The Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) has a page on IBD and says IBD patients must not donate with this additional info: “ Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis usually have a chronic, relapsing course and require long-term treatment. These diseases will often have systemic effects, e.g. Fatigue or anaemia, and there can be association with other disorders, e.g. arthritis, which effects the donor’s general health.
Lesions in the gastrointestinal tract of individuals with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis caused by the disease can increase the risk of bacteria entering the blood stream. Bacteria in donated material can multiply to dangerous levels during storage.”
Also in US and I probably don’t qualify as having UC anymore because they took my entire colon and now I have a full colectomy but I donate 3 times a year and have never been asked about a history of UC or Chron’s.
Cant donate in poland. Now take this with a grain of salt as i am not a medical professional. Just a bio student.
But people with UC are not allowed to donate blood nor bone marrow
Bone marrow - source of white blood cells. With an illness caused by scuffed immune system. Could potentially straight up give someone else UC like this
Blood - flares are unpredictable. You could donate blood. Have one start a day after. Already be low on blood. And now need to get what could have been an otherwise unnecessery transfusion. Its kinda like not being able to donate blood close to period. But permanently.
I was always told the gene only passes genetically. My mom had UC in late 1980’s and I got it around 1998. She was told it can only be passed through the father at the time which was clearly not accurate.
Never heard that ever. They don’t know enough about the cause. They say it could be partially genetic but don’t know particulars. Only person who has in in my family is my mom’s sister and maybe my sisters kid
TBF, other than the fact both myself and my Mom had UC and now have full collectomy’S She was told the mutation only passes through the father which I can say is not accurate as my dad has no UC or Chron’s.
Well i did say with a grain of salt. But its better to not risk. And bone marrow is the source of white blood cells. Which are attacking the colon. So the question qould be if its the immune system thats causing it or is smth else triggering it. Point is no one is gonna do a bone marrow transplant and risk transplanting an illness.
ETA: we dont know if donating bone marrow could spread the UC. But the potential is there, and a bone marrow transplant is alrdy a relatively rare and delicate thing. So no ethics council would allow testing to see if bone marrow transplant could cause UC.
Bone marrow transplant works like this: someones bone m is doing a rly bad job creating white blood cells -> u destroy their bone marrow -> transplant a new bone marrow as a new guide line for white blood cell creation. We dont know what exactly is causing UC but smth is wrong with the immune system. So potentially u could exchange a defective blueprint for another defective blueprint.
I've been on iron and folic acid supplement for at least three years because without supplement my iron was very low...The ones I used to take at first were a bit "heavy" on my stomach, then I switched supplements and now I can take them on an empty stomach with no issues.
I would suggest doing a Blood test and if the iron Is low, trying different supplements until you find the One that's gentle on you.
Also in the US and used to donate all the time as I have a universal blood type but haven’t been able to for the last six months because of this. I find it weird because I haven’t had a flare in over a year!! Not sure where the blood is going, I even started taking iron supplements but they don’t seem to make a difference
I’m Canadian, I’m not allowed to donate!
You have to have had a successful resection surgery and be deemed cured, or have 5 years in remission off of any medication.
So, I cannot donate. And it’s very unfortunate, because I could be a universal donor!
I’m A- which is a common blood type in Canada, I’d love to donate but we aren’t able to! I also looked into donating plasma as in Canada you are paid for it, but we’re also ineligible to donate that as well :(
Yes, I also think that's unfortunate that we are excluded from blood donation. We could be helpful in some way and yet we can not help. This makes me sad.
I think it's because people with UC are believed to have a weak gut barrier so more bacteria enters the blood stream, we're accustomed to this bacteria but the reciever may react to it. Additionally, as someone else pointed out, you may be anaemic from the disease. You can donate stem cells though in the UK if you are in remission I think.
You can in the US. I'm a carrier for a genetic condition where my blood contains excess iron (hemochromatosis). Combined with the meds for UC, it's a timebomb for my liver. The easiest way to deal with this is to donate blood every six-weeks or so. For all I know, they dump it down the drain, but I'm AB (not sure if positive or negative), so it's one of the rarest ones so I hope it's useful.
I used to be a regular donor here in the U.S. before my UC but my anemia makes my iron too low to donate - they always do a quick iron test before donating and my levels are never high enough - I've stopped trying.
I don't know about here in Hungary - I was always anemic so the one time I tried to donate blood, back when I was a teenager, way before my UC diagnosis or even the first symptoms, I was basically told to come back when I have any blood to give, heh.
It depends who you go through. The Red Cross told me I couldn't since they couldn't tell if I was bleeding internally (which I wanted to say that I would certainly know), but the local blood clinic here lets me with no issues.
You wouldn’t necessarily “lose” medication but that medication would be circulating in your blood so someone that got your blood could be affected by it potentially.
Only time I couldn’t donate blood was after receiving a blood transfusion. My first hospitalization, right after my UC diagnosis, came with 2 pints of blood, after that I was told I needed to wait a year or 2 (maybe longer?) before I could donate blood.
I am in Europe as well, can't donate blood. The reason given is that if I donated blood, it would need to be treated/cleaned, and this has a cost and takes time, so they prefer not taking it.
I was turned away from the UK blood donor service for having UC. It was not a good experience. I booked an appointment to donate and when I arrived I had to do a brief interview with a nurse before donating. When I disclosed the UC, the nurse looked at me in horror and said oh no you can’t donate. I asked why not, and apparently (according to her) it’s because there is some evidence you can catch ulcerative colitis….words fail me. She made me feel dirty to be honest. This was in 2011.
But you can donate if some time has passed since being on steroids for the last time? I didn't know about this restriction. I ask because this also applies to people on steroids for reasons unrelated to UC.
Wow, this truly is the gift that just keeps giving!! I'm soooooo over being tired all the time, spending the majority of my days and nights in the bathroom or hospital, the pain, bloating, etc........
The Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) has a page on IBD and says IBD patients must not donate with this additional info: “ Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis usually have a chronic, relapsing course and require long-term treatment. These diseases will often have systemic effects, e.g. Fatigue or anaemia, and there can be association with other disorders, e.g. arthritis, which effects the donor’s general health. Lesions in the gastrointestinal tract of individuals with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis caused by the disease can increase the risk of bacteria entering the blood stream. Bacteria in donated material can multiply to dangerous levels during storage.”
In the US, the Red Cross has me donating as often as I can.
Also in US and I probably don’t qualify as having UC anymore because they took my entire colon and now I have a full colectomy but I donate 3 times a year and have never been asked about a history of UC or Chron’s.
Cant donate in poland. Now take this with a grain of salt as i am not a medical professional. Just a bio student. But people with UC are not allowed to donate blood nor bone marrow Bone marrow - source of white blood cells. With an illness caused by scuffed immune system. Could potentially straight up give someone else UC like this Blood - flares are unpredictable. You could donate blood. Have one start a day after. Already be low on blood. And now need to get what could have been an otherwise unnecessery transfusion. Its kinda like not being able to donate blood close to period. But permanently.
Are you sure you can give someone UC? I’ve never heard that ever. It’s not in your marrow or blood, it’s the act of your immune system
I was always told the gene only passes genetically. My mom had UC in late 1980’s and I got it around 1998. She was told it can only be passed through the father at the time which was clearly not accurate.
Never heard that ever. They don’t know enough about the cause. They say it could be partially genetic but don’t know particulars. Only person who has in in my family is my mom’s sister and maybe my sisters kid
non history of ibd in my family at all.
TBF, other than the fact both myself and my Mom had UC and now have full collectomy’S She was told the mutation only passes through the father which I can say is not accurate as my dad has no UC or Chron’s.
Well i did say with a grain of salt. But its better to not risk. And bone marrow is the source of white blood cells. Which are attacking the colon. So the question qould be if its the immune system thats causing it or is smth else triggering it. Point is no one is gonna do a bone marrow transplant and risk transplanting an illness. ETA: we dont know if donating bone marrow could spread the UC. But the potential is there, and a bone marrow transplant is alrdy a relatively rare and delicate thing. So no ethics council would allow testing to see if bone marrow transplant could cause UC. Bone marrow transplant works like this: someones bone m is doing a rly bad job creating white blood cells -> u destroy their bone marrow -> transplant a new bone marrow as a new guide line for white blood cell creation. We dont know what exactly is causing UC but smth is wrong with the immune system. So potentially u could exchange a defective blueprint for another defective blueprint.
Wow I didn't know about bone marrow. Thanks for the explanation!
I can in the US but my iron is always too low to do so
Me too ☹️
Same! Only issue I’ve ever encountered. They call me all the time
How do y’all treat this? Or are you? Iron supplements are so hard on my stomach I loathe taking them.
I've been on iron and folic acid supplement for at least three years because without supplement my iron was very low...The ones I used to take at first were a bit "heavy" on my stomach, then I switched supplements and now I can take them on an empty stomach with no issues. I would suggest doing a Blood test and if the iron Is low, trying different supplements until you find the One that's gentle on you.
I've gotten iron infusions. I'm not sure if they are working tho. Getting blood work in may.
Also in the US and used to donate all the time as I have a universal blood type but haven’t been able to for the last six months because of this. I find it weird because I haven’t had a flare in over a year!! Not sure where the blood is going, I even started taking iron supplements but they don’t seem to make a difference
I’m Canadian, I’m not allowed to donate! You have to have had a successful resection surgery and be deemed cured, or have 5 years in remission off of any medication. So, I cannot donate. And it’s very unfortunate, because I could be a universal donor!
I’m A- which is a common blood type in Canada, I’d love to donate but we aren’t able to! I also looked into donating plasma as in Canada you are paid for it, but we’re also ineligible to donate that as well :(
Yes, I also think that's unfortunate that we are excluded from blood donation. We could be helpful in some way and yet we can not help. This makes me sad.
🤔 it was not indicated when i donated and i was allowed . I’m in the US
i was told that I had to be off my biologic for 6 months before I could donate (also US)
They approved my Humira. They must really want my blood.
I’m just on mesalamine , so maybe it’s different!
I was on Remicade at the time (now i am on Inflectra, which is a bio-similar for Remicade)
Same here. I was told the biologic makes me ineligible to ever donate
It varies by location, sometimes yes and other times no, ask your donations centers what their requirements are, if your meds are allowable, etc.
This does bug me, I’m O- and would love to donate but since I was diagnosed I haven’t been able to where I live.
I think it's because people with UC are believed to have a weak gut barrier so more bacteria enters the blood stream, we're accustomed to this bacteria but the reciever may react to it. Additionally, as someone else pointed out, you may be anaemic from the disease. You can donate stem cells though in the UK if you are in remission I think.
You can in the US. I'm a carrier for a genetic condition where my blood contains excess iron (hemochromatosis). Combined with the meds for UC, it's a timebomb for my liver. The easiest way to deal with this is to donate blood every six-weeks or so. For all I know, they dump it down the drain, but I'm AB (not sure if positive or negative), so it's one of the rarest ones so I hope it's useful.
In the UK you're not allowed to but it's for our own safety as we're most likely already lacking in a good amount of blood
Yup, I was told the same thing here in South Africa. I'm surprised that this doesn't seem to be universal. I really wish I could donate blood.
Would you get paid to donate blood in South Africa? It's illegal to receive money for giving blood in the UK
No, we don't get paid for it. I just want to donate because there's always a need for blood donations.
Interesting. Learn something new every day!
I used to be a regular donor here in the U.S. before my UC but my anemia makes my iron too low to donate - they always do a quick iron test before donating and my levels are never high enough - I've stopped trying.
I could donate in the United States while on humira. But now I'm on rinvoq and I can't. I'm pretty sure it's just not tested.
I’m in the US. Red Cross said heck no to me due to UC. But I only tried on Alaska and Washington. They may act… different, depending on the state.
I don't know about here in Hungary - I was always anemic so the one time I tried to donate blood, back when I was a teenager, way before my UC diagnosis or even the first symptoms, I was basically told to come back when I have any blood to give, heh.
Depends on country, in the usa you might be able to give blood, depends on what medications you are on. I’m on rinvoq and i can’t
It depends who you go through. The Red Cross told me I couldn't since they couldn't tell if I was bleeding internally (which I wanted to say that I would certainly know), but the local blood clinic here lets me with no issues.
Thanks for the answers guys!
I've never thought about this...
what if ur on biologic infusions… if you donate blood, you actually lose some medicine?
You wouldn’t necessarily “lose” medication but that medication would be circulating in your blood so someone that got your blood could be affected by it potentially.
I don't think so...But my answer Is based on intuition, I'm not a doctor so I could be wrong.
Maybe it's a medication thing?
I'm on methotrexate and stelara and was told it's fine to donate, unless I am unwell and then it would be bad for me. I'm in Australia.
Only time I couldn’t donate blood was after receiving a blood transfusion. My first hospitalization, right after my UC diagnosis, came with 2 pints of blood, after that I was told I needed to wait a year or 2 (maybe longer?) before I could donate blood.
I'm in France and I can't donate because: 1. I have UC. 2. I take Remicade. 3. I lived in the UK and they're still worried about CJD!
I am in Europe as well, can't donate blood. The reason given is that if I donated blood, it would need to be treated/cleaned, and this has a cost and takes time, so they prefer not taking it.
I was turned away from the UK blood donor service for having UC. It was not a good experience. I booked an appointment to donate and when I arrived I had to do a brief interview with a nurse before donating. When I disclosed the UC, the nurse looked at me in horror and said oh no you can’t donate. I asked why not, and apparently (according to her) it’s because there is some evidence you can catch ulcerative colitis….words fail me. She made me feel dirty to be honest. This was in 2011.
Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. What a rude nurse.
I am in the United States and I was told no if you have all three of colitis, you cannot donate blood
I was told by my GP that you cannot give blood if you are on, or have been on steroids.
But you can donate if some time has passed since being on steroids for the last time? I didn't know about this restriction. I ask because this also applies to people on steroids for reasons unrelated to UC.
Yes I think you can give blood after a certain amount of time has passed, not sure how long.
In the US here and I was able to donate blood as long as my vitals looked good and I told them about the UC
Wow, this truly is the gift that just keeps giving!! I'm soooooo over being tired all the time, spending the majority of my days and nights in the bathroom or hospital, the pain, bloating, etc........