Lyme: Donating Blood

An interesting point here.....

Donating blood in the UK: no screening for Lyme Disease

              

There are many restrictions on donating blood - all designed to prevent transmission of infection.  Usually blood transfusions are needed when people are ill or in a serious accident, so of course they don't want to be giving blood which has the potential to spread another illness.

As the poster says, in the UK donated blood is screened for Syphilis, another spirochetal bacterial infection but is not screened for Lyme disease.  Borrelia Burgdorferi is also a spirochete - a bacterium with the ability to invade any cell in the body due to their ability to burrow through tissue using their spiral-shaped 'tail'. 

This video shows and explains how spirochetes move through tissue:

In the US, the guidelines from the American Red Cross for donating blood state: 

Lyme Disease

Accept persons with Lyme disease if they were treated, the disease resolved and at least 1 year has passed.
Those with chronic Lyme disease are not eligible to donate blood. 

(From http://chapters.redcross.org/br/northernohio/INFO/eligibility.html )

These appear to vary from state-to-state.

 
Interestingly, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) refers the question to the Red Cross site, despite not acknowledging the existence of 'chronic' Lyme disease (also referred to as disseminated Lyme disease - where the spirochetes have travelled throughout the body and the infection is systemic; or late-stage Lyme disease).



Their advice states:

Although no cases of Lyme disease have been linked to blood transfusion, scientists have found that the Lyme disease bacteria can live in blood that is stored for donation. Individuals being treated for Lyme disease with an antibiotic should not donate blood. Individuals who have completed antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease may be considered as potential blood donors. Information on the current criteria for blood donation is available on the Red Cross website   

 (From: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/ )

Lyme Humour

If you don't have a sense of humour, survival is impossible....

Just a little video making fun of a typical appointment with a GP who knows nothing about Lyme disease.  While this is a funny little clip, most Lyme patients actually can relate to it in some way and report having experienced some kind of similar treatment - having been doubted, dismissed, ridiculed or simply not taken seriously by a doctor; other medical professional; or by a friend/ family member.

This little clip doesn't intend to 'get at' doctors - the intention is to create more awareness that there is genuinely a gap in medical knowledge - at every level - and more research and more information is needed to bridge that gap; to move away from outdated guidelines; and to truly TREAT the illness - a bacterial infection (or Lyme MSIDS - Lyme multi-systemic infectious disease syndrome) with appropriate drugs, taken for appropriate periods of time.

It's not really a big request.... 

In the meantime, we are very thankful for LLMDs (Lyme Literate Medical Doctors) who try very hard, often seeming to work against the system, to help their patients heal.

From YouTube

Dr Oz talks Lyme Disease

 This week, Dr Mehmet Oz, who hosts a talkshow on US TV, with viewing rating far exceeding a million, brought his audience's attention to Lyme disease.


With Lyme there are so many unknowns which create controversies, so the information discussed was not especially 'deep' - he did not delve into the intricacies of the disease, testing methods, or treatment.  What he did was bring Lyme to the attention of MANY people with a simple overview of the stages of Lyme, the symptoms at different stages, and the acknowledgement of a "chronic" version (also referred to as late-stage or disseminated Lyme disease).  The clip also shows exactly how to remove a tick - with a giant tick and giant tweezers prop.


These short clips from the show are definitely worth watching - take 6 minutes to watch something essential and please share to help someone else avoid chronic illness:

 

Lyme Disease: Dr Oz Show 5/5/14

PART 1

 

Lyme Disease: Dr Oz Show 5/5/14

PART 2

 For those not familiar with the name, Dr Oz rose to fame with his appearances on the Oprah show and is a definite celebrity in the US (TV) medical world.  His C.V. is definitely impressive - he earned a medical degree and an MBA, at an Ivy League University; and now hosts his own talk show while still working as a cardio-thoracic surgeon in NYC.  To add a little twist to his conventional knowledge, his wife is known to favour holistic treatments and Eastern healing which he has incorporated into some of his own methods. Between them they have also published several books.  For a little bio on Dr Oz, check out this New York Times article (from 2010).   


 

Shared experiences

A good clip on Lyme awareness from BBC South East today:



http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b041svy2/South_East_Today_03_05_2014/


(Starts about 40 seconds in; only available within the UK - if a YouTube clip becomes available I will post an additional link)

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(From Pinterest)

A huge thank you to Sarah for speaking out and sharing her story and helping increase awareness.  And to the BBC for taking note and giving air time to this important issue.

 

Some people don't realise how hard it is, to look over your life, think of the person you once were to the outside world - to feel that person still battling inside you, just waiting to get out again - and to speak to the world about the hardest thing you have ever had to deal with.  

Imagine exposing your most personal feelings to strangers - it's not an easy thing to do, but without ALL of those sharing their stories and doing just that, we cannot increase awareness which means we can't help others.

Share your story: www.facebook.com/golymegreen2014

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(From Pinterest)