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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Edited 6 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
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I think those of us stationed in Germany and surrounding countries in the 1980's can become part of Chick-fil-a's "Eat more Chicken" campaign as an angry cow brigade. I recommend and nominate the following RallyPoint members for leadership positions in this angry cow brigade;
I realize some of you were not exposed to Bovine Spongiform infected beef. However I would like to honor you as honorary leaders in this distinguished Mac Cow Brigade of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) badged military service members :-)
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 Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Seid Waddell 1stSgt Eugene Harless MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SPC Robert Skinner SGT Rick AshSGT Jim Arnold LTC (Join to see) SMSgt Thor Merich SSG Eddye Royal SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson MSG David LambertLt Col Ruth Sylvester
I realize some of you were not exposed to Bovine Spongiform infected beef. However I would like to honor you as honorary leaders in this distinguished Mac Cow Brigade of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) badged military service members :-)
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 Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Seid Waddell 1stSgt Eugene Harless MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SPC Robert Skinner SGT Rick AshSGT Jim Arnold LTC (Join to see) SMSgt Thor Merich SSG Eddye Royal SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson MSG David LambertLt Col Ruth Sylvester
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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TSgt Jerry Clemens Jr
I was stationed in the U.K (RAF Alconbury) from May '88 to April '91. I was told I can not donate either. My (now) ex-wife and our children that were born there have not shown any signs of "mad cow". We ate off base before this came out and once the warnings went out about mad cow only ate on the installation. It stinks to not be able to donate.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you my friend TSgt Jerry Clemens Jr for responding and sharing the sad news that because you were stationed in the United Kingdom (RAF Alconbury) from May '88 to April '91 that you and your ex-wife and children are not able to donate blood.
Being stationed in UK for three years or more during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy risk period, is one of the few areas that are still justified to be forbidden to donate.
Ironically, my extended family lives in UK [Britain and Wales] and once cousin lives in France. They have always been able to donate blood.
FYI PO1 William "Chip" Nagel TSgt Tim (lj) Littlejohn
Maj Robert Thornton MSgt Gloria Vance COL Charles Williams
Being stationed in UK for three years or more during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy risk period, is one of the few areas that are still justified to be forbidden to donate.
Ironically, my extended family lives in UK [Britain and Wales] and once cousin lives in France. They have always been able to donate blood.
FYI PO1 William "Chip" Nagel TSgt Tim (lj) Littlejohn
Maj Robert Thornton MSgt Gloria Vance COL Charles Williams
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MAJ Gregory Moon
I check in with the Red Cross on blood drives every once in a while. I started getting turned away in the early to mid nineties. I basically have given up on doing it.
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Germany... I loved donating blood... But my desire to chew grass has hampered me recently...
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SPC (Join to see)
Since being in Illeshiem Germany in 1983-84 I had no idea why all the neighborhood kids had this desire to rush me and push me down. Make total sense now.
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CW5 Bradford ("Boog") Powell
SPC (Join to see) - Funny..."Cow Tipping" becomes "Craig Tipping". Those dammed Army Brats, No respect for their elders!
Illeshiem was a nice post. I was in Ansbach (Katterbach) in the early 80's. Was back there Nov, 17...much has changed. The downtown Hindenburg Kaserne 1st AD HQ is now a shopping mall! Still a very beautiful area in Bavaria.
Illeshiem was a nice post. I was in Ansbach (Katterbach) in the early 80's. Was back there Nov, 17...much has changed. The downtown Hindenburg Kaserne 1st AD HQ is now a shopping mall! Still a very beautiful area in Bavaria.
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SSG Chris Furney
SGT John Wesley - Doesn't matter- weed is still "federally" illegal (snif). Of course, partying with Ol Vladimir is perfectly in style and evidently doesn't cost one his security clearance like drinking beer- oh wait, I mean like smoking pot would. Never mind that Putin would be a shower of sparks if they'd have let me push the fire button in the 70's... (Assuming he flew into the Fulda Gap when he was a LT). Jacked up world, aint it?
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LTC Stephen F.
FYI my friend SGT John Wesley it appears the rules for donating blood have changed. Only those living or being stationed in the British Isles, of France or Ireland for 5 or more years are restricted based on living or being stationed in Europe.
Based on the American Red Cross from June 30, 2021
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical/eligibility-reference-material.html
It seems that being stationed or being a dependent in Germany, Turkey and other duty stations in Europe [outside of the Great Britain, Ireland and France [for 5 years or more] has been lifted from the prohibition for donating blood lists.
At this time, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:
You are not eligible to donate if
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in any country in the United Kingdom (UK),
Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any of the countries listed below:
France Ireland Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Based on the American Red Cross from June 30, 2021
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical/eligibility-reference-material.html
It seems that being stationed or being a dependent in Germany, Turkey and other duty stations in Europe [outside of the Great Britain, Ireland and France [for 5 years or more] has been lifted from the prohibition for donating blood lists.
At this time, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:
You are not eligible to donate if
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in any country in the United Kingdom (UK),
Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any of the countries listed below:
France Ireland Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
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I got told that too. I was stationed in Schweinfurt in 1990 and apparently we ate a lot of angry cows. The only way to test us for exposure is post-mortem? Scary. Moo!
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SP5 Keith Hibler
I was stationed I. Italy during the early 80’s...I to have been deferred from giving blood. I am O- and was a very regular donor....they need to get this testing figured out...ASAP....
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SGT (Join to see)
SPC Tobor Dabot - You may be right...does that tube look chewed to you? (Charlie Btry got a bad fuse LOL!)
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LTC Stephen F.
FYI my friend SFC Mark Merino it appears the rules for donating blood have changed. Only those living or being stationed in the British Isles, of France or Ireland for 5 or more years are restricted based on living or being stationed in Europe.
Based on the American Red Cross from June 30, 2021
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical/eligibility-reference-material.html
It seems that being stationed or being a dependent in Germany, Turkey and other duty stations in Europe [outside of the Great Britain, Ireland and France [for 5 years or more] has been lifted from the prohibition for donating blood lists.
At this time, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:
You are not eligible to donate if
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in any country in the United Kingdom (UK),
Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any of the countries listed below:
France Ireland Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Based on the American Red Cross from June 30, 2021
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical/eligibility-reference-material.html
It seems that being stationed or being a dependent in Germany, Turkey and other duty stations in Europe [outside of the Great Britain, Ireland and France [for 5 years or more] has been lifted from the prohibition for donating blood lists.
At this time, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) donor eligibility rules related to vCJD are as follows:
You are not eligible to donate if
From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in any country in the United Kingdom (UK),
Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any of the countries listed below:
France Ireland Channel Islands England Falkland Islands Gibraltar Isle of Man Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
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CW3 Darrel Amans
In my case it was Chernobyl. I was stationed in West Germany at the time of the incident, 1985-1987. I used to donate to the Red Cross regularly. But when I came back from the tour I was subsequently told Red Cross would no longer accept my blood donations. The RC sated concerns of “possible radiation” issues. I’m not sure if the ban is still in effect, you’d have to follow up withe Red Cross about that.
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Today, I posted the following to a local Chick-Fil-A Facebook restaurant's Facebook page, in a push to mobilize the "angry cow brigade":
I am thankful for many things about Chick-fil-A and the positions taken by its founder to ensure high quality food and that all employees have Sunday off.
Many veterans who served this nation and happened to be stationed for 6 months or more during the 1980's and early 1990's can not donate blood because of the possibility that we ate beef which had bovine spongiform [Mad Cow Disease]. I enjoy the commercials where cows recommend that we "Eat mor chiken".
In a humorous discussion of RallyPoint a network for active duty military and veterans, I recommended that many of us who can no longer donate blood be part of an "angry cow brigade" in the background of a Chick-fil-a commercial encouraging humans to eat more chicken. :-)
SSG(P) D. Wright Downs, Maj Chris Nelson, SGM Erik Marquez, SSG(P) (Join to see), MSgt Michael Durkee, SSgt (Join to see), TSgt David L., SFC (Join to see), SGT Kristjan Rahe, MSG Tom Earley, SGT Robert Hawks, SFC Mark Merino, SPC (Join to see), SFC Jeff Gurchinoff, LTC Stephen C.
I am thankful for many things about Chick-fil-A and the positions taken by its founder to ensure high quality food and that all employees have Sunday off.
Many veterans who served this nation and happened to be stationed for 6 months or more during the 1980's and early 1990's can not donate blood because of the possibility that we ate beef which had bovine spongiform [Mad Cow Disease]. I enjoy the commercials where cows recommend that we "Eat mor chiken".
In a humorous discussion of RallyPoint a network for active duty military and veterans, I recommended that many of us who can no longer donate blood be part of an "angry cow brigade" in the background of a Chick-fil-a commercial encouraging humans to eat more chicken. :-)
SSG(P) D. Wright Downs, Maj Chris Nelson, SGM Erik Marquez, SSG(P) (Join to see), MSgt Michael Durkee, SSgt (Join to see), TSgt David L., SFC (Join to see), SGT Kristjan Rahe, MSG Tom Earley, SGT Robert Hawks, SFC Mark Merino, SPC (Join to see), SFC Jeff Gurchinoff, LTC Stephen C.
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
England from 1990 to 1994. No donating. Apparently if you were a tourist and ate in the local restaurants for two weeks or less you still qualify. Nonsense. It takes one meal of infected meat to get the disease. There is no evidence that mad cow takes years to incubate. I donated for several years before the ban started. No one has the disease.
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LTC Stephen F.
Lt Col Charlie Brown - that is sad that tourists who stayed in England for three months or more are restricted from donating blood.
From 2015 " Rules governing who can donate blood in the United States have recently changed. But anyone who spent more than three months in the UK between 1980 and 1996 is still prohibited from donating.
I am posting a separate response to let others know that the UK is not affected by a ban from Bovine Spongiform.
From 2015 " Rules governing who can donate blood in the United States have recently changed. But anyone who spent more than three months in the UK between 1980 and 1996 is still prohibited from donating.
I am posting a separate response to let others know that the UK is not affected by a ban from Bovine Spongiform.
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LTC Stephen F.
I think we may caused the Chick-fil-A cows to scatter because many of us moo and snort as we stomp our feet and the site of red makes our blood boil :-) MAJ Mark Cawley
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
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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Malaria. I contracted it in Vietnam (and before you jump all over me, I did take my "pills" as instructed).
The onsets occurred with decreasing frequency and severity in the years following, but doctors tell me it's still there waiting for my health to weaken so that it can jump out and kill me eventually.
Yes, some strains of malaria can be eradicated, but the doctors can't tell which I have until it comes out of hiding.
In the meantime, I've been told not to donate blood inasmuch as it is a blood-borne disease.
The onsets occurred with decreasing frequency and severity in the years following, but doctors tell me it's still there waiting for my health to weaken so that it can jump out and kill me eventually.
Yes, some strains of malaria can be eradicated, but the doctors can't tell which I have until it comes out of hiding.
In the meantime, I've been told not to donate blood inasmuch as it is a blood-borne disease.
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SPC Margaret Higgins
I am SO sorry that you have malaria; CPT Jack Durish. And Captain, a lot of people don't take their pills as instructed....for whatever reasons.
-In Him, Margaret
-In Him, Margaret
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SSG Eddye Royal
CPT Jack Durish they gave us some pink pills during the GW, and it made some of very ill, so we stopped, then after some in my unit started getting sick we started taking them again. Praying
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
CPT Jack Durish , I am with Stephen on this. That behavior would get a down vote from me. You can do everything they order or recommend and still have problems. I pray for your contined good health.
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Sgt Ron Harris
I never took the pills, neither the daily or weekly. I didn't care for the shits that went with it.
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According to the Red Cross weblink provided by SGT Anthony Bussing,
Because of potential exposure to and infection with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) - "Mad Cow Disease" you are not eligible to donate if:
You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames
From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany
From 1980 through 1996 - Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy or Greece.
I found at the following information which has quotes bounding each paragraph at the MD Travel Health website http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/infectious/mad_cow_disease.php
which is generally corroborated by information I found at Canadian Health sites and other US medical sites.
"Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a degenerative neurologic disease acquired by eating beef from cows with a related illness known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) ("mad cow disease"). The disorder was initially described in the United Kingdom. As of June 2005, there were 155 definite or probable cases of variant CJD reported from the United Kingdom, as well as a small number of cases from France, Italy, and the Republic of Ireland. "Mad cow disease" has also been identified in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Japan, and the United States, but human cases have not been reported from these countries to date."
"Bovine spongiform encephalopathy appears to be caused by abnormal proteins called prions, which do not resemble bacteria, viruses, or other conventional causes of human and animal disease. The agent that causes BSE is transmitted when meat and bone meal feed prepared from the carcasses of infected animals is fed back to other cattle. (This practice has been banned within the European Union and many other countries). The infection is not transmitted directly from animal to animal within herds. A new case of BSE arising within a country is therefore much more significant than an imported case, because it implies that recycled ruminant protein is still being used within that country as animal feed, against all current recommendations."
"The agent that causes BSE is concentrated in nervous tissue, such as brain and spinal cord. Since this agent has never been found in skeletal muscle, which is the source of most quality meat, the current thinking is that most cases of variant CJD are caused by contamination of meat by nervous tissue during slaughter and processing. Careful slaughter practices can therefore markedly reduce the risk of acquiring variant CJD, even in a country where BSE is known to occur."
"The incubation period of variant CJD appears to be several years or longer. Initial symptoms may be psychiatric, similar to depression or (less often) psychosis. Patients may complain of unusual sensory symptoms, such as "stickiness" of the skin. Later symptoms include unsteady gait, involuntary movements, dementia, and mutism, progressing inevitably to death within 1-2 years. There is no treatment."
"Variant CJD can only be acquired by eating beef or beef products; i.e if you do not consume beef or beef products while visiting a country which has reported "mad cow disease", you cannot become infected. There is no evidence of any risk from pork, lamb, milk or milk products. The Centers for Disease Control does not advise against eating European beef, but suggests that travelers who wish to reduce their risk may either abstain from beef completely while in Europe or eat only solid pieces of muscle meat, such as steak, rather than products like sausage or chopped meat that might be contaminated during processing. Cooking, drying, or freezing does not inactivate the agent that causes new variant CJD or prevent its transmission."
I wonder how much radiation exposure would be required to destroy any Mad Cow infection and if we could survive that level of radiation. I have had several does of thallium radiation for heart studies and more CT Scans of my abdomen with contrast than I can remember.
When I talked with the Red Cross a couple months ago, research blood screening for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) - "Mad Cow Disease" was somewhere on the list of potentially priority funded research. I certainly hope that NIH, Red Cross, etc. will be directed to move up the priority for this blood screening process so that most of the hundreds of thousands of us currently restricted will be permitted to donate blood.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown 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
Because of potential exposure to and infection with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) - "Mad Cow Disease" you are not eligible to donate if:
You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames
From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany
From 1980 through 1996 - Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy or Greece.
I found at the following information which has quotes bounding each paragraph at the MD Travel Health website http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/infectious/mad_cow_disease.php
which is generally corroborated by information I found at Canadian Health sites and other US medical sites.
"Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a degenerative neurologic disease acquired by eating beef from cows with a related illness known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) ("mad cow disease"). The disorder was initially described in the United Kingdom. As of June 2005, there were 155 definite or probable cases of variant CJD reported from the United Kingdom, as well as a small number of cases from France, Italy, and the Republic of Ireland. "Mad cow disease" has also been identified in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Japan, and the United States, but human cases have not been reported from these countries to date."
"Bovine spongiform encephalopathy appears to be caused by abnormal proteins called prions, which do not resemble bacteria, viruses, or other conventional causes of human and animal disease. The agent that causes BSE is transmitted when meat and bone meal feed prepared from the carcasses of infected animals is fed back to other cattle. (This practice has been banned within the European Union and many other countries). The infection is not transmitted directly from animal to animal within herds. A new case of BSE arising within a country is therefore much more significant than an imported case, because it implies that recycled ruminant protein is still being used within that country as animal feed, against all current recommendations."
"The agent that causes BSE is concentrated in nervous tissue, such as brain and spinal cord. Since this agent has never been found in skeletal muscle, which is the source of most quality meat, the current thinking is that most cases of variant CJD are caused by contamination of meat by nervous tissue during slaughter and processing. Careful slaughter practices can therefore markedly reduce the risk of acquiring variant CJD, even in a country where BSE is known to occur."
"The incubation period of variant CJD appears to be several years or longer. Initial symptoms may be psychiatric, similar to depression or (less often) psychosis. Patients may complain of unusual sensory symptoms, such as "stickiness" of the skin. Later symptoms include unsteady gait, involuntary movements, dementia, and mutism, progressing inevitably to death within 1-2 years. There is no treatment."
"Variant CJD can only be acquired by eating beef or beef products; i.e if you do not consume beef or beef products while visiting a country which has reported "mad cow disease", you cannot become infected. There is no evidence of any risk from pork, lamb, milk or milk products. The Centers for Disease Control does not advise against eating European beef, but suggests that travelers who wish to reduce their risk may either abstain from beef completely while in Europe or eat only solid pieces of muscle meat, such as steak, rather than products like sausage or chopped meat that might be contaminated during processing. Cooking, drying, or freezing does not inactivate the agent that causes new variant CJD or prevent its transmission."
I wonder how much radiation exposure would be required to destroy any Mad Cow infection and if we could survive that level of radiation. I have had several does of thallium radiation for heart studies and more CT Scans of my abdomen with contrast than I can remember.
When I talked with the Red Cross a couple months ago, research blood screening for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) - "Mad Cow Disease" was somewhere on the list of potentially priority funded research. I certainly hope that NIH, Red Cross, etc. will be directed to move up the priority for this blood screening process so that most of the hundreds of thousands of us currently restricted will be permitted to donate blood.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown 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
mdtravelhealth.com - complete travel healthinformation, updated daily, for physicians and travelers.
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Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
I always thought the reason for not being able to donate if stationed in Turkey was because of a huge hepatitis outbreak they had while I was there. Never had the faintest idea it had to do with CJD, guess I'll go out and munch on some grass tonight. :-)
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Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
:-) My wife will post if I'm found on the ground rolling in the grass this evening!
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LTC Stephen F. I completely able, so I don't fall into your categories execpt for other (Fully Mission Capable)!
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LTC Stephen F.
I am glad they will let you donate blood COL Mikel J. Burroughs. When I spoke with the Red Cross late last year they confirmed the only foolproof test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD) is via autopsy. That is something I hope I won't need for several more decades :-)
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COL Kathleen Roehr
Considering the number of reported deaths from CJ out there, I would be more than happy to be transfused by the blood from anyone with this vague exposure. You are more likely to get hepatitis or HIV, among other things.
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Egyptian Flu banned for 7 years (2 Tours in the Persian Gulf) Mad Cow banned for Life (Stationed in London 84-87). So Far So Good no Spongiform Encephalitis that I can tell.
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you for responding my friend PO1 William "Chip" Nagel that you cannot give blood donations because of your exposure to Egyptian Flu and especially because you were stationed in London from 1984 to 1987 and potentially exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Variant (vCJD).
AS you know well only an autopsy can confirm vCJD and we are not volunteering for that operations, my friend :-)
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
AS you know well only an autopsy can confirm vCJD and we are not volunteering for that operations, my friend :-)
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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PO2 Brian Hoadley
Tried to reply on my own, but like chip, stationed in Scotland/England for 4 years at Edzell during Mad Cow. Dep0loymenbts to west africa (liberia), somalia, middle east, yugoslavia and ported in just about every country that touched the Med and Red Sea. I found out when I tried to give blood to red cross van while working at Delta in the 2000's and they gave me a piece of paper saying I should never donate blood ever again. I am a semi-rare A+ blood type.
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I used to donate quite often...seeing as how I am O Neg, Im quite popular among the vampires...lol...also working in the medical field, I know how important it is to have a good supply of blood on hand...
but alas...I no longer donate...ive never checked into it to see if I can or not, but I think due to the meds I take for my heart disease, Im not allowed...plus...I take plavix...which is a blood thinner...id bleed like a stuck hog when they would pull that big old 16 gauge needle out of my arm...lol...but I do encourage everyone who is eligible to donate....as often as possible...it is one of those things where you do something good for someone...but never know the outcome of it....
I am also an organ donor....
but alas...I no longer donate...ive never checked into it to see if I can or not, but I think due to the meds I take for my heart disease, Im not allowed...plus...I take plavix...which is a blood thinner...id bleed like a stuck hog when they would pull that big old 16 gauge needle out of my arm...lol...but I do encourage everyone who is eligible to donate....as often as possible...it is one of those things where you do something good for someone...but never know the outcome of it....
I am also an organ donor....
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SGT Anthony Bussing
Blood Donor Eligibility: Blood Pressure, Pregnancy, Disease & More | American Red Cross
Are you considering donating blood with the American Red Cross. Learn more about our eligibility requirements for blood donors.
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CMDCM Gene Treants
Anyone on blood thinners, even Aspirin, cannot give blood because it could cause bleeding in the recipient. So for you SGT Anthony Bussing not giving is a good thing. I have to stop my 81 mg ASA at least 4 days prior to giving.
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MSgt Dale Johnson
I have been told not to donate because of prescribed blood thinners also. Before that I had just passed the two gallon mark.
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Interesting- I have not heard of some of these- will have to do some digging. I know a few Gulf War vets from sand fleas if I recall correctly.
SFC Sczymanski James L. SPC Mike LakeCW3 (Join to see) CPT Enrique M. SFC William H. SFC Craig Dalen CPL Eric Escasio MAJ Ken Landgren SFC Dagmar Riley CW5 Jack Cardwell MCPO Roger Collins Cynthia Croft Alan K. SPC Woody Bullard PO3 (Join to see) TSgt David L. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SGT John " Mac " McConnell SFC Pete Kain PO3 Brad Smith
SFC Sczymanski James L. SPC Mike LakeCW3 (Join to see) CPT Enrique M. SFC William H. SFC Craig Dalen CPL Eric Escasio MAJ Ken Landgren SFC Dagmar Riley CW5 Jack Cardwell MCPO Roger Collins Cynthia Croft Alan K. SPC Woody Bullard PO3 (Join to see) TSgt David L. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SGT John " Mac " McConnell SFC Pete Kain PO3 Brad Smith
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Maj Marty Hogan Desert Storm Vets and Desert Strike Vets were told they were banned for 7 Years I think the virus may have been transmitted by the Sand Fleas. If You were in Europe in the Mid 80's they don't want Your Blood Forever.
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