Just a word to remind those who are able to donate blood in France…
They won’t take my blood Stella, despite being a donor in the UK !
Honestly wish I could, used to donate every six months, 'til I had jaundice, then after, it wasn’t acceptable, thats a point Ann, the mad cow thing?
Apparently so Bill (hope your not making a personal observation there ) us British 'ain’t got what they want !
My Reminder is for those who ARE allowed to give in France… I know there are lots of regulations… which stop some people.
but there are still many folk who can… but who, for whatever reason, simply don’t get around to it…
Cheers everyone…
It’s so painless too Stella, don’t know why more don’t come forward. Sort (ish) on a similar subject I do hope that folk will think about carrying a donor card. I would like to believe that ‘bits’ of me could be put to good use to help other folk have a chance of life.
I read somewhere this week that a young boxer died after a fight and his family donated his organs. Went on to save 7 lives and his mum, though heartbroken, was proud of this !
I started giving blood when I was an apprentice at ‘Sellafield’, the attraction was, we doners were invited to the Nurses party in the evening
And as a confirmed ‘Wimp’, I can confirm, it is painless
Stella, I used to give blood in UK but could not here in France because the French deny that they have had La Vache Folle and say it is only us in UK.
It makes my blood boil, so they probably do n’t want it after that anyway.
My Wife has to have a pint of blood taken regularly, because She has too much iron, what a waste, apparently valueless
alas im not allowed to.
Hi Bill, I just noticed your comment, and am guessing your wife has Haemochromatosis? I also, just recently discovered that I have way too much iron in my blood. I am half Scottish, so very likely have this condition. I eat correctly, no beef, for example, thus why I think so. Not enough is known about this malady, since it generally only occurs with Northern Europeans, especially Celtic. My doctor doesn’t seem that concerned, but I am. It was just under 300 six months ago (it’s supposed to be between 10 and 120), and I’ll be having another analysis next week. If it’s still going up, I’m going to insist on letting blood, since that seems to be the only way to get rid of iron. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. Nancy
Have you asked your Doctor why he/she is NOT concerned… when you obviously ARE… ???
(It cannot be very nice having a doctor who does not seem to inspire confidence.)
Perhaps a frank discussion would put you both straight.
Nancy there was an article on this condition on th BBC Website just the other day. I used to suffer badly from having a normal iron level in my blood but low ferritin I had no reserves of iron
Stella, thanks for your quick reply. Believe me, we will have a much franker discussion next time I see her, now that I’ve learned more about it. I probably know more than she does, at this point. I’ve even stopped drinking alcohol. She had looked at some other results in the analysis, and seemed to conclude that I shouldn’t worry. Since French is not my mother tongue, it’s not always easy to get a point across. In any case, I need to see the next analysis, and as I said, will be more insistent on getting an ordinance for a saignée if the count has gone up. She’s not a stubborn sort, so I’m sure I’ll get satisfaction with my next visit.
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell
Is this the one, Nellie…
A couple of French sites…
https://www.hemochromatose.org/hemochromatose/le-diagnostic-de-lhemochromatose/
That’s the one
Thank you for posting, its amazing what we can all learn from here.
I didn’t realise that there could be problems with an excess of iron. I haven’t had a blood test for a long, long, while, in fact we have only just had a replacement doctor! My last visit was a few years ago and I was pre- diabetic. As a carer my focus is on mum, however I do realise that I am in need of some tests to make sure I am in shape for her!
Thanks for this French link. I was trying to find a good one to show the doctor. . Most are not as descriptive as the English links. This following one, for example, talks about diet, which is very helpful. http://www.irondisorders.org/Websites/idi/files/Content/854256/DietRecommendations.pdf]