Should disqualification from donating blood, due to service-related reasons, count for VA disability?

SSG Erick Diaz — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 00:05:24 -0500

How many of you know that because of your tour in many European locations such as Germany during certain time frames disqualifies you from donating blood?. So why doesn't VA rate us as being partially poisoned during our tour?.

Response by 1stSgt Eugene Harless made Mar 13 at 2016 12:16 AM

1stSgt Eugene Harless — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 00:16:16 -0500

I know that it used to be a disqualifier for donating blood to simply be outside the US in the past 2 years. I think its not a disability, its just a cost saving measure by the ARC so they dont have to pay to screen samples.

Response by SPC Jimmy Bowling made Mar 13 at 2016 1:56 AM

SPC Jimmy Bowling — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 01:56:14 -0500

I did notice this trend after the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Meltdown in April 1986. I was stationed with 4th Ordinance Co. , Meisau, Germany at the time. The Radioactive Fallout covered most of Europe infecting Crops, Pasture land, Livestock and people. I served two tours in Germany and when filing for Disability I discovered that all of my medical records from Lanstuhl and Stutgart had been removed from my records as if I had never served over there. But after 1986 I have never been able to donate blood. I was also told by a Medic once while updating my shots before a PCS that the Anthrax shot and a few other required ones could cause problems in the future when the shots were combined.

Response by CSM William Payne made Mar 13 at 2016 6:46 AM

CSM William Payne — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 06:46:09 -0400

SSG, this is right off of the American Red Cross Blood Donation site. As someone who served on my regional blood board, has given over 150 times and was in the military, I am familiar with this issue.

vCJD or Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease related to the Mad Cow Desease is found in the countries listed below. The deferral does not mean that there is a likelihood that you have it or have been exposed to it, just that currently there is no way to screen for it. The Red Cross screens every blood donation to the highest standards of the blood industry. A lot of community blood banks can charge less for blood because they don't do all the tests the the Red Cross Performs. That does't make their blood less safer, but because it is gathered and used locally, they can determine what risks they might not have to screen for. Red Cross Blood gets shipped nationally and internationally as needed. Long answer but I hope this helps. Thank you for your service.

In-Depth Discussion of Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease and Blood Donation

In some parts of the world, cattle can get an infectious, fatal brain disease called Mad Cow Disease. In these same locations, humans have started to get a new disease called variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) which is also a fatal brain disease. Scientists believe that vCJD is Mad Cow Disease that has somehow transferred to humans, possibly through the food chain.

There is now evidence from a small number of case reports involving patients and laboratory animal studies that vCJD can be transmitted through transfusion.

There is no test for vCJD in humans that could be used to screen blood donors and to protect the blood supply. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep vCJD out of the blood supply by avoiding collections from those who have been where this disease is found.

At this time, the American Red Cross 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 the United Kingdom (UK), or
From January 1, 1980, to present, you had a blood transfusion in any country(ies) in the (UK) or France. The UK includes any of the countries listed below.

Channel Islands
England
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
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.
You spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 5 years or more from January 1, 1980, to present, in any combination of country(ies) in Europe, including

in the UK from 1980 through 1996 as listed above
on or associated with military bases as described above, and
in other countries in Europe as listed below:
Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia/Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland (Republic of)
Italy
Kosovo (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Montenegro (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Netherlands (Holland)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Yugoslavia (Federal Republic includes Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia)

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2016 8:13 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 08:13:20 -0400

I have been unable to donate blood for many years. I was a regular donor.

I can not see how that is a disability.

Response by SPC Douglas Hemmingway made Mar 13 at 2016 8:47 AM

SPC Douglas Hemmingway — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 08:47:38 -0400

I didn't know that, but I never deployed outside CONUS during my terms of service. The closest I got was two ARNG annual trainings to the border between the Mexican State of Tijuana and San Diego County, CA. I was down there in 2000 and 2001. Before the May 2000 trip we had to have all the shots like one would get deploying to the tropics. Seems because the proximity to Mexico deployment to San Diego County means you get the full Tropical Battery of Shots. I was down there in support of the construction of the existing border fence with the 242nd Engineer Company back then out of Wichita, KS.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 13 at 2016 10:06 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 10:06:03 -0400

Does it adversely affect your day-to-day life? That's the real question. Not being able to give blood doesn't. You can live normally. It's not a "Disability" (Lack of ability) that could be qualified with a monetary figure or percentage (at 10% or greater).

Not all "conditions" are going to trigger the "disability" status.

Response by SFC A.M. Drake made Mar 13 at 2016 5:42 PM

SFC A.M. Drake — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 17:42:46 -0400

Because you're not poisoned. Look I was over in Germany during the timeframe of mad cow disease first got started. Now am I sick because of mad cow....heck no! Do I have some latent gene that is pre mad cow? Heck no! And I'm still serving no issues. I even went to a Red Cross van last year just to inquire and they had a big book and guess what? It's still there. So unless you can prove that you gotten sick over there because of contaminated beef, then you would have to provide proof. I don't have proof because I'm not sick not we're any of my friends that were over there during that time

Response by SFC Rollie Hubbard made Mar 13 at 2016 5:55 PM

SFC Rollie Hubbard — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 17:55:33 -0400

Response by SFC A.M. Drake made Mar 13 at 2016 5:59 PM

SFC A.M. Drake — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 17:59:48 -0400

I was not partially poisoned as you suggested for my two tours in Germany due to mad cow disease I just did not eat cow! Now assuming one did eat an infected cow then a lot of things would have had to happen for that piece of infected meat to get into the food supply. Mainly when a cow is infected they start to loose control over walking is the first sign....then it gets worse after that. Lastly cow would be burnt up to make sure it does not enter the food supply. Ssooooooo why would the VA recognize this and you're the only one that is claiming it or raising this as an issue meanwhile the other 499,000 soldiers that were over there during the height of the Cold War is fine?

Response by SGT Joe Sabedra made Mar 13 at 2016 9:47 PM

SGT Joe Sabedra — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:47:20 -0400

I agree. I can't give because mad cow came out while I was in Germany.
My thyroid is screwed too because chernobyle went up while I was there too.
But VA says it has nothing to do with me.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Mar 15 at 2016 2:15 PM

CPT Pedro Meza — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 14:15:26 -0400

There is nothing to rate, we are not poisoned because the no blood donation is decision made by the Red Cross as a precaution here in the USA, you can still donate blood in those countries as well as at the ARMY hospital.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 15 at 2016 2:17 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 14:17:30 -0400

How is that possibly a disability?

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 15 at 2016 2:23 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 14:23:40 -0400

Absolutely not.

Response by SPC Greg Andle made Mar 16 at 2016 8:15 AM

SPC Greg Andle — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:15:35 -0400

I say no. Does it hamper your daily life?

Response by CPL Bobby McKellar made Mar 17 at 2016 4:57 PM

CPL Bobby McKellar — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 16:57:20 -0400

It's not a disability nor is it really a huge problem...the simple fact is that nobody has figured out a way to TEST for "mad cow disease" antibodies or dormant virus in blood. All it is is The Red Cross and the medical world doing what it does....taking an abundance of caution until they figure out if it is a problem. I spent 3 years in Germany (1989-1991) with a six month vacation in Saudi Arabia, Iraq & Kuwait. I'm more concerned about all the shit I was exposed to in the Gulf in 1991 than mad cow disease, but service during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, exposure to chemical weapons, depleted uranium, burning crude oil,etc is of no concern when it comes to giving blood. Don't get paid for that shit!... So I doubt VERY SERIOUSLY you should worry about getting paid for something that they can't even say is even a remote possibility that anybody was EVER exposed to.
Let that sink in.

Response by SSG Darin McNeely made Mar 19 at 2016 9:47 PM

SSG Darin McNeely — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 21:47:10 -0400

Nope

Response by SSG Timothy Miller made Mar 22 at 2016 11:34 PM

SSG Timothy Miller — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 23:34:20 -0400

Interesting question: I would say, yes. If you were a member of the Armed Forces, and were assigned to a area which causes you 'disabling' disease, yes, you should be considered disabled.

Now, how do 'we' know if we are disabled? Do you have this disease? Because 'we' were assisgned/served there, how do we know if we were infected? I do not think it's right to say or conclude, just because we served there causes us to be disabled. If we have active disease, then yes, we should be VA disabled.

So, determining wheter we were infected would be the first step. But, even if we are carriers of this disease, until we are disabled due to active disease, should the VA say we are disabled because we served in areas now known to have a disease which causes terminal illness?

Excellent question. I did not know about this. I too served in Germany and Greece during the time frame listed above (1980-83-West Germany-Fulda Gap and 1988-1990-Athens and other areas, Greece)

Response by 1SG Rick Seekman made Apr 6 at 2016 12:26 PM

1SG Rick Seekman — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 12:26:52 -0400

what disability has it caused? The VA will only service connect and compensate diagnosis only.

Response by SGT Darrell Griffin made Apr 13 at 2016 5:18 AM

SGT Darrell Griffin — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 05:18:45 -0400

if it was war time related

Response by SFC Matthew Mason made May 26 at 2016 8:40 AM

SFC Matthew Mason — Thu, 26 May 2016 08:40:06 -0400

Absolutely not! You are not using the V.A. benefits properly if this is even a serious question. Disability has nothing to do with you being able to donate blood.

Response by SP5 Tim Tong made Feb 17 at 2018 8:46 PM

SP5 Tim Tong — Sat, 17 Feb 2018 20:46:36 -0500

Yes. Think about all the potential revenue loss. If you could have been allowed to sale plasma once a month for the last 20 years, you would have an additional $48,000. That you were deprived of..The UK beef corporations owe you at least that..

Response by Sgt Ronald Paden made Apr 1 at 2018 9:25 AM

Sgt Ronald Paden — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 09:25:12 -0400

I didn’t know that disqualified you. If so it certainly should add as service related

Response by Sgt Stephen Murphy made Jan 28 at 2019 12:03 AM

Sgt Stephen Murphy — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 00:03:49 -0500

I was told that I would be unable to donate blood for life when I was given an immunization for Japanese encephalitis while deployed to Japan. I was again told that I would be unable to donate for life when I received a battery of shots in preparation for deployment to Somalia. Both were before I would have been exposed to anything so I could not be a carrier, it was the injection that I was told made me unable to donate.

Response by SPC David Dickey made Apr 9 at 2019 8:45 AM

SPC David Dickey — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 08:45:08 -0400

My argument is yesterday I went to donate plasma which would have paid me close to 400$ a month and I was denied because of my service in Germany. Is there no compensation for this ?