Post Op / Blood Bank Donations?
Hey, everyone!
I have been a long-time blood donor and was hoping to continue this
practice even after my surgery. I take my vitamins and minerals
religiously, and yet when I went to donate blood last week (first
time since my open RNY last November) I was told that my iron wasn’t
high enough to support the donation. I wasn’t enemic, in fact my
iron level was considered as healthy and normal, just not high
enough to donate.
I’m wondering if anyone else has had this experience, and if so how
you handled it? If I have to refrain from donating blood, I’m sure
I’ll survive - it’s just something I’ve always felt so good about
doing and if I could continue (and be healthy), it would be great.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Terri
282/198/160
Open RNY November 13, 2003
January 24th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
I’ve also been a blood donor for something like 30 years–25 years
pre-op, and 5 years now post-op. At this point I don’t recall how
soon after my surgery I began donating again. It might have been
more than six months, but it couldn’t have been much more than a
year. I never had any trouble with it. What has your surgeon said
about it?
Steve
RNY 8/31/98
Dr Reinhold (Hospital of St Raphael, New Haven, Conn.)
Avoiding the fate of Eglon, King of Moab (Judges 3:12-25)