Donating blood is an act of generosity. It's also about active citizenship. It's one of those things that disabled people should be encouraged to take part in. It's inclusive. But I must admit I did go in with some trepidation. Predictably, when I told the woman I had MS, she said I couldn't be a blood donor. Not even my plasma or platelets were acceptable. The answer was a friendly but firm "no".
The refusal was something I found curious, because people with MS are able to register as organ donors. I know this because some years ago I made enquiries and I was told that my medical condition wouldn't automatically disbar me. That's a qualified yes, I think. Since then I've carried an organ donor card around with me.
I've also been told there's nothing to stop a man with MS being a sperm donor. As with organs, there is no automatic ban. Blood and MS is a completely different story, however - a total "no no". The nurse at the blood bank showed me the rule book which said "Must not donate" next to the words "Multiple Sclerosis".
To make the refusal harder to bear - and here is the ultimate absurdity - I actually used to be a blood donor. It was many years before being diagnosed but, who knows, I could have been giving blood in the very early stages of my illness. When I mentioned that I had previously donated blood no one seemed to go into major panic, though.
As I walked out of the building, I thought that I should perhaps have made a bigger fuss about the matter, as MS isn't a disease you can catch from others. I know this to be the case because I carry an MS Society help card which says "I have multiple sclerosis, it's not infectious". What could be clearer than that?
So why did they reject me? Perhaps they just didn't like the idea of MSers giving blood? And perhaps I have been the victim of prejudice?
I'm not visibly disabled, so I don't often encounter prejudice. Perhaps that's why I'm not very good at detecting it. But from time to time even I have a strong suspicion that I am being discriminated against because of my MS. I decided to look further into all this.
The organisation UK Transplant say there are only two conditions which would rule you out as an organ donor - HIV and CJD. In other cases, it comes down to consideration of the balance of risk. So, if an organ transplant will save a life, and it is the only organ available at that time, doctor and patient may agree to go ahead on the understanding that a condition associated with the donor can be treated.
Blood donation involves a different risk calculation. It is used in lots of routine operations and doesn't always go to people who are seriously ill. Also there aren't the same desperate shortages that you often get with organ donations. So when the National Blood Service refuse my blood, they can do so safe in the knowledge that there's more 'safer' blood out there.
MSers aren't the only people whose blood is "blanket banned". There are a number of other illnesses - like rheumatoid arthritis - where the National Blood Service takes a similar stand. As with MS, they say that as the cause of the illness is unknown they can't totally reassure recipients that a blood borne agent isn't involved.
I'm sure the general public is suitably reassured by this ultra-cautious policy - particularly after the blood safety scares like CJD and Factor 8 in the 1990s - but it leaves me feeling a bit like being presumed guilty before I can prove my innocence, and in that sense it's contrary to the rules of natural justice.
As I prepare to bin my old donor card, I notice that I am blood group O. At school I was taught that group O is the universal donor. This means that my blood can be donated to anyone - group A, B, AB or O - rhesus factor permitting. As well as being the perfect donors' blood, O is also the most common, which means that anyone going in for an operation is more likely to be group O than another group. Another fact is that O's can receive blood only from fellow O's . By my reckoning, therefore, group O is the most wanted blood. All except mine that is. And the reason is that I just happen to have MS - a non- infectious illness. Curious, isn't it?
By Ian Cook
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