Can't donate blood now if you take HGH now ?

[grumpee]

Went to a united blood services blood drive today in my area to donate red blood cells since I cruise and blast etc. While reading over some info before I was able to donate the info stated that if you have taking hgh in the last few months then you where not able to donate. I found this kind of strange and was curious to why they made this change ? Just a heads up to every one donating .

[flatscat]

That's a new one - I will look next time I go in. Wonder what the reasoning is? Thanks for sharing.

[JD250]

They don't seem to like anything injectable.

[JohnnyVegas]

I donated a couple of months ago and they didn't have any HGH-specific questions. But they don't allow anyone that has injected any medication not prescribed by a doctor. Interested to hear more.

[Mario L]

I did read about this last time I donated.

From the red cross website:
In-Depth Discussion of Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD) and Blood Donation
CJD is a rare, progressive and fatal brain disorder that occurs in all parts of the world and has been known about for decades. CJD is different from variant CJD, the new disease in humans thought to be associated with Mad Cow disease in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

CJD appears to be an infectious disease. It has been transmitted from infected humans to patients through the transplantation of the covering of the brain (dura mater), use of contaminated brain electrodes, and injection of growth hormones derived from human pituitary glands. Rarely, CJD is associated with an hereditary predisposition; that is, it occurs in biologic or “blood” relatives ( persons in the same genetic family).

There is no evidence that CJD can be transmitted from donors to patients through blood transfusions. However, nobody knows for certain that this cannot happen. There is no test for CJD that could be used to screen blood donors. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep CJD out of the blood supply by not taking blood donations from those who might have acquired this infection.

You are considered to be at higher risk of carrying CJD if you
Received a dura mater (brain covering) graft;
Received human pituitary-derived growth hormone injections; or
Have a biologic relative who has been diagnosed with CJD. Biologic relative in this setting means mother, father, sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle or children.
If any of these descriptions apply to you, you should not donate blood until more is known about CJD and the risk to the blood supply.

[Mario L]

Is all HGH human pituitary derived or is some synthetic?

[doc w]

Only matters is it was nonsynthetic. If u have only taken synthetic then its not an issue.

[doc w]

Most growth hormone today is synthetic. If u have a question about specific brand or manufacturer I would check on line.

[ecdysone]

Interesting moral question... whether someone should bleed to death or suffer other organ injury over a rare, hypothetical possibility.

OTHO, trust me, these folks are absolutely not going to screen for hgh or anything close! They have much more significant problems to worry about.

[Sgt. Hartman]

There is no pituitary derived HGH and there hasn't been for many years. The only form of GH currently available is made via recombinant DNA technology.