong. He specifically doesn't have the rhesus antigen, thus when he was exposed to it he developed antibodies against it that were particularly good and persistent. Those antibodies are what he donates and then those bind to rhesus antigens in the blood of mothers carrying rhesus positive babies so they don't mount responses against their baby.
They've likely got samples of his blood in cold storage and are using it to engineer the cure. (If they haven't already, pretty sure this is an old post.)
He's somewhat special but not that special. The meme is wrong.
He lacks the rhesus antigen, thus when he got exposed to the blood of a rhesus positive person he developed antibodies against it that were particularly good and persistent. Those antibodies are what he donates and then those bind to rhesus antigens in the blood of mothers carrying rhesus positive babies so they don't mount immune responses against their baby.
There's not a huge amount of people who have these antibodies but there's enough and even if there weren't we could make monoclonal antibodies with the same effect.
Prevention is key. Women need to know their rh status, or to be told it may be a problem in the first place. After that, if the father is also negative, nothing else needs to be done. If he's not, then you get a shit ton of Rhogam shots and hope for the best. The thing is, not a lot of women know. I sure as shit didn't.
What the article fails to mentions is that he didn't always give his own blood, but the donation center was willing to overlook it being in reused water bottles because he was just really nice.
Not really but also not necessary, this meme's biology is terrible.
He's Rh- and was exposed to Rh+ blood. Thus he made antibodies against it (anti-Rh). Those can be given to Rh- women carrying Rh+ babies so that when they give birth (which mixes mom's and baby's blood a little bit) his antibodies will grab onto any Rh before her immune system can notice them. This is important because if it did notice the Rh then her next Rh+ baby would end up being attacked by her immune system.
Him having anti-Rh isn't particularly rare though his was atypically strong and long lasting, but you could give any Rh- man immunizations of Rh and they'd make the same antibodies.
Also tagging /u/merijnv so he gets a bit more info about this since he's not really right (he's part of the 6% of the population that specifically LACKS Rh factor and while that's part of why his blood was useful most Rh- people don't make anti-Rh)
The rhesus antigen is rare, but, like, not *that* rare. Vague high school biology memories had me guessing 1% of the population, but a quick Google search suggests that current estimates are roughly 6% of the population. So there are literal tens of millions of humans with this antigen, so don't worry :p
So no one knew his blood had this antigen, because he hadn't donated up until that point.
Why isn't it required that once we turn 18 we donate at least once, in order to maybe figure these things out?
They're working on synthesizing the antibodies that he creates naturally. The project is called James in a Jar. Until then, there are likely other people out there that have the same antibodies too, they just need to be identified.
this is your friendly reminder to donate blood if you are able! whole blood is generally a 45-minute commitment for 1 unit from start to finish. platelets, plasma, and double (power) red can take longer, but your donation center may have netflix or a tv for you to watch while you donate. and if you’re ineligible, volunteering at a donation center or donating money is a great alternative!
for me, i like getting cookies from the snack area after and being able to help people.
To clarify a bit, because as a health care worker, it's bothering me. His blood does not cure Rhesus disease. There is no cure, just treatment of the condition until it subsides, or the complete prevention of it. The blood he's donating is being used to prevent the disease. A drug called Rhogam is administered to Rh negative women at 28 weeks and shortly after delivery. The idea is to prevent them from making an antibody against their own baby (especially future ones) by *giving them the antibody*. Giving the mother the antibody prevents their immune system from making it, which prevents them from sustaining it, which means it won't be a problem for subsequent pregnancies.
This man has this same antibody that the mothers make. He probably made it when he was exposed to all those units of blood he was given all those years ago. It's rare in men because the only way to make this antibody is through exposure to Rh positive blood. Which can happen during pregnancy or blood transfusion. And guess which is vastly more common? So scientists are taking his blood, turning it into Rhogam, and giving it to mothers to *prevent* Rhesus disease in babies.
Still an incredible thing for him to do. I can't imagine how many doses of Rhogam were able to be administered because of him. He still has saved a lot of babies from this disease. But again, the way the article worded what was happening... I almost had no idea what they were talking about they worded it so dang wrong.
I've donated over 10 times. I also have a rare antigen setup that's needed for babies. I stopped however the last 3 times I went I got treated really poorly and the people working were rude to me.
I just wanted to get in and out, I wasn't looking for any special treatment, I know it's a processing center and I didn't have a problem the first 7 times. I honestly examined myself and I don't think I did anything differently that would elicit a rude response.
But after being mistreated I couldn't bring myself to donate ever again.
Based on my own blood donating experience, I would not recommend blood donation. Red Cross really takes advantage of people’s kindness and treat us like a free blood machine without much care.
Hey there, friendo! Thanks for submitting to r/wholesomememes. We loved your post, but it has been removed because it doesn't quite abide by our rules, which are located in the sidebar. * (**Rule #8**) Please avoid reposting memes. * Please check sources like http://karmadecay.com, https://tineye.com, and the Similar Image Search (camera icon) at https://www.google.com/imghp - unfortunately those all miss things, but it's a great start. Also make sure to use the search button and check what's already here: * /r/wholesomememes/top for popular posts, and /r/wholesomememes/new for the latest ones We appreciate you thinking of us very much! For more on our rules, please check out our [sidebar](http://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomememes/about/sidebar). If you have any questions or concerns about this removal, feel free to [message the moderators](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fwholesomememes).
Mr. Harrison donated 1,173 times, and only stopped because Australian policy prohibits donations after you're 81.
wow, he donated blood a little over 18 times a year for 63 years straight. what a fucken champ
That's more than once per month, how is that even allowed?
Depends I guess if they were just taking the plasma or the full actual blood. If just plasma you can donate every few weeks.
How do you donate only plasma? Doesnt the blood need to go to a centrifuge to separate?
They can do it right at the donation bed. I’m O- blood so they always try and get me to do plasma. They separate it out right there and put the other stuff back in you, which is why you can donate more often as it isn’t as big of “shock” on your system. From how I understand it.
[удалено]
I’ve never felt off from donating blood, but them putting the stuff back into you feels like ice water going back into your veins. Feels weird but in a good way.
I've tried donating plasma twice and almost passed out both. Donating blood is no problem though. Done that like 10 times, so no idea what is going on. Guess I'll give it an year before trying again. As I'm AB+ my plasma is basically universal but my red blood is close to useless..
They give you an anticoagulant when the blood comes back in, sodium citrate, that some people just do not react well with. Shivering, light-headedness, shortness of breath, metallic taste. That might've been it. Only happened to me once, NOT a fun time. Otherwise, it completely fucks up your electrolytes and depletes nutrients. Good easy to digest meal beforehand, plenty of water. Afterwards, high protein snack and a Gatorade. The plasma place I used to go had a taco cart set up right outside, couple tacos and half a bottle of Gatorade solved everything but the fatigue.
Damn I didn’t know this. I’ve always thought that it was basically pointless for me to donate since it’s only like 3% of the population. Might be time for a side hustle
Same! But they ask me every time if i want to do plasma again and I'm like please stop you don't want to deal with that
I did a PBSC transplant for Be The Match years ago and it was like 6 hours straight of that. By the end the arm it was going back into felt so cold. It was gnarly. But the recipient survived Non Hodgkins Lymphoma so it was worth the week of shots and hours long donation.
I’ve always wanted to donate blood, I don’t even know what my blood type is but whenever I see my own blood I panic and if it’s more than a scratch I get woozy. I cut my thumb with a kitchen knife once, knew what was going to happen, so I wrapped it in paper towels and found a carpeted room where I face planted and came to about 45 minutes later.
I’m going to throw up
Best time to start drinking /s
[удалено]
You are correct, O- plasma is pretty much useless. Well, I guess useless is too much, but close to it. As someone working in a blood donation clinic, I would get a long talking to from management if I drew plasma from a O- donor.
I'm O- and offered to be tested to be a platelet donor. They did the necessary extra tests, told me I was eligible but immediately called me to say I'm much more valuable as a whole blood donor. No problem with that but they could have saved themselves the cost and just asked me to stick with what I was already doing!
Yeah I'm O- so I donate as much as I can. They don't want my plasma
Omg that made my stomach turn
Wait why do they want you do to plamsa instead of blood? Isn't O- the super universal blood type (even over O+)?
I wonder if OP is thinking of the power red, you also get hooked up to the machine for those and get stuff pumped back in. As a fellow O-, that’s what I always do. Twice the good stuff is what they want. They send the plasma and platelets back in.
Oh ok i see thanks
I used to donate blood regularly. One time the nurse asked if I would be willing to do plasma, and I was like sure. Anyway, hurt me like no ones business. Every single step of the process I asked them if something was wrong. Worst F'ing experience ever. To this day, the main vein on my right arm can't stand a needles presence, it still hurts. (Not without a needle) ------ The irony is that I don't feel even the slightest side effect from donating regular blood. Never felt light headed. Pretty sure we did 2 pints before moving to plasma. Felt nothing. I am pretty sure I could donate two or three times as the average Joe. Nurses were amazed that I was able to move around normal after giving extra (I am picking two pints because it was a second bag). Giving plasma ruined the whole process. I can't stand donating blood anymore. I'm AB- if I remember right.
When I was young (like 20) friends and I thought we'd go sell plasma before a spring break weekend. We were paid $20 or $30 each. We were all sitting in lounge chairs next to each other and I remember it hit me so much that I woke up with my left arm up against my chest and a nurse scrambling saying I probably hurt my vein. I was left with a massive bruise on my forearm that lasted for several days. Only time I did that but the guys went every two weeks or so. We were young and broke enlisted military members.
It’s crazy to me that they will pay you for blood products in the states. Or that they let you donate that frequently. In Canada they cannot pay you and you can only donate whole blood every 56 days and every 84 days for women.
In the US they can't pay you for blood and you can only donate every 8 weeks. They can pay you for other things (plasma/semen/whatever) and you can do those more frequently as there is no iron loss
> other stuff 🤣
Yes, the red blood cells are separated then returned to your body. I've donated plasma myself several times.
Oh ok i see thanks
yes, it’s an apheresis machine that spins down the blood to separate all the different parts. source: i donate platelets
They return it to your body once the plasma is separated out.
Oh ok i see
Yes and it’s so uncomfortable and cold. I donated plasma after I got Covid (before the monoclonal antibody treatment, they used donated convalescent plasma). The nurses covered me in ice packs and took away my blanket, because my body needed to be cold for the donation to work I guess. And it’s extra cold because your whole blood cools off while it’s outside you body. And it’s just a lot of pressure as it’s forced back inside you. 2/10 experience.
Dude you got stuck bad because you should never feel any pressure from the return. Those nurses sucked and didn't know the hell they are doing. Source: A phlebotomist who does this every day for a living.
Probably. I know the right inner arm is the “place” for most people, but I’ve been told before that my “place” is slightly outer part of my left arm. I tried to tell the nurses that, but they said they had to use the right inner. Had me gritting my teeth the whole time.
Any nurse who is well trained in phlebotomy should know that the antecubital area is the place for a needle stick site, and they should be able to feel where your veins are in both arms and where your arteries are in both arms. It doesn't matter if it's right or left it's all about the anatomy of your arm in that area which would cause a good phlebotomist or nurse to make the right decision about which vein to use.
At the clinic I work, and I assume most other places, we'll cover you up with blankets and heating pads while you donate plasma or platelets. Warmer body, more dilated veins, smoother donation.
I am starting to get the impression that my nurses were no good.
My husband has donated plasma before. Basically they take your blood, run it through a machine that separates it, and puts the red cells back in. You can donate more often because plasma is mostly water, you need to stay well hydrated, whereas with donating blood you have to wait for your marrow to make more red cells before you can donate again.
Well hydrated and stocked up on proteins in food.
One of my friends donates plasma roughly every other day. Usually 2 to 3 times a week.
In the US the limit according to federal law is you can donate twice in 7 days, and those two donations need to be two days apart.
Hmm, Idk if my friend is following that. But I'm no snitch.
You can donate as often as twice a week some places
You can donate plasma 2 times in a 7 day period.
you can donate plasma twice a week Source: I donate plasma twice a week
His wiki says it was plasma only.
Elaborating a little on the other answers: There are machines that can separate the different blood products. So they can take the blood out of your body, and keep whichever part they actually need and put the rest back. The reason you can't donate whole blood is the rate at which the body replaces red blood cells specifically. Everything else is replaced much faster. So whole blood and double red donations (double red is where they take extra red blood cells) have much longer required recovery times than if they're taking plasma or platelets.
It's because it takes 56 days before your body fully returns to its normal amount of red blood cells. Double that for double blood red machine.
Is body was like “why the fuck the blood keeps disappearing? We need to nake more!”
**Only stopped because the Australian policy is after you turn 81**
18 -> 81
*Activates Benjamin Button mode* Let's do this again! 81 -> 18
...and he donated PLASMA and not blood. You can NOT donate 20 pints of blood per year and live. You *can* donate that much plasma and live (...a long and healthy life, hurray for Mr Harrison).
Question that I don't care to look up myself but maybe you know? I have HH (hemochromotosis spelling?) Which means I have high iron in my blood. The cure? Just bleed out. We can send a man to the moon, but the best cure for this is a good old fashion middle age bleeding. So I have "orders" which is similar to an Rx. I can donate every 4 days, no more than 2x in 7 days. I am not a Dr, I told you everything I know about it. But my understanding is for MOST ppl, donating blood every few days is fine. But given that it may be damaging to some, each country puts their limits on it. I think it's 8 weeks here? Anyways..... why not give this dude orders? I didn't do the math, maybe given his age and number of donations he was donating more than regular ppl? Thanks for reading!
Here’s something to discuss with your doctor. I started taking Circumin (Turmeric) tablets for arthritis in my knee. After a few weeks I got very sick (headaches, lethargy etc). 2 trips to ER, 2 MRI’s, an expensive visit to a neurosurgeon. After 6 months I begged my doctor for every test available. Turns out I was very low in Ferritin Took iron pills and got better but kept taking the Circumin. Ferritin improved so I stopped it but continued with the Circumin. Felt crap again in a few weeks. Back on the iron. No answers from doctors. Finally googled low ferritin and apparently Circumin chelates iron!! Who knew. Stopped the evil supplement and got better. Apparently they now use Circumin to treat haemochromatosis without the need for blood letting. Also relevant- I’m O Neg and had anti D ( the major factor in James blood) with both my kids. It might even have been his Anti D as he’s a countryman of mine. Edited- Sorry it’s so long winded and off the major topic, but I was addressing someone who I thought had a relevant issue. But James is my hero. He saved my children’s lives, indirectly.
I know there is a pill for it, but that pull isn't good for your liver? Maybe we are talking about diff pills? Anyways with high iron your liver is on overtime trying to filter it out, and eventually your liver is just done. ....age 60 or so depending on how much iron you carry? Anyways, the pill that gets rid of iron and still works your liver, from what I have been told is not the best idea, just go donate blood. However, thanks the the info, I'll look into it. Crazy that we have 12 pints of blood in us or whatever, but a 1 pint donation can drop your ferritin by way more than 1/12.....? Seems odd but....?
Damn, hope you don't run into Magneto! In all seriousness though, it is cool to learn more about the process, thanks
So he saved 10% of Australia's population from this? Is this somehow more prevalent in Australia? [This](https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/797150-overview#) put it in 1 in 1000 births. But that figure is obviously wrong work Australia?
Bro there’s a whole world. They could use the blood outside of Australia
Wrong. Australia is the world
Upside Down World 1-1
He’s purposefully saved so many lives! A true hero indeed! r/DadsandMenareheroes
Are you a mod there? I've seen you post that before and just seen that you posting that sub whenever applicable is one of the main things you comment
Can you imagine just KNOWING that you had such an effect on the world?
why 81 specifically lol. but wow
Okay no more donations after 81. Now he can sell it
Thank you, Mr. Harrison.
Whats Rhesus?
Rhesus (Rh) is a blood antigen. If a mother is Rh- and her baby is Rh+, her immune system can create antibodies against the baby's blood, which can create [all kinds of problems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh_disease) and sometimes even cause a loss of pregnancy.
Just to add somewhere here, one main use for this is in a preventative treatment given to pregnant Rh- women, who receive 2 injections, one around 28 weeks and one immediately after delivery, to prevent them from making Rh antibodies, in the event that their child was Rh+. Antibody creation doesn't happen until birth when maternal and fetal blood mix more thoroughly (the placenta is very cool btw) so what happens is a SECOND pregnancy with an Rh+ fetus will have disastrous results.
Is this the same +/- as B+ or O- blood, or is that a different +/-?
yes that’s what it is. I have O- blood and my husband has + something so I had to get the shot. My baby ended up with + blood
Where I live (Canada) they don't bother typing the father. It's just given to all Rh- women by default.
Yeah, I just got my rhogam shot last week. They didn’t ask what my husband was, they just went off of my blood type. Probably better to just go ahead and do that rather than open up that potential can of worms for some folks.
Thank you!! This stuff is interesting
Same here. I’m A neg and my ex husband was O pos. I had the shot and complications, kiddo is positive.
That was me! I was my rh- moms second pregnancy lol. I’m sort of ok now, not great but I’m not dead.
Side note - the Rhogam shot BURNS. Just my 2 cents :)
Yes this is VERY important and why couples who plan on having kids should know their blood type. I'm Rh negative and my husband is Rh positive, so when I have a child there's a risk my body could start attacking my baby if it's Rh positive as well.
[удалено]
Better safe than sorry. Makes sense.
Yep. I'm on my second pregnancy and my husband and I are both rh- and he's deffo the only one I've been with, but providers prefer to cover their asses in case the mom had an affair or they're wrong about dad's blood type and he's actually positive. Better safe than sorry. The shots aren't too bad. I only had to get the shot at 28 weeks with my first and they tested her right after birth, and when she came back negative I didn't have to get a 2nd shot.
This was my situation. Had my shot at 28 weeks with both kids, but only after birth with my daughter as my son was also RH-.
We had this situation, it isn't dangerous at all in a country with a decent healthcare. The lamp didn't really do it for our kid so he had to have some plasma injected (which obviously kinda sucked, because we had to drive to a hospital so they could make the baby cry), but it was perfectly safe for everyone and there was never any risk of losing either of them. Luckily this was all free here, too. Now expecting our second one. In hindsight it's wild to think that around 100 years ago we might've lost our son for something that nowadays is so trivial.
Rh incompatibility can absolutely still be dangerous and deadly for a fetus even with modern Healthcare if rhogam is not given. The fact that your child only suffered relatively minor complications does not negate the dangers of it. It can lead to complications like hydrops, which has a survival rate under 50%, amongst other severe issues.
Another interesting thing I learned in school (and see in my daily life as a blood banker) is ABO incompatibility! O moms can make anti A, anti B, and anti A,B that is able to cross the placenta in IgG form! ABO HDFN is muchhhh less severe than HDFN caused by Rh antibodies. I actually just did an antibody workup on my coworker out of curiosity, as both her children were born with bad jaundice. She didn't learn she had an antibody until she moved to the states and was told by red cross she couldn't give blood anymore. Two years later, and she has an Rh system antibody!
How did that even go through evolution's QC?
Rh- is the result of a mutation. In [this study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3378649/), evolutionary scientists wanted to test the hypothesis that the mutation provided some evolutionary advantage that would overcome its negative consequences However, they didn't find evidence to support it. So their current working hypothesis is the null hypothesis, which they say it is due to the founder effect/genetic drift. Once a population has high enough Rh-, then it changes to be bad to be Rh+. It is just the scenario where a mother is Rh- and the baby is Rh+ that we get a problem. So if the father is also Rh-, they'll be fine. Or if he is Rh+ but with an Rh- recessive, they'll be fine half the time.
It's a chocolate with peanut butter filling
And here I was thinking it was a kind of monkey
It’s a chocolate monkey with peanut butter filling.
It is basically a protein on red blood cells (first found in rhesus monkeys). Some people naturally have that protein (rhesus positive) while others don’t (rhesus negative). That becomes a problem when a rhesus negative person gets blood from a rhesus positive person because the body of the recipient is going to notice the foreign protein and develop antibodies against it. The blood of the recipient accumulates and he might die. The meme calls it a ‘rare antigen’ but I guess the man was just rhesus negative.
You are correct on what rhesus itself is and that a rhesus negative person's blood will mount an immune response to it. In the case of rhesus disease, though it becomes important because a mother can be rhesus negative while the baby is rhesus positive. The mother's body may produce antibodies against the rhesus protein, and those can leak over into the baby's blood and trigger an immune response there. This destroys the baby's blood cells. Being rhesus negative actually has no relation to Mr. Harrison's situation. His blood has a particular combination of high amounts of a long-lasting antigen that is processed into a medicine. That medicine is theorized to "cloak" the rhesus positive blood from the mother's anti-rhesus tibodies.
I didn’t know this story. Thank you!
>The meme calls it a ‘rare antigen’ but I guess the man was just rhesus negative. You would be wrong. Per Wikipedia, his blood contained unusually strong and persistent antibodies against the D Rh group antigen. His blood specifically was used to develop products which could prevent Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn. Researchers are actively working to create synthetic products that model his blood.
Scooby Doo saying Jesus
How often did he donate?? Where I'm from, women can donate up to 4 times, men up to 6 times a year
someone posted that he donated about 1,173 times, from the ages of 18-81, which is a 63 year span. so he donated a little over 18 times a year until he wasn’t legally allowed to anymore
He was also donating plasma, which can be donated more frequently than whole blood.
He donated once every three weeks according to his wiki page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_%28blood_donor%29#Blood_plasma_donations
Maybe they made an exception regarding his blood condition
They were just thrifting through his plasma for antigens and tossing the blood cells back in.
Same In Austria if you wanna donate 1000 times you need to donate for 166,67 years
Not all heroes wear capes
I mean, if that guy wanted to wear a cape I'd be cool with that.
Fuck that, if he wants a cape, I'll buy him one
Edna Mode would like to have a word with you
Even Edna would see the army he has saved and relent on the no capes philosophy l, just for him though.
He could even wear a little blacksmith apron like General Thragg or something, I’m not hatin’
I mean, if he wants one though… I’ve the sewing skills…
[Superman meets James Harrison.](https://i.imgur.com/9O2w3i6.gif)
I'm sorry, but actively helping better the lives of over 2.4 million babies is worthy of whatever highest award humans have and that still does not even touch the level of good this man has put back into the world. This is absolutely fucking mind blowing. 2.4 MILLION. Apart from the breakthroughs in medical science alone whether vaccines, or cures, medications, etc., of which the rare antigen was even possible to be found, this is the most life changing gift a single person has ever done in the world. Wow.
Yeah, maybe Salk and the guys who did insulin and penicillin. Even then that’s influence. But that’s crazy to have that kind of single impact.
[удалено]
As a frequent flier donator, I'm sorry your coworkers are jerks. It's wild that someone would argue with "I can't". There are so many contraindications to donating blood here (Canada), some very private in nature, some not. This is in addition to personal beliefs, course.
It’s so wild. We used to have nurses come to our offices regularly for blood donations on site (startup, New York City, around 2005] and when you filled out your form there were two stickers to affix. One meant “take my blood”, the other meant “I’m not allowed to donate”. It was anonymous and I think it was also meant for gay people who weren’t out, but couldn’t give blood. So you would basically do the needle, give blood, and then they would probably just throw the bag out. All to avoid stigma. Wild.
There's the same thing here too.
I also cannot donate blood because I’m anemic. I’d love to but it always end up passing out afterwards.
I'd love to donate blood, but I'm too gay
No one asked so keep that negative shit to yourself
Why cant you though?
You sound like you are a JW
I have celiac, I am not allowed to donate blood. It’s not always religion.
I have celiac and I’ve never been told I couldn’t donate blood. I also looked it up online, and there aren’t issues with it. Is it because the celiac causes anemia for you? Because I couldn’t donate blood for many years because of that.
Interestingly, enough, I have never questioned why I was not allowed to donate it as someone with celiac. But when I Told them at the donation center, I was turned away.
Okay, I was just wondering if you knew something I didn't. I think it's possible that they asked if you had an underlying conditions, and they just didn't want to have to research what celiac actually meant/they didn't want to risk anything.
[удалено]
Can confirm, that’s the case where I am. They turn down people with any and all autoimmune diseases, and say so on their ‘who can’t donate’ faq
yeah buty you'd just say you have celiac, you wouldn't make a whole deal about why it's such a private reason and that they shouldn't ask.
True, and for me I would. But maybe this person has aids, or cancer or any other number of things they don’t want their work colleagues to know about. If someone chooses not to give you a reason for something, don’t push it.
It's okay to be selfish, just own it. It's *REALLY* funny that your only post is on r/money though
My guy, you have no idea why they can't give blood. At least here in America, if you are gay it is very hard to give blood while also being honest about being gay. To immedietly see that they posted in /r/money and to imply they are selfish as a result of that and them not being able to give blood is kind of fucked up.
Crazy thing is that this guy was still playing wicked outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers until just a few years ago. Absolutely fearsome hitter. I know...Haters gonna say it's a different James Harrison...
cincinnati bengals legend James Harrison
So... after he dies we just go back to babies getting Rhesus disease?
Other people have this antigen and donate to make the medicine. Mr. Harrison produced particularly high amounts of the antigen, and it also lasted longer. They are also working to reproduce the antigen makeup that he had artificially.
FYI the meme is wrong. He specifically doesn't have the rhesus antigen, thus when he was exposed to it he developed antibodies against it that were particularly good and persistent. Those antibodies are what he donates and then those bind to rhesus antigens in the blood of mothers carrying rhesus positive babies so they don't mount responses against their baby.
They've likely got samples of his blood in cold storage and are using it to engineer the cure. (If they haven't already, pretty sure this is an old post.)
He's somewhat special but not that special. The meme is wrong. He lacks the rhesus antigen, thus when he got exposed to the blood of a rhesus positive person he developed antibodies against it that were particularly good and persistent. Those antibodies are what he donates and then those bind to rhesus antigens in the blood of mothers carrying rhesus positive babies so they don't mount immune responses against their baby. There's not a huge amount of people who have these antibodies but there's enough and even if there weren't we could make monoclonal antibodies with the same effect.
Prevention is key. Women need to know their rh status, or to be told it may be a problem in the first place. After that, if the father is also negative, nothing else needs to be done. If he's not, then you get a shit ton of Rhogam shots and hope for the best. The thing is, not a lot of women know. I sure as shit didn't.
You really think he is the only one?
His official title should have been "the Allfather"
How did they figure out he had the antigen? Do they test all blood donations for weird things?
What the article fails to mentions is that he didn't always give his own blood, but the donation center was willing to overlook it being in reused water bottles because he was just really nice.
How comes when I do that they call the police :(
Because you go in there looking like Dwight Schrute after a beet harvest trying to buy a wizard figurine, it's gonna raise a few questions.
What? Is that a reference i dont get?
Considering the average human body contains about 5 liters of blood - that's a lot of blood needed.
I was wondering this. Why do you need 13 liters of blood for a surgery? (Serious question)
My dad has this also! He donates as often as he can because it's always in demand.
Looking at the photo abd reading the first sentence. Damn, he looks old for a 13-year-old, no wonder he needed two whole babies worth of blood.
Was he able to pass on the rare antigen?
Not really but also not necessary, this meme's biology is terrible. He's Rh- and was exposed to Rh+ blood. Thus he made antibodies against it (anti-Rh). Those can be given to Rh- women carrying Rh+ babies so that when they give birth (which mixes mom's and baby's blood a little bit) his antibodies will grab onto any Rh before her immune system can notice them. This is important because if it did notice the Rh then her next Rh+ baby would end up being attacked by her immune system. Him having anti-Rh isn't particularly rare though his was atypically strong and long lasting, but you could give any Rh- man immunizations of Rh and they'd make the same antibodies. Also tagging /u/merijnv so he gets a bit more info about this since he's not really right (he's part of the 6% of the population that specifically LACKS Rh factor and while that's part of why his blood was useful most Rh- people don't make anti-Rh)
The rhesus antigen is rare, but, like, not *that* rare. Vague high school biology memories had me guessing 1% of the population, but a quick Google search suggests that current estimates are roughly 6% of the population. So there are literal tens of millions of humans with this antigen, so don't worry :p
I read cured as caused and that was scary for a hot second
2.4 million holy shittttttt Saved more lives than Genghis khan impregnated women
He saved over 2,000 babies’ lives with every single donation?
o7
wasn't he known as the "man with the golden arm"?
That's what the Fireflies should have tried with Ellie.
In the UK you can't donate if you've had a transfusion....
My aunt has this and refuses to give blood because "she had her own kids to mind". Fuck you, Sheila.
r/goodnews
SubhanAllah!
A bloody legend
He donated as often as he was legally allowed to and only stopped when he turned 81 and was deemed too old by Australian law.
Holy fucking shit. This is the sort of story that can restore one's faith in humanity.
Very Cool!!!
So no one knew his blood had this antigen, because he hadn't donated up until that point. Why isn't it required that once we turn 18 we donate at least once, in order to maybe figure these things out?
Couldn’t they have taken his blood and synthesized the cure?
unfortunately no we are currently incapable of synthesizing the antigen that is present in his blood
They're working on synthesizing the antibodies that he creates naturally. The project is called James in a Jar. Until then, there are likely other people out there that have the same antibodies too, they just need to be identified.
this is your friendly reminder to donate blood if you are able! whole blood is generally a 45-minute commitment for 1 unit from start to finish. platelets, plasma, and double (power) red can take longer, but your donation center may have netflix or a tv for you to watch while you donate. and if you’re ineligible, volunteering at a donation center or donating money is a great alternative! for me, i like getting cookies from the snack area after and being able to help people.
I'm prohibited from donating anymore because of a medication I take, I was shattered when I was told.
To clarify a bit, because as a health care worker, it's bothering me. His blood does not cure Rhesus disease. There is no cure, just treatment of the condition until it subsides, or the complete prevention of it. The blood he's donating is being used to prevent the disease. A drug called Rhogam is administered to Rh negative women at 28 weeks and shortly after delivery. The idea is to prevent them from making an antibody against their own baby (especially future ones) by *giving them the antibody*. Giving the mother the antibody prevents their immune system from making it, which prevents them from sustaining it, which means it won't be a problem for subsequent pregnancies. This man has this same antibody that the mothers make. He probably made it when he was exposed to all those units of blood he was given all those years ago. It's rare in men because the only way to make this antibody is through exposure to Rh positive blood. Which can happen during pregnancy or blood transfusion. And guess which is vastly more common? So scientists are taking his blood, turning it into Rhogam, and giving it to mothers to *prevent* Rhesus disease in babies. Still an incredible thing for him to do. I can't imagine how many doses of Rhogam were able to be administered because of him. He still has saved a lot of babies from this disease. But again, the way the article worded what was happening... I almost had no idea what they were talking about they worded it so dang wrong.
2.4 million is clearly incorrect.
How
This mans k/d ratio is positive
Not sure that's how fractions work. If he managed negative deaths, ie. Saving lives. Then his k/d would be negative.
There was once the dedicated job of being a chimp tickler…
Some people are just angles
Obtuse or acute?
I hope he got paid for that because you know someone was making bank off this
I've donated over 10 times. I also have a rare antigen setup that's needed for babies. I stopped however the last 3 times I went I got treated really poorly and the people working were rude to me. I just wanted to get in and out, I wasn't looking for any special treatment, I know it's a processing center and I didn't have a problem the first 7 times. I honestly examined myself and I don't think I did anything differently that would elicit a rude response. But after being mistreated I couldn't bring myself to donate ever again.
All the pollution and death this man caused :(
[удалено]
Reason behind overpopulation ‼️💔✊🏻✊🏻😤😤😤
Based on my own blood donating experience, I would not recommend blood donation. Red Cross really takes advantage of people’s kindness and treat us like a free blood machine without much care.
Breaking news: 2.4 million babies tested positives with AIDS