Hemochromatosis is not a transmissible condition, and therefore other individuals who might receive this blood are at no risk of developing iron overload. All the FDA requires is that a blood service center applies for and is granted a variance for the collection of blood and blood products from patients with hemochromatosis.
As of February , this link no longer appears live on the FDA website. We have contacted the FDA to ask for a new link and will update this page as soon as we learn more! Virtually anywhere, anytime, the world needs more blood donation. It is a true win-win scenario! By contrast, therapeutic phlebotomy performed in a hospital or medical office sometimes results in the blood being discarded.
This scenario is still helpful for the health of a person with hemochromatosis. But the blood is not able to be used by the community blood bank.
Additionally, some blood centers have elected NOT to accept blood from people with hemochromatosis. I have listed several resources below, so be sure to call ahead to your local or regional center.
The process of phlebotomy involves inserting a needle into a vein to collect blood. Most likely, one of the large veins that pass close to the skin near your elbow crease will be selected. A large area is cleaned with an antiseptic very commonly iodine or chlorhexidine. It is very clean and very safe, and every step is taken to ensure your comfort throughout the process. The needle used to extract the blood is typically larger than a needle for drawing blood for lab testing purposes.
The larger needle is necessary to protect the red blood cells from becoming damaged. Concerning hemochromatosis treatment, therapeutic phlebotomy involves a technician removing approximately to milliliters, or 1 pint, of blood. Depending upon your height and weight, your circulatory system holds about 10 to 12 pints of blood at any given time. Removing 1 pint of blood is a significant amount! Due to the therapeutic removal of blood, your system begins to compensate and quickly works to make new blood.
This process actually has several benefits to your health beyond reducing excess iron. By reducing excess iron and lowering the ferritin level, phlebotomy can reduce symptoms, halt or hopefully reverse the progress of iron overload disease, and save our lives. Considering the typical daily loss of iron through our metabolism is only about 1 to 2 milligrams, a single blood donation can be a powerful tool to reduce iron overload.
As an important reminder, the human body has no major mechanism for excreting iron once we have ingested it. This biological reality, therefore, makes therapeutic blood donation all the more critical for hemochromatosis treatment.
A trained phlebotomist performs the procedure to remove the blood. A phlebotomist will typically perform this therapy in a medical office, hospital, or even a community blood service center. When there are no complications, therapeutic phlebotomy usually takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It can be quick and easy for many individuals.
On the other hand, I have had people tell me their phlebotomist will have difficulty finding a good vein, which may add to the time involved not to mention the discomfort level. One person told me her phlebotomist uses an ultrasound machine to find a vein, and the process takes an hour.
Can I donate blood if I have hemochromatosis? American Diabetes Association. Everyone agrees that the blood is safe and of high quality.
There is no risk of passing on a genetic disease through blood transfusions. But the Red Cross has a long-standing policy that potential donors are not allowed to receive direct compensation for their donation beyond the usual orange juice and cookie.
Because people with hemochromatosis would otherwise have to pay for their therapeutic phlebotomies, they would in effect be getting something of value for being able to donate for free. Thus the Red Cross has ruled that such donations violate their policy. Food and Drug Administration FDA regulations do permit hemochromatosis patients to donate blood, but with some special restrictions on how the blood is marked and how the blood banks operate.
As a consequence, few blood blanks in the US currently accept blood from people with hemochromatosis, and most of the blood given as a result of therapeutic phlebotomy is discarded. The map includes Lifeblood donor centres and mobile locations. If you discover an error on the map or find another place where venesections are performed please let us know at feedback ha. The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has a therapeutic venesection program for individuals who have iron overload as a result of hereditary haemochromatosis.
Many people with haemochromatosis can attend the Blood Service for venesection and Lifeblood is able to use your donation to help save lives. If you are not eligible to donate blood which can be used to treat patients Lifeblood may still be able to offer a therapeutic venesection service unless there are medical issues that would present a donor safety issue.
To be accepted as a therapeutic donor, you will need an online referral from your doctor using the High Ferritin App. Many of our members are pleased to be able to contribute to saving a life. Lifeblood Teams are a life-saving social responsibility program where workplaces, community groups, and universities around Australia unite to save lives through blood donation.
Your friends and family may come along to support you and donate at the same time. They can join our Lifeblood Teams too. From time to time we will have state by state challenges to encourage our supporters to join in. For various reasons, not everyone can donate through Australian Red Cross Lifeblood or do not have access to nearby donor centre.
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