It says on my Red Cross Blood Donor Card:

A+ CMV negative...

I asked once what the whole cmv thing was... They told me that my blood can be used for babies. Cool.

Red

Cytomegolovirus (CMV) Infection http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cmv.htm

I had a friend lose a child to this :(

Both my dad & I are O-. He donates lots of blood but I've always been terrified to donate. Absolutely terrified.

I'm A+! I donate whenever I can but due to my stupid disease I've been fighting a losing battle with anemia lately.

No, this is not true. Red Cross actually makes no money off blood. They make money off apheresis.

O-
CMV Negative

The best blood out there, cause it can be given to anyone and it new born babies!

I'm A+ :)

O+

Got a question... Im O+ and he's O- and he was worried because he thought he heard somewhere that O+ and O- can't have kids together or something (don't worry, it's not happening anytime soon). Anyone know if this is true, or if there is any sort of concern?

No, it would be the other way around. If you were O-, and he was O+, THEN the baby would have the RH factor. Your body would basically reject the baby. The first pregnancy is not like this--you'd have an otherwise normal pregnancy. If I'm not mistaken...you'd have to get a shot that would allow you to maintain a normal subsequent baby.

B+

Sidenote: When I was younger and didn't understand about genetics, I thought that I could only be related to people who had B+ blood. Therefore, I told me grandma that there's no way we were related since she's AB and I'm B+ (I figured it had to be that way, since both my parents were B+ :D)

I'm AB-. I think I'm the only one with AB- who has posted so far. Makes sense since only 1% of people have it.

I gave blood last night. I hate doing it, but I do because I know that my discomfort for 15 minutes is worth it to save someone's life. I refuse to go without my boyfriend or someone there for support though.

I'm glad to hear that! I am so amazed by the number of people who will go out of their way to give blood, knowing how many lives can be saved by it!

Thank you, on behalf of all the people whose lives you saved last night!




PS-My best friend's mother is AB-. She knows all of the other AB- people within 200 miles, since they need to help each other!

Since it's a blood thread, I'd like to chime in with something.

I donate blood as frequently as possible and have even gone on an iron supplement so that I can donate more often. I live on top of a blood center so it's not a huge inconvience for me to walk over there, but the employees there are so rude to me that I'm starting to not want to bother. I'm giving up an hour of my day to do an unselfish act, the least they could do is be nice to me. :rolleyes:

Is there any way to find out what your blood type is other than donating at the Red Cross or something similar? I'd really like to know, but my doctor's office doesn't do it until you actually need blood (which I think is kind of sketchy), and I can't donate blood due to health reasons.

You're welcome!

Yeah, the lady at the Red Cross last night wasn't very nice. I know not everyone can be a "people person" but it seems like when you work in a job like that where so many people are nervous you would make an effort to be nice and not to just yank the needle out, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for the Red Cross workers, but service with a smile would be nice.:D

I am AB also,
its cool cause when I donate I get a special tag and sticker on my bag with AB AB AB AB AB AB all over it!
I'm special!

O+

I have a question for all of you doctor people out there... Or at least those of you with medical knowledge.

I read up on that CMV link, and it said this:
CMV is a member of the herpesvirus group, which includes herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, varicella-zoster virus (which causes chickenpox), and Epstein-Barr virus (which causes infectious mononucleosis).

I had a severe case of the chickenpox as a child... So how am I still CMV negative?

adding on to that last post...

I never had the chicken pox! Yet I test immune to it (long story, I thought I had it last year)

How does that work?

I tried to give blood once and I'm definately an O.
I'm assuming it's O+ because my mom is A- and she had to get a big needle at my birth to protect her from my blood.

Random Question for the smarties out there... I've heard that O- is the universal donor and also that O+ is the university donor. I know only one is ... which is it?? Thanks!

It can be. If you have certain blood types and you are travelling it is a good idea to know your type b/c some blood types are extremely rare in certain regions of the world and it is good to know in case anything happens.Here is a page that explains the geographic distributions of blood types.

I am O+, CMV neg. I donate every 8 weeks at UCLA (when my iron count is high enough). I have been donating regularly since the age of 18. Being able to donate for babies makes it very hard to say no.

LD

ETA: SapphireSpinx, I too have had the chickenpox (3x, but was exposed several more and didn't get them again after the 3rd time) and am CMV negative. Can someone who is better educated on this subject explain?

I'm type A+, which I found out during one of the approximately ten zillion blood drives I participated in during college.

I think my A+ blood goes well with my Type A personality :)

Another A+ here

A+, found out when I had my wisdom teeth out. Baby Berry is B+ and the blood place is always calling up here to see if she wants to donate. I keep telling them that she's off at college but they keep calling--out of desperation?

I'm A+ as well and found out through blood donation.

O- ... universal donor. I found out the one and only time I've donated blood. I nearly passed out, so I haven't donated since, but that didn't keep the blood bank from calling and calling and calling...

O+ as is the hubby and our kids.

I found out due to being Active Duty and it being on my ID card ;)

Can't donate though since I lived in England and everyone is convinced I have mad cow disease. Guess the fact I don't eat cow doesn't matter LOL

Another A+ here.

O+ found out by giving blood

AB- I am not sure if it's the rarest or second rarest blood type. Funny though, my dad is A+ and my mom is B+, but I turn out to be AB-. Must have been a recessive gene in there somewhere...either that or there something my parents are not telling me!! :D

I'm A-. I found out when I donated blood for myself for a surgery I had.

Couldn't say it better myself. You know you're a Type A personality when you stand in front of a microwave saying, "Come on come on come on!"

As for blood banks calling, there's a huge shortage due to the number of people getting tattoos (some places you have to wait a year, others 6 months) multiple piercings (ditto), and the number of places which are spreading forms of hepatitis. I'm convinced my blood bank has me on speed dial.

Um, I have no freaking idea, LOL.

blood type? i also have absolutely no clue. prolly not such a good idea either

I'm O+ and so is my husband. I don't remember for sure, but I think that means my daughter is also O+. I think I got kicked off the Red Cross list when they had to go digging in my arm for a vein (took them forever to find it) and then I gave in 4 min and just about passed out. Of course that was after I learned that I have to fake the temperature test, because my natural body temp is .1 degree too high to donate.

I think it's B-...I could be wrong though.

O+, but blacklisted from blood donation as well because of the fear of possible mad cow disease. Did my time at 'Spang-Quentin' -ahem- Spangdahlem, Germany.

I'm O- another universal donor. I've given once at school but I'm waiting til I'm settled someplace to start giving again.

No clue what my blood type is. Doesn't matter because I can't donate. I had open heart surgery and lived in Russia for 7.5 years. This means that obviously I have mad cow disease. Especially since in communist Russia it was hard to find any food, let alone beef. I tried donating twice and got rejected both times. After that I got a letter from the New York Blood Center asking me not to contaminate the blood supply, but if I wanted to donate my blood in the name of medical research, to go to the nearest hospital and do so immediately.