We've joined the "lockdown" crowd.

[MajGenl.Meade]

My experience too, ex-kA.

[rubato]

My mother is O - my father is AB + I am B+. (all of the kids are A or B positive)

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Having spent time in the UK I can't give blood in the US. Mad cow disease. For along time I was forbidden from donating in the UK because i'd had malaria. But my blood, like me, is A+!

I had the same restriction when I lived in Aus.

[MGMcAnick]

A nearby town of about 650 people has the only two known covid-19 cases in its county of about 62,000. (So far.) A couple who traveled to the orient brought it home with them. Business locations they have visited have had to shut down as their staffs are in 14 day quarantine.

My county of roughly 500,000 is on a partial 30 day shut down since 12:01 AM. Wednesday. "Essential" businesses are open, most with shorter hours. Those include auto service, gas, grocery, hardware and liquor stores. Gotta have booze to get through this... There are still lots of folks out and about.

One of my nephews works in the Washington bureau of the NYT. A friend of his, who used to be in DC, moved to NYC for a better position with the paper a few months ago. He was about 45, a marathon runner, prime of life. He died of covid-19 the other day.

[BoSoxGal]

I'm doing my bit by giving blood tonight. (O Rh neg, universal donor, much in demand.)

That should be an interesting experience.

Me too (and same type), but I couldn’t get an appointment at Red Cross until next week - I hope that’s a good sign that folks are stepping up.

[eddieq]

I always do a "double cell" donation when I go. O Positive. I would gladly go again, but I'm not eligible since I most recently donated in February. With the single unit, they make you wait 8 weeks. When I give the double unit, I have to wait 16 weeks, so I'll be first in line the second week in June (provided I remain healthy, of course).

[Gob]

I always do a "double cell" donation when I go.

Not heard of these, what does it involve?

[eddieq]

I always do a "double cell" donation when I go.

Not heard of these, what does it involve?

They do it through a machine in a couple of rounds. The machine draws the blood, separates the red cells and returns the rest (plasma, platelets) along with fluids. Takes longer (less than an hour start to finish though) but they supposedly can do much more with that than with a standard "whole blood" donation.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-bl ... ation.html

[Big RR]

I remember doing the opposite in college, selling plasma so they could isolate blood proteins. Tthey would take a pint, spind it down and give the cells back to uou, then do the same again. As I recall, you could do it every two weeks or so, and it financed a night's drinking.

[BoSoxGal]

I always do a "double cell" donation when I go. O Positive. I would gladly go again, but I'm not eligible since I most recently donated in February. With the single unit, they make you wait 8 weeks. When I give the double unit, I have to wait 16 weeks, so I'll be first in line the second week in June (provided I remain healthy, of course).

It’s called Power Red in Red Cross lingo. Sadly they won’t let me do it because I’m too short - minimum height to do Power Red is 5’5” and I am 5’3”. I’ve pointed out to them that my menopause weight gain gives me plenty of body mass to rely on, but they won’t budge. Maybe as pandemic wears on they will.

I was doing platelet donation every few weeks a few years ago, but started suffering pain and numbness in my arms/hands during the procedure (3+ hours immobilized with large needles in both arms) and my doctor advised that I no longer donate in that fashion since I already have nerve issues (bad CT in both wrists) and was high risk for developing complex regional pain syndrome.

[Gob]

I remember doing the opposite in college, selling plasma so they could isolate blood proteins. Tthey would take a pint, spind it down and give the cells back to uou, then do the same again. As I recall, you could do it every two weeks or so, and it financed a night's drinking.

Interesting, I looked into that when I donated. They do do it here, but the nearest centre is in Plymouth, a two hour drive away.

There's no payment here for blood donations.

[Big RR]

No, this was more for harvesting of blood proteins before monoclonal antibodies and the biotech revolution. I recall that they would even innoculate people of certain blood types (B was one) with blood of another serotype to get antibodies against it (I even recall a friend who recovered from mononucleosis getting a lot (something like $100, an ordinary collection netted you around $20) so they could collect antibodies and other related proteins. Much of this died out as AIDS became prevalent and biotech blossomed, but I wondered how many people developed problems because of the innoculations--it was a different time then.

[RayThom]

I was a six gallon donor until the Red Cross told me my blood was no longer acceptable. It turned out that my blood was tainted by sarcoidosis and hepatitis 'C' which I contracted after receiving multiple blood transfusions back in 1972, and prior to more stringent federal testing guidelines.

I often wonder who were the recipients of my blood donations, and if they landed up with all the diseases that have plagued me over the years.

[Scooter]

[Gob]

Having that!

[Gob]

At 8pm on Thursday, as darkness fell across the UK, millions of people stood at their front doors and open windows, in gardens and on balconies, to raise a thunder of gratitude for those working on the frontline of the fight against coronavirus.

With the hashtags #clapforourcarers and #thankyouNHS trending all day on social media, a nation that has been – messily, desperately – embracing technology as isolation guidance grows ever stricter was able to do something physical, in the open air, and the collective release was noisy and joyful.

The exuberant din of hand clapping, cheering, hoots and whistles resounded along streets that had been eerily hushed for most of the day.

Children banged on pots and pans, dogs barked, and handbells rang out. Boats sounded their horns across Bristol harbour, while in Oban the high school pipe band added their skirl to the vote of thanks.

From city centres to genteel suburbs and village high streets, the explosion of gratitude for NHS staff, care workers, pharmacists and supermarket staff was heartfelt and heavy with emotion as the country struggles to absorb the enormous, unprecedented changes of the past weeks.

Across Britain, monuments, buildings and bridges turned NHS blue, from London’s Shard to Manchester Central, the Tyne bridge and the SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow.

In individual isolated households the sound was amplified by television, and radio stations paused their programming. Some hung handmade banners of thanks out of windows and across porches, others posted footage of their streets online, adding to the sense of collective appreciation.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... -frontline

[Lord Jim]

UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson tests positive for Covid-19

n a video posted on Twitter minutes ago, the prime minister confirmed he had developed mild symptoms over the last 24 hours and tested positive for coronavirus.

He wrote:

Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus. I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus. Together we will beat this. #StayHomeSaveLives

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... atest-news

[Gob]

Good response from BoJo!

[Lord Jim]

Following the news that the prime minister, Boris Johnson, had tested positive for Covid-19, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, confirmed that he too has coronavirus. Both are experiencing mild symptoms and are in self-isolation. The chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, says he is also experiencing symptoms and has gone into isolation.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... st-updates

[Lord Jim]

Striking all the right notes: