Donating Blood & AAS

Hey all,

So I have been thinking about donating blood - never done it before. Had a needle phobia before I started with gym chems, needless to say that phobia no longer exists Truth be told I am still not 100% comfortable with the idea of donating blood but thinking I should at least give it a try a few times.

My concern is that I do not want to donate blood just for it to be wasted and not used because of the substances I might be taking. I believe the first time you donate they do not use your blood, but there after provided your blood is clean / clear then it's all good and can be used?

I have heard when you're on cycle your blood can be a lot better due to the increased RBC and so forth - does anyone have any experience or knowledge with their (SANBS) process and whether me taking stuff would lead to them not using my blood or if there are certain substances which would make me donating blood pointless as they cannot use it etc.

I really just don't want to waste my time and blood if it's not going to be used.

The form you fill in before donating specifically asks if you are using anabolic steroids and if you tick the box they will disqualify you and not allow you to donate.

Wow really? I have a friend on TRT who is told to donate every two to three months..

So perhaps they are fine with men being on testosterone but not other AAS?

PsyCLown wrote: So perhaps they are fine with men being on testosterone but not other AAS?

No idea, maybe the Dr is wrong to advise that, but trying to make sure his patient stays healthy not having high RBC

When I gave blood, the tick box that said do you exercise also had do you use steroids. When I ticked it and told the nurse I used steroids they were happy for me to donate - not sure why considering it involves injections etc but they seemed fine with it.

Asked the nurse at SANBS about donating while using steroids and got a very comprehensive answer and I was surprised by her knowledge on the subject.

In short, it's not a guaranteed disqualification as I thought previously. If you are donating while using AAS they will ask you what you use, how much you use and how it's administered. If you are using injectables they will ask you if you do the injections yourself or if it's done by a doctor. They will likely disqualify you if you injected yourself in the last 6 months, but if it's longer ago they won't have a problem. If injections are done by a doctor then it's usually ok. They are also less strict when it comes to orals. They aren't too worried about AIDS/HIV, but rather viral Hepatitis.

admin wrote: Asked the nurse at SANBS about donating while using steroids and got a very comprehensive answer and I was surprised by her knowledge on the subject.

In short, it's not a guaranteed disqualification as I thought previously. If you are donating while using AAS they will ask you what you use, how much you use and how it's administered. If you are using injectables they will ask you if you do the injections yourself or if it's done by a doctor. They will likely disqualify you if you injected yourself in the last 6 months, but if it's longer ago they won't have a problem. If injections are done by a doctor then it's usually ok. They are also less strict when it comes to orals. They aren't too worried about AIDS/HIV, but rather viral Hepatitis.

Interesting, thanks

admin wrote: Asked the nurse at SANBS about donating while using steroids and got a very comprehensive answer and I was surprised by her knowledge on the subject.

In short, it's not a guaranteed disqualification as I thought previously. If you are donating while using AAS they will ask you what you use, how much you use and how it's administered. If you are using injectables they will ask you if you do the injections yourself or if it's done by a doctor. They will likely disqualify you if you injected yourself in the last 6 months, but if it's longer ago they won't have a problem. If injections are done by a doctor then it's usually ok. They are also less strict when it comes to orals. They aren't too worried about AIDS/HIV, but rather viral Hepatitis.

That is quite interesting, thanks for that.

So basically if you're using injectables then donating blood is a no go... I doubt anyone here goes to the Dr to get their shots - sounds expensive and tedious having to goto the Dr once or twice a week for a quick 2 min shot.

What about TRT patients, that is technically "steroids" too and I imagine majority of patients do their own injections as well.

PsyCLown wrote:

admin wrote: Asked the nurse at SANBS about donating while using steroids and got a very comprehensive answer and I was surprised by her knowledge on the subject.

In short, it's not a guaranteed disqualification as I thought previously. If you are donating while using AAS they will ask you what you use, how much you use and how it's administered. If you are using injectables they will ask you if you do the injections yourself or if it's done by a doctor. They will likely disqualify you if you injected yourself in the last 6 months, but if it's longer ago they won't have a problem. If injections are done by a doctor then it's usually ok. They are also less strict when it comes to orals. They aren't too worried about AIDS/HIV, but rather viral Hepatitis.

That is quite interesting, thanks for that.

So basically if you're using injectables then donating blood is a no go... I doubt anyone here goes to the Dr to get their shots - sounds expensive and tedious having to goto the Dr once or twice a week for a quick 2 min shot.

What about TRT patients, that is technically "steroids" too and I imagine majority of patients do their own injections as well.

That's where the what you use, how much you use and who administers it comes in. I'm sure they will have no issues with TRT patients that receive their Testosterone injections from their doc. Bodybuilders obviously use far higher doses of "unnatural" hormones and they usually inject themselves in unknown conditions with substances of unknown quality and that is why they'll likely get rejected. It's a matter risk management and bodybuilders are high risk, like it or not but that's the truth.

admin wrote: Asked the nurse at SANBS about donating while using steroids and got a very comprehensive answer and I was surprised by her knowledge on the subject.

In short, it's not a guaranteed disqualification as I thought previously. If you are donating while using AAS they will ask you what you use, how much you use and how it's administered. If you are using injectables they will ask you if you do the injections yourself or if it's done by a doctor. They will likely disqualify you if you injected yourself in the last 6 months, but if it's longer ago they won't have a problem. If injections are done by a doctor then it's usually ok. They are also less strict when it comes to orals. They aren't too worried about AIDS/HIV, but rather viral Hepatitis.

+1

Interesting, because of the nature of my sport, my Hematocrit was 55% (normally 49%). THat is the ration of RBC's in volume of blood.

They asked if I use EPO and I said no, I do a lot of breath hold diving while free diving which would explain the increased hematocrit. They seemed happy with that.