Contents:
- Medical Video: Cancer Treatment: Chemotherapy
- Can people with cancer donate blood?
- Types of cancer that may and may not donate blood
- The risks faced by donors and recipients of blood from cancer patients
- For donors
- For donor recipients
- Blood donor tips for cancer patients
Medical Video: Cancer Treatment: Chemotherapy
When deciding to take a blood donation, your health will be checked first whether you have fulfilled the requirements as a prospective donor. If you pass the selection, you are only allowed to donate your blood. So, not everyone is allowed to take blood donors if they meet the requirements.
So what about the people survivoror warriorcancer? Can you donate blood on the basis of the benefits of blood donation for health or humanitarian reasons? What if you have been declared cured of cancer? You will find all the answers here.
Can people with cancer donate blood?
As a potential donor, of course you must fulfill the requirements as a donor. According to the American Red Cross, people who have a history of cancer may donate their blood as long as they fulfill the following three main requirements:
- Waiting for one year is counted since the end of cancer treatment and is declared cured.
- Cancer does not experience recurrence.
- If you are currently undergoing cancer treatment, you may not take a blood donor.
Reporting from the American Cancer Society, the possibility of getting cancer through blood donors is relatively small. This is based on studies that have found no increased risk of cancer in those who get blood from cancer patients.
If indeed cancer cells are in the blood donated, the recipient's immune system will be able to destroy the cancer cells. However, this does not apply if the donor recipient has a weak immune system. Because, his immune system will lose when fighting cancer cells.
Therefore, people whose cancers are thought to grow or spread are not allowed to donate blood to other people.
Types of cancer that may and may not donate blood
Whether or not to donate blood also depends on the type of cancer and the history of treatment that is being undertaken. Cancer sufferers are not allowed to donate blood if:
- Currently actively undergoing treatment
- Cancer develops
- Cancer recurs after being declared cured
- Have blood cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, myeloma, or polycythemia rubra vera. Patients with blood cancer really are not allowed to become donors at any time.
- Have ever undergone chemotherapy or organ transplant
Meanwhile, if you have experienced one of two types of low-risk skin cancer, such as squamous cell or basal cell cancer, and have been declared cured, you do not need to wait a year to be able to take blood donation as you wish. The same is true for precancerous cervical patients who are also allowed to donate blood if they have been declared completely cured.
The risks faced by donors and recipients of blood from cancer patients
For donors
As a cancer patient, of course he is actively running cancer treatment in the form of chemotherapy. In some cases, this chemotherapy can risk damaging the bone marrow causing anemia. This anemia can affect the condition of the heart that is not prime.
So, healthy people who experience mild anemia are not allowed to participate in blood donations. This is because it can harm people who have heart problems as an effect of chemotherapy and radiation.
For donor recipients
Indeed there have not been cases that have reported the incidence of cancer due to blood transfusions. However, several other cases allow cancer to be transmitted through organ transplants. This is what limits the sufferer of blood cancer or leukemia for not donating blood at any time.
Blood donor tips for cancer patients
If you are still curious about whether or not to donate blood, you can visit the blood donor center to consult your medical history. Don't be afraid to be honest with the medical team about your cancer history, how your cancer is treated, and when your last treatment is complete.
If you meet the requirements, of course you will be allowed to take blood donations on the same day. But if there are problems so you are not allowed to take blood donations, you don't need to be discouraged.
You can always help people who need blood donation in various ways, one of which is by taking the time to provide psychological support to the recipient of the donor. People who have just been diagnosed with cancer usually feel more comfortable talking to those who have had cancer treatment before them.
