Be Positive

This is the story of how I had to stop giving blood. Twice.

My dad donated blood frequently. He had a rare blood type and the Canadian Red Cross would call him to give blood if he hadn’t done it recently. He set a good example for me.

I started giving blood at the age of 18. The Red Cross would come to the university and I’d drop in, give some blood, get some snacks and get on with my day. Later when I started working, there would be a clinic near (or in) my workplace and I’d donate. Easy peasy.

One day in 1991, I received a very well-written letter in the mail from the Canadian Red Cross. After a preamble where they said how thoroughly they test incoming blood, they said that my blood tested positive for the HIV virus on an initial screening test. Further testing showed it to be a false positive, but they could not accept my blood because of this initial test… and they couldn’t accept my blood ever again.

This may seem extreme, but this was not long after the “tainted blood scandal” in Canada where tens of thousands of people were exposed to HIV and hepatitis C through blood products, due to faulty testing or no testing at all.

I read the letter, nodded, and put it away. It was a very well written letter and I wasn’t alarmed at all – just disappointed and resigned. I had given blood 13 times.

Fast forward almost three decades.

I read somewhere that Canadian Blood Services – the new independent agency collecting blood from Canadians (except Quebecois, they have Hema-Quebec) – was now reevaluating people for donation who had previously been rejected.

After a few calls to CBS, they sent me a letter in July 2019 to come get retested. I provided a sample, and on August 12, 2019 they told me that I could donate again. Hooray! It only took 28 years!

I kept donating after that, every few months, even through COVID. People still needed blood, and Canadian Blood Services kept collecting it. I gave blood four times in 2020.

If you’ve ever given blood, you know that they give you an initial “prick” on the finger to collect a small sample to test for hemoglobin. This is a screening test for the quality of blood.

In early 2021, I failed the screening test. My hemoglobin level was too low, so they couldn’t accept my blood.

Huh.

I went to my doctor, and she ordered a blood test that confirmed that my hemoglobin levels were too low. This is a sign of anemia aka low iron levels. I eat meat and we didn’t think there was any obvious reason why my iron was too low. I started iron supplements and I was referred to a specialist to investigate further.

Eventually I was scheduled for an endoscopy. This is where they stick a tube down your throat and through your stomach to take a look at your small intestine. They are looking for the “villi”, small finger-like structures on the walls of your small intestine. In “normal” people these stand up straight like a forest of tree trunks, while in those with celiac disease, they are shorter or lie flat like trees blown down in a wind storm.

To my complete surprise, I was diagnosed with celiac disease.

This explained the lack of iron in my blood. With celiac disease, you don’t absorb nutrients as well. Less iron absorbed means less iron in the blood.

After going gluten-free, my iron levels returned to normal and I gave blood again on August 29, 2002.

In my life so I’ve given 27 times, and I’m scheduled to give again in early January.

The lesson I take away from this is to be positive… or maybe that’s just my blood type.

I encourage you to consider giving blood. Not everyone can donate, but if you can, please visit blood.ca to learn more.