<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Below is a listing of the responses I have received regarding CD and blood
donations.  Thanks again to all who have responded.
 
Larry Pavlock
Olean, NY
 
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I also found that I had celiac as a result of being a blood donor (three
years ago); my iron level slowly decreased to the point that the blood bank
sent me to my doctor to resolve the anemia problem.  I have been told that I
can resume donating as long as I am not anemic.
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I will give you some persoanl insight into donations.  I started giving again
about four years ago.  After being diagnosed with celiac about six years before
that.  There is no problem in giving blood, if you are on the diet with no
additional problems.
 
I made it easier by requesting that the lab directory place a statement in my
blood records so that the question would not require research each time that I
came in.
 
I am currently going in every two weeks for pheresis.
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I'm in the same boat as you are -- I had been deferred by the Red Cross
twice for anemia before going to get checked out by an internist and
then a GI.  I haven't seen a lot of information about donating blood,
but what little I have seen seemed to indicate that if you could
sustain iron levels, etc., then there really wasn't any reason not
to donate blood.
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My path into a GF diet also started when I went to the Red Cross
clinic to donate blood, as I had many times over the years, and was told
that my iron was low. Went to my family doctor, then a GI, had some tests
including a biopsy which confirmed the need for a GF diet. Some months later
I talked to the Red Cross here in Toronto, Canada, re the advisability of
donating blood again, and was told that as long as my iron was back to
normal I could donate blood. The celiac problem is not a blood problem, and
I've now continued to donate.
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I had the ARC check out if I could donate, and they saw no problem
with it.  I donate platelets also.  I think as long as we are compliant and
have no other health problems, its not an issue.
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I just gave blood two days ago, and in all the questions I was asked, none
had to do with chronic illnesses such as CD.  The concern seemed to be
blood-based disorders:  AIDS, hepatitis, Creuzfeldt-Jacobs disease (sp?),
etc.  Also, I take prescription medication on a regular basis, and I was not
stopped from donating.  I suggest you call the Red Cross, but I would be
surprised if it mattered.
 
 
Thanks to all who contributed.
 
 
Larry