Are Prius owners more likely to donate blood?

I've been a regular donor for years, passed the 5 gallon mark last year.

 

Yes. The Red Cross brings the bus by my workplace every few months. I also put shopping carts into their holders in the parking lot.

 

I used to do so, but the bloodmobile seemed to always be staffed by less-experienced phlebotomists. I'd donated about ten times, then it seemed they'd always keep poking to find my elusive veins. I decided the discomfort wasn't worth it.

The "20 questions" business got to be so time-consuming, especially after we did some traveling, that I'd be investing nearly an hour of time before getting to the payoff.

But otherwise I'd still be a donor.

 

I used to give blood but after the rules changed about donating if you lived overseas, I had to stop. I lived in Italy for two years after 1980 so they are not allowed to use my blood - ergo, no more donating. :angry:

 

Are Prius owners more likely to shower every day? Any more silly questions?

 

The 'Prius more likely' aspect may well be a silly question, but may I please promote blood donation here? If you are generally healthy and can answer 'no' to their 'very personal questions', you can fill an irreplaceable need.

The American Red Cross is *not* a shining example among well-run charities, but in many areas they are the only blood option. If there are others near you, by all means please consider them.

If you have A positive or AB positive blood, and can withstand being 'plugged in' for an hour or two, you may be a potential platelet donor. Platelets are in extremely short supply for leukemia and burn victims.

I do not not wish to flog this further here, but anyone with the slightest interest in blood or platelet donation, please email me privately. Hybrid cars are important, but so are sick people.

DAS

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Dec 16 2006, 12:32 PM) [snapback]363189[/snapback]</div>

I do a platelet donation about 3-4 times a year. This is a little more involved than blood donation; you get stuck in BOTH arms. They take blood out of one arm, centrifuge it, and put it back into the other arm (some of the centrifuges in use can do this with one arm. I think they pump blood out, centrifuge it, then pump it back).

This process, which is called apheresis, can be done more frequently than whole blood donation, and I think you can alternate whole blood donations with platelet donations, but I don't know how the scheduling works for that.

Platelets are used to boost the immune systems of people who have to undergo marrow transplants for treatement of some types of cancer. The process takes 2-3 hours from first stick to the visit to the snack...uh recovery table. So I allow 4-5 hours for the whole process, since the prelims are just as lengthy as for blood donation, and they want you to hang around at the recovery table 15-20 minutes.

Since both arms are tied up, you can't really read, so there is a TV screen and a selection of movies to watch while matters are proceeding.

So: I was doing this long before I even thought of owning a Prius, and I really doubt the two things are related. I'm not even sure that altruism was the main reason to buy a Prius; I just got tired of $45-50 fillups EVERY week. Now I have a $25 fillup every other week. MUCH better! I'm glad the Prius has lower emissions and I'm happy to help out with that and with the gasoline consumption issues, but those are icing on the cake of owning such a cool geek chic car and getting 45+ MPG on my commute.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Dec 16 2006, 03:02 PM) [snapback]363197[/snapback]</div>

Well my next pint puts me over the five gallon mark...

 

How long must you have been cancer-free to donate? Is it five years?

 

They did not sell Prius' in Sept 2000 in America, but this Insight driver has donated over 100 times since 1983 or 15 gallons. Most of that is platlet - not whole blood. It takes 2-3 hours and you can do it up to 24 times a year. The platlets equate to 8-12 whole blood donations. Particularly useful for leukemia patients.

Yes, the 60-odd questions the FDA requires is a pain, but the blood supply is safe. I agree that the barring of anyone living in Europe more than 3 or 6 months is over the top.

I highly recommend donating blood, because if you are like me, it might be a wake up call if you get turned down. Two years ago, my blood pressure was 160/100 - too high to donate and just dangerous. It got me in the gym and completing six marathons.

Attempting to donate blood may save your life!

 

Hit my 6 gallon mark today. (In Tucson, that is, donated ~3 gallons prior to moving here for a total of ~9 gallons)

Thanks,
Shawn

 

I will hit 5 gallons this year...Every two months, like a clock. In my area, the questions have been made much easier. It is ALL easier than, say, 10 years ago. Also, the best "stickers" tend to be at the main location and not the "off-sites". If you don't have a legitimate excuse (read- the blood center rejects you) then you SHOULD donate...nuff said.

 

My wife and I give every time we are eligible.

Tom

 

If you are interested in donating platelets, call a few different blood donor services departments at hospitals and see which machine they use. I have donated platelets every two weeks at our local hospital for the past year. Before that, I donated blood every eight weeks. I have lots of platelets and can do a double donation each time so it takes quite a while. I usually have a 9:30 appointment and get out of there about three hours later. The machines at my hospital use a single needle so the other arm is free which makes it nice.

Platelets are desperately needed by so many it's well worth the time involved.

 

I was always kind of spooked by the needle. I don't like shots either. But when a neighbor called and asked me to donate (in small-town / rural North Dakota, everyone is your neighbor) I could not very well say no.

I got my two-gallon pin and was slightly beyond when I began getting frequent colds over a period of a few years, and could not donate for a while.

Since then I have lived for extended periods in Mexico and in Spain.

I see nothing particularly altruistic about buying a Prius. Sure, it gets better mpg and pullutes less than other cars, but we're still burning petroleum at an unsustainable rate, and adding carbon to the atmosphere at an unacceptable rate.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius biker @ Dec 16 2006, 02:44 PM) [snapback]363217[/snapback]</div>

I too am deferred from donating for transfusion until they can screen for mad cow disease. However, you can donate for research purposes! Not all blood centers do research, but I donate through Stanford since they do. You could call your local blood center (particularly if it's affiliated with a university) and ask about that option.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Dec 16 2006, 07:36 PM) [snapback]363286[/snapback]</div>

I thought that might be the case. But I can't justify a 70-mile round trip just to give blood.

I stopped donating a few years back, well before I had the Prius...

 

I've successfully donated blood twice. Three times I've been turned down for different reasons. The last time, I had visited Costa Rica in the past year.

Last year there was a blood drive at work. Many of my Philipina and Chinese friends were turned down because they weighed less than 110 pounds.

 

Inasmuch as conservatives are more likely to give blood as well as donate to charity,
and conservatives make up a sizeable minority in the country,
and inasmuch as the Prius is viewed to be a favorite among liberals,
with guesstimates being that most Prius drivers are liberal,
we can conclude that Prius drivers are less likely to give blood than the general population.

Certainly less than conservatives.