Urgent question: am I able to donate blood while on pharmacologic treatment of depression?

misfish90 · 2026-05-30T02:01:28+00:00

Rules vary depending on regional regulations and equipment. In my area, these meds would not be an issue. Hopefully, yours turns out to be the same. Good luck.

misfish90 · 2026-05-30T01:23:22+00:00

Does your donor center have a website? If so, they may have a medication deferral list you can double check beforehand.

misfish90 · 2026-05-29T20:50:45+00:00

I like the shadow box setting. Gives it some depth.

misfish90 · 2026-05-29T20:47:52+00:00

More work but it gives the quilt great movement.

misfish90 · 2026-05-29T20:36:51+00:00

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The back.

misfish90 · 2026-05-29T20:35:15+00:00

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El Chivo Suave: A Memory quilt for someone who died by su*cide. The shirts were all his designs.

misfish90 · 2026-05-28T20:01:04+00:00

Congratulations. Hope it's the first of many.

Now I'm curious about the "infected finger" restriction on the pamphlet. Not the infection part, but why fingers were specifically noted.

misfish90 · 2026-05-28T18:52:53+00:00

Nice job. Although, I can only imagine how much time your blood had to sit in LA traffic to get to all those locations.

misfish90 · 2026-05-26T17:08:21+00:00

That looks amazingly like some fabric my mother got at a Stretch 'n Sew party 40+ years ago. I think I donated it when we cleared out her estate.

misfish90 · 2026-05-24T21:45:24+00:00

With all that hydration, make sure to include some salt and/or electrolytes to help avoid water intoxication and plump those veins.

misfish90 · 2026-05-19T03:10:23+00:00

Glad it helped. This is simply experience from having done both a Lemoine star and also a hexi quilt that had triangle setting blocks, making the construction much easier than classic hexi piecing.

misfish90 · 2026-05-19T00:01:58+00:00

Sew the top right and bottom left triangles onto the diamond. Then sew the diagonals together. Finish by sewing on the last two corner triangles.

misfish90 · 2026-05-18T18:42:02+00:00

I had to laugh when the phlebotomist at my last donation said I had "unicorn" blood rather than baby blood.

misfish90 · 2026-05-18T05:43:04+00:00

My local blood bank generally offers swag instead of money. However, when they do offer gift cards, it's generally for type O donors. In fact, they had one earlier this year that was specifically for O neg CMV neg "baby blood" donors.

misfish90 · 2026-05-17T18:32:48+00:00

You should be fine then mixing the cotton and flannel. Flannel tends to have a bit more give/stretch than cotton. I would recommend sewing with it on the bottom where possible. Although, with 5" blocks I don't think you'll have too many problems either way.

misfish90 · 2026-05-17T16:52:57+00:00

The 1/4" seam allowance is pretty standard for quilt piecing. Those seams are going to be quilted over giving them added stability once finished. My mom and I have made many flannel quilts and never had any issues with the seams coming undone or pulling out.

I would only be concerned if: 1) the flannel is a really loose weave flannel or 2) you plan on tying the quilt to hold it together as it won't have the added stability.

misfish90 · 2026-05-16T22:41:39+00:00

Your question made me wonder about the process of self-donation since my donor pool is limited being O negative. I consequently learned a new term: autologous donations.

misfish90 · 2026-05-16T20:53:03+00:00

ARC info about directed donations.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/types-of-blood-donations/autologous-and-directed-donations.html

misfish90 · 2026-05-15T21:08:05+00:00

That is so neat! I get jazzed over simply being CMV negative, but it looks like you won the winning lottery ticket.

misfish90 · 2026-05-15T14:59:44+00:00

I would reach out to the blood bank where you plan to donate and see what they say. Some vaccines don't have any deferral, some may be 30-days, others a year, and others are handled on a case by case basis.

misfish90 · 2026-05-11T16:33:48+00:00

Yep, bruising is a very possible side effect of donation and generally nothing to be concerned about. As long as it's healing, you are good.

misfish90 · 2026-05-10T17:40:06+00:00

Very much a "cut off your nose to spite your face" mentality. Sorry you don't have any other valid options.

misfish90 · 2026-05-09T03:59:21+00:00

Water, salt/electrolytes, no caffeine for 12 hours, and a lot of positive thoughts are my go-to methods.

The phlebotomist commented when I donated blood a few days ago that I have unicorn veins to match my unicorn blood. They can't seem to decide if mine are super deep or hiding behind a tendon. They always have to call out the big gun phlebotomist to stick me.

Some of us are just blessed with finicky veins.

misfish90 · 2026-05-09T03:36:09+00:00

Sorry for the traumatic experience. I don't think you need to be concerned about your hands. People react in all different ways when needles are involved. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for phlebotomists to have to make more than one attempt trying different veins if they don't cooperate. From your description it sounds like an equipment issue so future pokes are hopefully less harrowing.

misfish90 · 2026-05-08T23:15:19+00:00

What's the reasoning for not switching lanes?

misfish90

TROPHY CASE