Is being a regular blood donor considered "volunteering"?

[Mount Sinai]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine. i was thinking about being a blood donor. Can anyone with experience enlighten me on this. Can this activity be viable towards the med school admissions process.

Thanks.

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[mauberley]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine. i was thinking about being a blood donor. Can anyone with experience enlighten me on this. Can this activity be viable towards the med school admissions process.

Thanks.

If you kept it up over the period of years. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=742590

 

[sector9]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine.

Uh no

 

[Kadava Reviva]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine. i was thinking about being a blood donor. Can anyone with experience enlighten me on this. Can this activity be viable towards the med school admissions process.

Thanks.

You usually can't give more than one unit of blood every 2 - 3 months, depending on various factors. You cannot donate if you suspect have any active infection like a cold, have a blood disorder or if you take medication. In many areas, they have blood clinics by the Red Cross or other orgs like that They used to be done by the Canadian Red Cross in Canada but, due to a few HIV infections, they were replaced by the Canadian Blood Services. I don't know about the US.
Sometimes, volunteers help setting up the chairs and equipment and providing refreshments. It's not that hard and, if you help out throughout the day, it can be a good 6-8 hours of volunteering, although most of it is down time which can be used to study. If you give blood on top of it, you get a nice plastic card with the dates you gave blood on it, initialed by one of the blood-draining staff. I'm sure AdComs will look at blood donation in a positive way and kidney donation in an even more positive way, but they usually have to follow criteria in a checklist, such as if you held a physical job, if you grew up in a rural area, how many hours of volunteering you did, etc...,
You really should consider doing more volunteering that involves giving your time to the community, though. It usually is not that hard and it's worth the effort.

 

[Ebola4Breakfast]

You usually can't give more than one unit of blood every 2 - 3 months, depending on various factors. You cannot donate if you suspect have any active infection like a cold, have a blood disorder or if you take medication. In many areas, they have blood clinics by the Red Cross or other orgs like that They used to be done by the Canadian Red Cross in Canada but, due to a few HIV infections, they were replaced by the Canadian Blood Services. I don't know about the US.
Sometimes, volunteers help setting up the chairs and equipment and providing refreshments. It's not that hard and, if you help out throughout the day, it can be a good 6-8 hours of volunteering, although most of it is down time which can be used to study. If you give blood on top of it, you get a nice plastic card with the dates you gave blood on it, initialed by one of the blood-draining staff.
You really should consider doing more volunteering, though. It's worth the effort.

Not to thread hijack or anything, but that's one thing that has always puzzled me about blood donation. There are certain diseases that, even if you are successfully treated and cured from the disease, you are given a lifetime ban from blood donation. Why is that? It just seems that, at some point post-cure, the odds of transmitting the disease are essentially nil.

 

[munchymanRX]

Once you're in medical school they can count, haha.

We get 1-2 hours for donating here.

 

[Kadava Reviva]

Not to thread hijack or anything, but that's one thing that has always puzzled me about blood donation. There are certain diseases that, even if you are successfully treated and cured from the disease, you are given a lifetime ban from blood donation. Why is that? It just seems that, at some point post-cure, the odds of transmitting the disease are essentially nil.

The problem is that several viruses, after they enter the host cell, do not always start replicating immediately. Instead, they, in layman's term, add their genetic material in the host cell's DNA. The virus will then lay dormant and, without warning, the host cell will start producing viruses. The dormancy period can last years and the infection can return at any time.

 

[ohioguy]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine. i was thinking about being a blood donor. Can anyone with experience enlighten me on this. Can this activity be viable towards the med school admissions process.

Thanks.

You will be compared to those who have organized blood drives....this "volunteering" will probably be good for a laugh for adcoms.

 

[LingoLaine]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine.

Sure, as long as you're fine with skipping med school too.

 

[Ismet]

OP, it's always good to donate blood, but you should also look into other volunteering.

Not to thread hijack or anything, but that's one thing that has always puzzled me about blood donation. There are certain diseases that, even if you are successfully treated and cured from the disease, you are given a lifetime ban from blood donation. Why is that? It just seems that, at some point post-cure, the odds of transmitting the disease are essentially nil.

What diseases are you talking about? The only "curable" disease that gives you a lifetime ban is certain types of hepatitis, but I know hepatitis relapse is possible, so I'm pretty sure that's why. Even people being treated for tuberculosis can donate after the treatment has been proven successful.

 

[tiedyeddog]

No. Giving blood is altruistic but you should have better stuff to list. Seems like it's just filler, and in your case, it certainly is. Probably should volunteer somewhere for realz.

 

[Ebola4Breakfast]

OP, it's always good to donate blood, but you should also look into other volunteering.



What diseases are you talking about? The only "curable" disease that gives you a lifetime ban is certain types of hepatitis, but I know hepatitis relapse is possible, so I'm pretty sure that's why. Even people being treated for tuberculosis can donate after the treatment has been proven successful.

Lymphomas. At least I know that Hodgkin's Lymphoma gets you a lifetime ban. Or at least that's what I was told. Not so?

 

[bassvp]

I have absolutely no volunteering, but I am sure i'll be fine. i was thinking about being a blood donor. Can anyone with experience enlighten me on this. Can this activity be viable towards the med school admissions process.

Thanks.

Make sure to add selling plasma under employment...

 

[kpcrew]

I guess today is just a slow day for the trolls.

 

[AllDaWEI]

I guess today is just a slow day for the trolls.

Not really, you missed out on a few Chinese low MCAT threads. 😛

 

[Ismet]

Lymphomas. At least I know that Hodgkin's Lymphoma gets you a lifetime ban. Or at least that's what I was told. Not so?

Yes, that is another lifetime ban, but it is a cancer of the blood and there's probably a chance of relapse.

 

[kpcrew]

Not really, you missed out on a few Chinese low MCAT threads. 😛

nah i saw them, i meant the trolls must be bored so they're coming on sdn to make these lame posts

 

[EnergyDrink]

If I read "Blood Donation" in volunteer experience, I'd **** myself laughing.

 

[Ebola4Breakfast]

Yes, that is another lifetime ban, but it is a cancer of the blood and there's probably a chance of relapse.

But that's my original point. The risk of relapse is a function of time. It just seems that there should be a point where the risk of relapse is almost unheard of (15+ years off therapy) where donation would be an option. A lifetime ban just seems a bit severe when you consider that many solid tumor survivors can donate again after a specific wait period. At least I think that's the revised rule. I guess everyone wants to be especially cautious after what happened in the 80s with HIV.

 

[libraryismyhome]

Not really, you missed out on a few Chinese low MCAT threads. 😛

wait where are they? I want to see them!!!

 

[AbbyNormal]

Here's a link with some of the guidelines regarding medical conditions, medications, under/overweight guidelines and travel outside the US.

http://www.bloodbook.com/donr-requir.html