Posted on Jun 4, 2015
How many other veterans and service members are not permitted to donate blood? Why?
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What Happened to Mad Cow Disease?
If you were around in the '90s, you might remember the scare over mad cow disease, but it seems to have quieted down in the intervening years. What happened?...
I try to give back to the people of this nation as I am able. I used to donate blood regularly; but because I was stationed in Germany in the early 1980's when some beef in military mess halls came from cows with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) [Mad Cow] I can no longer donate blood because we have become infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD); "Mad Cow Disease." I learned recently that people with HIV can now donate blood - per conversation with Red Cross POC, efforts were funded to come up with a way that HIV positive people can donate blood. That saddened me and made me mad. Bovine spongiform can only be tested through autopsy right now. Many of those of us who served in Europe during the latter part of the cold war have not been able to donate blood. I hope that NIH will make in a priority and obtain funding to develop ways to test for bovine spongiform in people through a blood test.
[Note: I updated the question from "veterans" to "Veterans and service members" on June 6, 2015 - 71st anniversary of D Day - Operation Overlord]
[update May 18, 2018] As of 2017, worldwide 230 people, roughly 180 in the UK have been infected with vCJD and 4 people in the USA have been infected.
Mad Cow and VCJD are nervous system diseases which are based on diseased prions [not the car]. Diseased prions binds to proteins and converts them to prions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxojz6grwcU
Thanks to 1SG (Join to see) for alerting me that "there is progress in the development of methods to detect misfolded proteins in the bloodstream" I did research and found the following at an NIH site.
As this article informs us there has been progress in control groups testing of "developed blood tests to detect prion." The article states that there are plans to "validate their methods using larger samples sizes."
Hopefully this process will be successful to detect whether or not we have been infected by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD); "Mad Cow Disease."
"Prion diseases are a group of rare, fatal brain diseases that affect animals and humans. They are caused by normally harmless proteins that become abnormal and form clumps in the brain. One form, called variant CJD (vCJD), is associated with eating meat from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow” disease.
People may have vCJD for years before symptoms—such as depression, hallucinations, moving difficulties, and dementia—appear. These “silent” carriers have small amounts of prions in their bloodstreams and can transmit the disease to others via blood transfusions. The only current method to diagnose vCJD is to perform a biopsy or a postmortem analysis of brain tissue. Thus, a noninvasive test to detect prions in blood is a medical priority.
Two research groups recently developed blood tests to detect prions. The results appeared in a pair of papers published on December 21, 2016, in Science Translational Medicine. One of the groups, led by Dr. Claudio Soto of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Prions are scarce in the bloodstream and difficult to measure. Both teams developed methods to amplify the prions in blood samples using a technique called protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). PMCA relies on the characteristic nature of prions to cause certain healthy proteins to clump abnormally and convert into prions.
Soto’s group first combined healthy proteins with known concentrations of infectious vCJD prions. They intermittently agitated these mixtures with sound waves. The agitation helped break the prions into smaller chunks. This increased the number of prions that could then convert healthy proteins into prions. Using this method, the scientists were able to detect more than a billion-fold dilution of prions using an anti-prion antibody.
The scientists next tested whether the technique could be used to detect prions in blood samples from 14 people with vCJD and 153 controls. The controls included healthy people as well as people with different neurological or neurodegenerative disorders, including sporadic CJD, the most common form of CJD. The assay flagged all the vCJD samples correctly.
In the second paper, a French research group described a similar approach testing a blinded panel of blood samples. That team identified 18 vCJD patients in a group of 256 samples.
“Our findings, which need to be confirmed in further studies, suggest that our method of detection could be useful for the noninvasive diagnosis of this disease in pre-symptomatic individuals,” Soto says. Early diagnosis would allow potential therapies to be tested before substantial brain damage occurred. This technique would also allow blood contaminated with prions to be detected and removed from the blood supply.
Both teams are now working to validate their methods using larger samples sizes.
―by Anita Ramanathan
nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-method-accurately-detects-prions-blood
~793507:LTC Bill Koski] CW5 (Join to see) MSG Brad Sand SGM Steve Wettstein SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SP5 Mark Kuzinski SrA Christopher Wright PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO1 John Miller SP5 Robert Ruck SPC (Join to see) PO3 Steven Sherrill SN Greg Wright Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey TSgt Joe C. Cpl Joshua Caldwell SGT Michael Thorin SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SPC Margaret Higgins
[Note: I updated the question from "veterans" to "Veterans and service members" on June 6, 2015 - 71st anniversary of D Day - Operation Overlord]
[update May 18, 2018] As of 2017, worldwide 230 people, roughly 180 in the UK have been infected with vCJD and 4 people in the USA have been infected.
Mad Cow and VCJD are nervous system diseases which are based on diseased prions [not the car]. Diseased prions binds to proteins and converts them to prions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxojz6grwcU
Thanks to 1SG (Join to see) for alerting me that "there is progress in the development of methods to detect misfolded proteins in the bloodstream" I did research and found the following at an NIH site.
As this article informs us there has been progress in control groups testing of "developed blood tests to detect prion." The article states that there are plans to "validate their methods using larger samples sizes."
Hopefully this process will be successful to detect whether or not we have been infected by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD); "Mad Cow Disease."
"Prion diseases are a group of rare, fatal brain diseases that affect animals and humans. They are caused by normally harmless proteins that become abnormal and form clumps in the brain. One form, called variant CJD (vCJD), is associated with eating meat from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow” disease.
People may have vCJD for years before symptoms—such as depression, hallucinations, moving difficulties, and dementia—appear. These “silent” carriers have small amounts of prions in their bloodstreams and can transmit the disease to others via blood transfusions. The only current method to diagnose vCJD is to perform a biopsy or a postmortem analysis of brain tissue. Thus, a noninvasive test to detect prions in blood is a medical priority.
Two research groups recently developed blood tests to detect prions. The results appeared in a pair of papers published on December 21, 2016, in Science Translational Medicine. One of the groups, led by Dr. Claudio Soto of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Prions are scarce in the bloodstream and difficult to measure. Both teams developed methods to amplify the prions in blood samples using a technique called protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). PMCA relies on the characteristic nature of prions to cause certain healthy proteins to clump abnormally and convert into prions.
Soto’s group first combined healthy proteins with known concentrations of infectious vCJD prions. They intermittently agitated these mixtures with sound waves. The agitation helped break the prions into smaller chunks. This increased the number of prions that could then convert healthy proteins into prions. Using this method, the scientists were able to detect more than a billion-fold dilution of prions using an anti-prion antibody.
The scientists next tested whether the technique could be used to detect prions in blood samples from 14 people with vCJD and 153 controls. The controls included healthy people as well as people with different neurological or neurodegenerative disorders, including sporadic CJD, the most common form of CJD. The assay flagged all the vCJD samples correctly.
In the second paper, a French research group described a similar approach testing a blinded panel of blood samples. That team identified 18 vCJD patients in a group of 256 samples.
“Our findings, which need to be confirmed in further studies, suggest that our method of detection could be useful for the noninvasive diagnosis of this disease in pre-symptomatic individuals,” Soto says. Early diagnosis would allow potential therapies to be tested before substantial brain damage occurred. This technique would also allow blood contaminated with prions to be detected and removed from the blood supply.
Both teams are now working to validate their methods using larger samples sizes.
―by Anita Ramanathan
nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-method-accurately-detects-prions-blood
~793507:LTC Bill Koski] CW5 (Join to see) MSG Brad Sand SGM Steve Wettstein SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SP5 Mark Kuzinski SrA Christopher Wright PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO1 John Miller SP5 Robert Ruck SPC (Join to see) PO3 Steven Sherrill SN Greg Wright Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey TSgt Joe C. Cpl Joshua Caldwell SGT Michael Thorin SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SPC Margaret Higgins
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Thanks to 1SG (Join to see) for alerting me that "there is progress in the development of methods to detect misfolded proteins in the bloodstream" I did research and found the following at an NIH site.
As this article informs us there has been progress in control groups testing of "developed blood tests to detect prion." The article states that there are plans to "validate their methods using larger samples sizes."
Hopefully this process will be successful to detect whether or not we have been infected by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD); "Mad Cow Disease."
"Prion diseases are a group of rare, fatal brain diseases that affect animals and humans. They are caused by normally harmless proteins that become abnormal and form clumps in the brain. One form, called variant CJD (vCJD), is associated with eating meat from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow” disease.
People may have vCJD for years before symptoms—such as depression, hallucinations, moving difficulties, and dementia—appear. These “silent” carriers have small amounts of prions in their bloodstreams and can transmit the disease to others via blood transfusions. The only current method to diagnose vCJD is to perform a biopsy or a postmortem analysis of brain tissue. Thus, a noninvasive test to detect prions in blood is a medical priority.
Two research groups recently developed blood tests to detect prions. The results appeared in a pair of papers published on December 21, 2016, in Science Translational Medicine. One of the groups, led by Dr. Claudio Soto of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Prions are scarce in the bloodstream and difficult to measure. Both teams developed methods to amplify the prions in blood samples using a technique called protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). PMCA relies on the characteristic nature of prions to cause certain healthy proteins to clump abnormally and convert into prions.
Soto’s group first combined healthy proteins with known concentrations of infectious vCJD prions. They intermittently agitated these mixtures with sound waves. The agitation helped break the prions into smaller chunks. This increased the number of prions that could then convert healthy proteins into prions. Using this method, the scientists were able to detect more than a billion-fold dilution of prions using an anti-prion antibody.
The scientists next tested whether the technique could be used to detect prions in blood samples from 14 people with vCJD and 153 controls. The controls included healthy people as well as people with different neurological or neurodegenerative disorders, including sporadic CJD, the most common form of CJD. The assay flagged all the vCJD samples correctly.
In the second paper, a French research group described a similar approach testing a blinded panel of blood samples. That team identified 18 vCJD patients in a group of 256 samples.
“Our findings, which need to be confirmed in further studies, suggest that our method of detection could be useful for the noninvasive diagnosis of this disease in pre-symptomatic individuals,” Soto says. Early diagnosis would allow potential therapies to be tested before substantial brain damage occurred. This technique would also allow blood contaminated with prions to be detected and removed from the blood supply.
Both teams are now working to validate their methods using larger samples sizes.
―by Anita Ramanathan
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-method-accurately-detects-prions-blood
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F.
As this article informs us there has been progress in control groups testing of "developed blood tests to detect prion." The article states that there are plans to "validate their methods using larger samples sizes."
Hopefully this process will be successful to detect whether or not we have been infected by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD); "Mad Cow Disease."
"Prion diseases are a group of rare, fatal brain diseases that affect animals and humans. They are caused by normally harmless proteins that become abnormal and form clumps in the brain. One form, called variant CJD (vCJD), is associated with eating meat from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow” disease.
People may have vCJD for years before symptoms—such as depression, hallucinations, moving difficulties, and dementia—appear. These “silent” carriers have small amounts of prions in their bloodstreams and can transmit the disease to others via blood transfusions. The only current method to diagnose vCJD is to perform a biopsy or a postmortem analysis of brain tissue. Thus, a noninvasive test to detect prions in blood is a medical priority.
Two research groups recently developed blood tests to detect prions. The results appeared in a pair of papers published on December 21, 2016, in Science Translational Medicine. One of the groups, led by Dr. Claudio Soto of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Prions are scarce in the bloodstream and difficult to measure. Both teams developed methods to amplify the prions in blood samples using a technique called protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). PMCA relies on the characteristic nature of prions to cause certain healthy proteins to clump abnormally and convert into prions.
Soto’s group first combined healthy proteins with known concentrations of infectious vCJD prions. They intermittently agitated these mixtures with sound waves. The agitation helped break the prions into smaller chunks. This increased the number of prions that could then convert healthy proteins into prions. Using this method, the scientists were able to detect more than a billion-fold dilution of prions using an anti-prion antibody.
The scientists next tested whether the technique could be used to detect prions in blood samples from 14 people with vCJD and 153 controls. The controls included healthy people as well as people with different neurological or neurodegenerative disorders, including sporadic CJD, the most common form of CJD. The assay flagged all the vCJD samples correctly.
In the second paper, a French research group described a similar approach testing a blinded panel of blood samples. That team identified 18 vCJD patients in a group of 256 samples.
“Our findings, which need to be confirmed in further studies, suggest that our method of detection could be useful for the noninvasive diagnosis of this disease in pre-symptomatic individuals,” Soto says. Early diagnosis would allow potential therapies to be tested before substantial brain damage occurred. This technique would also allow blood contaminated with prions to be detected and removed from the blood supply.
Both teams are now working to validate their methods using larger samples sizes.
―by Anita Ramanathan
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/new-method-accurately-detects-prions-blood
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F.
New method accurately detects prions in blood
A sensitive blood test accurately detected variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an incurable and fatal neurodegenerative disorder. The method could be used to diagnose prion diseases and prevent disease transmission.
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I was told by American Red Cross and our local Mo. Valley Blood ctr. Beause of being in and eating cow back in 92 that I'm a no go.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding PO3 John Caulfield ad letting us know that since you ate beef which may have been infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) [Mad Cow] that you can no longer donate blood. [I expect you were stationed in Europe bases or aboard a Navy vessel that was supplied by British beef}
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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PO3 John Caulfield
I think I just deleted my response, It had eaten meat in England. That was worse than Iraq or Somalia. But I never got sick at all
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PO3 John Caulfield
still don't make sense, I'm done. I need my bed, ill try again tomorrow to see if I make sense
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding SPC Sheila Lewis and letting us know that you also are forbidden from donating blood just because you were stationed in the Republic of Germany in the 1980s during the Cold War.
Where were you stationed at in Germany? I was in Bamberg.
I notice that you are listed at being a student at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. That is a wonderful school which is located about 25 miles from where I live with my wife in Sterling. Virginia.
FYI Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan
Where were you stationed at in Germany? I was in Bamberg.
I notice that you are listed at being a student at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. That is a wonderful school which is located about 25 miles from where I live with my wife in Sterling. Virginia.
FYI Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan
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SPC Sheila Lewis
Patrick Henry Community College is in Martinsville, Va. Henry County. I live in Meadows of Dan, Va. which is in Patrick County.
I was stationed in Stuttgart, Geibelstadt.
I was stationed in Stuttgart, Geibelstadt.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding SN (Join to see) that you have been prohibited from donating blood because you have had sex with men.
Sexual desire for a boy/man to have sex with another boy/man is not sufficient for donating blood, after all
Per the Red Cross
"Donor Deferral for Men Who Have Had Sex With Men (MSM)
On December 21, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance for deferral criteria for men who have had sex with men (MSM). AABB, America's Blood Centers and the Red Cross support the FDA's decision to change the MSM blood donation policy from a lifetime deferral to a one-year deferral and additionally for the purposes of blood donation gender is self-identified and self-reported, which is relevant to the transgender community. This policy change aligns the MSM donor deferral period with those for other activities that may pose a similar risk of transfusion-transmissable infections.
First-time male donors may now be eligible to donate blood if they have not had sex with another man in more than 12 months. All additional blood donation eligibility criteria will apply.
Donors who were previously deferred under the prior MSM policy will be evaluated for reinstatement. It is important to understand that the donor reinstatement process involves potentially thousands of donors, and it will take time.
Individuals who have been deferred for MSM in the past may initiate donor reinstatement beginning January 2017 by contacting the Red Cross Donor and Client Support Center at [login to see] . Individuals with questions about their donation eligibility can contact the Red Cross Donor and Client Support Center at [login to see] . We appreciate the patience of our valued donors as we continue to diligently work to implement these changes so that more people can give blood for those in need."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F.
Sexual desire for a boy/man to have sex with another boy/man is not sufficient for donating blood, after all
Per the Red Cross
"Donor Deferral for Men Who Have Had Sex With Men (MSM)
On December 21, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance for deferral criteria for men who have had sex with men (MSM). AABB, America's Blood Centers and the Red Cross support the FDA's decision to change the MSM blood donation policy from a lifetime deferral to a one-year deferral and additionally for the purposes of blood donation gender is self-identified and self-reported, which is relevant to the transgender community. This policy change aligns the MSM donor deferral period with those for other activities that may pose a similar risk of transfusion-transmissable infections.
First-time male donors may now be eligible to donate blood if they have not had sex with another man in more than 12 months. All additional blood donation eligibility criteria will apply.
Donors who were previously deferred under the prior MSM policy will be evaluated for reinstatement. It is important to understand that the donor reinstatement process involves potentially thousands of donors, and it will take time.
Individuals who have been deferred for MSM in the past may initiate donor reinstatement beginning January 2017 by contacting the Red Cross Donor and Client Support Center at [login to see] . Individuals with questions about their donation eligibility can contact the Red Cross Donor and Client Support Center at [login to see] . We appreciate the patience of our valued donors as we continue to diligently work to implement these changes so that more people can give blood for those in need."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for the suggestion LTJG Richard Bruce. I hope younger service members and veterans may be able to donate blood marrow. [I posted a link to guidelines]
I did a little research and it seems I personally will be unable to be a bone marrow donor because of [using their criteria]:
1. If you have a severe medical arthritic condition such as rheumatoid, reactive, psoriatic and advance stages of other types of arthritis, you will not be allowed to register. [I take medication seveeral times a day for osteoarthritis and it seveerly limits my activity.
It is interesting that travel to malaria prone or vCJD risk areas may not be prohibative. "You are allowed to register regardless of where you have traveled. If you are selected as a potential donor, recent travel to areas at risk for such infections such as malaria or mad cow disease will be evaluated."
Being over age 60 may be an issue. "Patients especially need donors who are between the ages of 18 and 44. That’s because younger donors produce more and higher-quality cells than older donors. However, anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 can join the Be The Match Registry."
"The upper age limit is based on both donor and patient considerations. There is a small increase in the risk of complications from donations in older donors. There is also a slightly increased risk of blood disorders in older people. In addition, studies have shown that patients who receive donated cells from younger donors have a better chance for long-term survival."
https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-bone-marrow/join-the-marrow-registry/medical-guidelines/
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Thomas Tennant MAJ Ken LandgrenCapt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT 1stSgt Eugene Harless SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSLSFC William FarrellSSG Leo Bell SSgt (Join to see) Sgt Joe LaBranche SrA Christopher Wright PO3 Steven Sherrill PO1 John Miller Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM SPC Margaret Higgins
I did a little research and it seems I personally will be unable to be a bone marrow donor because of [using their criteria]:
1. If you have a severe medical arthritic condition such as rheumatoid, reactive, psoriatic and advance stages of other types of arthritis, you will not be allowed to register. [I take medication seveeral times a day for osteoarthritis and it seveerly limits my activity.
It is interesting that travel to malaria prone or vCJD risk areas may not be prohibative. "You are allowed to register regardless of where you have traveled. If you are selected as a potential donor, recent travel to areas at risk for such infections such as malaria or mad cow disease will be evaluated."
Being over age 60 may be an issue. "Patients especially need donors who are between the ages of 18 and 44. That’s because younger donors produce more and higher-quality cells than older donors. However, anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 can join the Be The Match Registry."
"The upper age limit is based on both donor and patient considerations. There is a small increase in the risk of complications from donations in older donors. There is also a slightly increased risk of blood disorders in older people. In addition, studies have shown that patients who receive donated cells from younger donors have a better chance for long-term survival."
https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-bone-marrow/join-the-marrow-registry/medical-guidelines/
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Thomas Tennant MAJ Ken LandgrenCapt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT 1stSgt Eugene Harless SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSLSFC William FarrellSSG Leo Bell SSgt (Join to see) Sgt Joe LaBranche SrA Christopher Wright PO3 Steven Sherrill PO1 John Miller Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM SPC Margaret Higgins
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Thankfully, I was not stationed in Europe or anywhere else that restricted my ability to give blood. I still travel outside the country and have to answer the questionnaire every time. It is getting harder to give blood no matter who you are.
For those of you who were stationed in places where you are no longer eligible, thanks for wanting to donate, but remember, it is better to not give than infect someone due to not knowing for sure. The only way we will know for sure is by autopsy and that is way too late!
For those of you who were stationed in places where you are no longer eligible, thanks for wanting to donate, but remember, it is better to not give than infect someone due to not knowing for sure. The only way we will know for sure is by autopsy and that is way too late!
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding my friend CMDCM Gene Treants with wise counsel.
Being honest on the Red Cross questionnaires and answering pertinent questions is critical. I had 15 units of blood transfused on March 11/12 2003 during complications in my mitral valve repair surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while I was mobilized.
At the time I could not donate nay more since I had been stationed in Germany for over 3 years during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic. HIV is still the biggest risk with Hepatitis coming in near the top.
FYI SSG Diane R.LTC John GriscomSPC Andrew Ross
Brig Gen Jim JaegerSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry MuchaSP6: Roy WiltSGT John MeredithMSgt John McGowanMSgt David M.LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCPT Jim GallagherLt Col Jim CoeCWO3 Dennis M.SGT Carl BlasPO3 Bob McCord(Join to see)COL George Woods
Being honest on the Red Cross questionnaires and answering pertinent questions is critical. I had 15 units of blood transfused on March 11/12 2003 during complications in my mitral valve repair surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while I was mobilized.
At the time I could not donate nay more since I had been stationed in Germany for over 3 years during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic. HIV is still the biggest risk with Hepatitis coming in near the top.
FYI SSG Diane R.LTC John GriscomSPC Andrew Ross
Brig Gen Jim JaegerSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry MuchaSP6: Roy WiltSGT John MeredithMSgt John McGowanMSgt David M.LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCPT Jim GallagherLt Col Jim CoeCWO3 Dennis M.SGT Carl BlasPO3 Bob McCord(Join to see)COL George Woods
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It's sad to know that you and many others like myself are restricted because of mad cow disease and we can't do anything about it.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding, my friend SGT Charles H. Hawes. Yes it is sad because there is no test for the living for the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) of "Mad Cow Disease." As of now the only test is via autopsy and we are not crazy or "mad" enough to volunteer for an autopsy :-)
Hopefully one day there will be political will to develop a blood test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) so that if cleared many of us could donate blood once again.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
Hopefully one day there will be political will to develop a blood test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) so that if cleared many of us could donate blood once again.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
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I'm like you; used to donate every two months. Germany 1972-1981. Had worked to five-gallon status.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding, my friend LTC John Griscom I it is sad that simply being stationed in Germany in 1980 and 1981, when the bovine spongiform "mad cow" outbreak was occurring, you can't donate blood. If you left Germany in 1979 you would be able to donate blood.
Hopefully one day there will be political will to develop a blood test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) so that if cleared many of us could donate blood once again.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
Hopefully one day there will be political will to develop a blood test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) so that if cleared many of us could donate blood once again.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
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Was stationed at RAF Chicksands, England, UK for 81-90. All through the "Mad Cow" time period.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding TSgt Rodney Bidinger because you stationed at RAF Chicksands, England, UK from 1981 through 1990 which was all through the "Mad Cow" time period.
FYI LTC John Griscom SPC Andrew RossBrig Gen Jim JaegerSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry Mucha
SP6: Roy WiltSGT John MeredithMSgt John McGowan
MSgt David M.LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip Roncari
CPT Jim GallagherCpl Gabriel F.Cpl Scott McCarrollSSG John RossLt Col Jim CoeLt Col John (Jack) Christensen CWO3 Dennis M.SGT Carl Blas
FYI LTC John Griscom SPC Andrew RossBrig Gen Jim JaegerSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry Mucha
SP6: Roy WiltSGT John MeredithMSgt John McGowan
MSgt David M.LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip Roncari
CPT Jim GallagherCpl Gabriel F.Cpl Scott McCarrollSSG John RossLt Col Jim CoeLt Col John (Jack) Christensen CWO3 Dennis M.SGT Carl Blas
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LTC Stephen F.
That is very sad news SSgt Jim Gilmore that you were infected with Hepatitis B in a blood-borne pathogen hazardous-material spill.
Are you still infected or have you had any treatments which reduced or healed you from Hepatitis B?
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
Are you still infected or have you had any treatments which reduced or healed you from Hepatitis B?
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
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SSgt Jim Gilmore
Treatments received at the time rid me of the disease but am still a carrier. Recent blood tests indicate I am immune from any further exposure.
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