Blood donation

[SixFooter]

Hopefully, as there are some very clever people on this forum, including doctors and teachers (who know everything) someone will be able to answer my question which is:
I donate blood and I take prescription drugs ( ramipril, statins). If my blood is given to a patient, will the drugs affect them? I assume not because I'm allowed to donate, but why not?

 

[oliver90owner]

Dilution? Metabolised? Retained in organs?

Might be worse if you eat peanuts or other real nuts before donating, and your blood was infused to a peanut or nut allergy recipient?

 

[Ziggymole]

I believe that when donated blood is processed that separating the red and white parts for use isolates any prescription medication. I don't know in which part though.

 

[oliver90owner]

Ziggymole.

A lot of blood donations are used like that. Only a relatively few are needed for whole blood transfusion, I think.

I don't suppose they like to advertise that - better if most think their donation will save a particular patient's life. But all are very necessary. They declined any further donations after my heart attack.

 

[Skyhook]

I'm guassing it depends onthe drug. I don't know rampiril, but are statins not what you get in benecol, ie OK for everyone?

 

[The Cumbrian]

Would quantity not play a part as well. The amount in a blood donation will be less than the full prescribed dose and by the time the blood has been diluted by the patients blood it will be even less.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

The answer, Sixfooter, is to donate somebody else's blood - preferably someone you don't like. That way, you feel good, they feel good, the service and patients win out.

Dusty

 

[Ziggymole]

Where are our resident medics when we need them?

 

[Luminos]

I'm guassing it depends onthe drug. I don't know rampiril, but are statins not what you get in benecol, ie OK for everyone?

Sterols, not statins!!

 

[VEG]

statins reduce cholesterol

 

[drfraz]

OK here goes....
The reason that you can give blood while taking most drugs is because of the complex way they are distributed around the body due to their uptake, solubility in various tissues & metabolisim.
Drugs that are highly soluble in fats such as most Beta-blockers will have much lower concentation in the blood than those that bind readily to protiens in the blood such as Warfarin (volume of distribution). This is useful as we want some Warfarin to act on the blood & Betablockers to work on the nervous system which is mostly fats. This means that the total amount of most common drugs in 1 unit of red cells is unlikley to cause problems.

Some drugs such as most antibiotics are used in very high doses as they normally have little effect on human tissue but in certian individuals may provoke an allergic reaction esepecially as many people will have had previous exposure to them. Also if someone is taking antibiotic then they are likley to have bacteria present in the blood from the infection & could in theory pass this on to the recipiant as we don't check for this.

Obviously the pharmicokinetics & dynamics as well as the way blood is processed means that in real life that it is a lot more complex than this...

hope that gives some insight. Fraz

 

[oliver90owner]

Also if someone is taking antibiotic

Of course, the questionnaire, filled in before making a donation, would be noted by the 'vampires' and one's offer of a donation would be declined if the drugs/medications taken were at all likely to affect the use further down the line.

 

[SixFooter]

OK here goes....
The reason that you can give blood while taking most drugs is because of the complex way they are distributed around the body due to their uptake, solubility in various tissues & metabolisim.
Drugs that are highly soluble in fats such as most Beta-blockers will have much lower concentation in the blood than those that bind readily to protiens in the blood such as Warfarin (volume of distribution). This is useful as we want some Warfarin to act on the blood & Betablockers to work on the nervous system which is mostly fats. This means that the total amount of most common drugs in 1 unit of red cells is unlikley to cause problems.

Some drugs such as most antibiotics are used in very high doses as they normally have little effect on human tissue but in certian individuals may provoke an allergic reaction esepecially as many people will have had previous exposure to them. Also if someone is taking antibiotic then they are likley to have bacteria present in the blood from the infection & could in theory pass this on to the recipiant as we don't check for this.

Obviously the pharmicokinetics & dynamics as well as the way blood is processed means that in real life that it is a lot more complex than this...

hope that gives some insight. Fraz

That's brilliant! Thanks. I lkie to know how things work and I didnt find anything through google.

 

[dclewis]

The French won't take donations of blood from anyone who lived in the UK from 1990-1996. (There are still convinced we are all latent cases of CJD or just paranoid about having another blood donation scandal!)