Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group

Crohn's disease is a systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of unknown cause, that results in chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. It can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, and can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract. There is no known medical or surgical cure for Crohn's disease, but there are many medical...

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firefly709 07/31/2011

I'm thinking about donating blood. I tried to years ago but was told that because I have UC and had two blood transfusions a year prior they wouldn't allow me to donate blood. I was researching online and I see that in the States people with UC that take Asacol CAN donate blood but I can't find any information for Canada.
So I'm wondering if any Canadians on here with UC/Crohn's have donated blood.
Thanks! =)

ashley906 08/01/2011

When my nephew had surgery I was told I could not donate blood because no one knows how we get crohn's and UC and although rare there is nothing to say it can't be passed through the blood.

Better to be safe than sorry right? I mean these are autoimmune diseases... How bad would you feel if you knew you passed this on? I used to give blood all the time at our lifeguard blood drive- when I found out I couldn't do it I volunteered to work the event in any way I could- getting people to sign up or passing out juice after.

deleted_user 08/05/2011

I also was interested in donating blood and have UC. I went to a blood drive and inquired about it. The lady was super impressed I wanted to help out but she said because of the UC that I need my own blood to stay healthy. So while I'm sure they appreciate the thought, they won't let you donate with UC.

deleted_user 08/07/2011

I am in Canada and donate blood for Canadian Blood Services regularly. My son was diagnosed with Crohn's and he cannot. People with Crohn's or Colitis are not allowed to donate blood. I asked why, and they said that it had to do with the fact that they were autoimmune diseases.

deleted_user 08/07/2011

I beleive with an autoimmune disease and having 2 blood transfusions your not allowed to donate. There's a higher risk of the person who receives the blood won't actually accept the blood, plus if theres ANYTHING wrong with the blood they toss it. So if white cell count is slightly higher, platlets are slightly off, iron is low if anything comes back abnormal it gets tossed. It's the thought that counts though.

firefly709 08/08/2011

Thanks for the replies.

What I'm confused about is why it's in Canada that we can't donate. There must be some reason why they're allowing it in the states with patients on certain medications. Oh well. I was hoping maybe something had changed and I'd be allowed to donate.

deleted_user 08/08/2011

Wait, we could possibly pass this through our blood?? I never donated blood because I never weighed enough to donate, plus I hate needles and I usually faint afterwards because I'm too tiny. This may sound stupid, but if that's the case what about sexually? I really don't think that would ever happen, but if it could be passed through blood then who knows. I'm not a science person AT ALL so I may sound stupid, so sorry for that hahaha! Just a thought that I had if it could be passed through blood.

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