I used to give blood all the time but ever since being DX’d I stopped. The blood bank called me a month or so ago and asked me to donate. I told them I couldn’t because I was diabetic. They told me I could donate if my sugars were in control. Is this true?
Yes! You absolutey can - I donate every six months or so. They don’t even have an A1c number that qualifies you or anything, they just ask you, as you said, if you are “in control.” So funny you brough this up because I just blogged about my most recent donation experience: http://www.irunoninsulin.com/?p=279
I literally just donated on Wednesday, and I have had Type 1 for 16 years, so you should be good to go.
Thanks Alexis for letting me know!
The only diabetic reasons you may not be able to donate are if your sugars are out of control or you used bovine insulin from the UK. Chances are the latter will not be an issue for many people, especially in the US, and the former will be based on how well you control. There are plenty of other exclusion criteria that might prohibit you from donating but they are not diabetes related.
Thanks Duncan!