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  • Donating Blood

    We have a surgery date for the end of October and our daughter needs to give two units of blood prior to surgery. Lisa weighs 91 pounds and is 5 feet tall. Have any other teenagers of this stature had any issues with giving blood?
    Mark & Jane, Parents of Lisa
    Daughter 15 years old
    Posterior surgery was in October, 2005, with Dr. Paul Sponseller at Johns Hopkins. Fused T2-L2 w/4 rib thoracoplasty. Rib and local autograft. All pedicle screw and stainless construct.
    Before: PT – 33, MT – 63, L – 32, kyphosis – 46.
    After: PT – 7, MT – 4, L – 15, kyphosis – 32.

  • #2
    My daughter Jamie was only 13 y.o. and weighed about 88 pounds when she donated blood. The only issue she had was one week in particular she wasn't able to donate and it wasn't a surprise, if you know what I mean. During that week her iron count was too low so we just went back the following week. I hope your daughter does well with her blood donation.

    Mary Lou

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    • #3
      Aside from the iron levels I would imagine there would only be trouble if she is dehydrated or has abnormally tiny veins.

      I once drew blood from a 3 year old that had much much better veins than I do now. (He didn't cry as much as I do either.. haha!)

      I think they will make sure she had a really good meal beforehand.. so make sure it's a healthy one (not with pop, coffee, iced tea, or any other diaretic)and things will go that much smoother.
      Age 28
      diagnosed at age 12
      wore a boston brace until age 14
      No surgery, was on "wait and watch" till recently. Got a SpineCor (Jan 27th) to help ease the pain.
      T-curve 73 degrees with severe rotation (curves to the right)
      L-curve 45 degrees with slightly less severe rotation than my T-curve (curves to the left)

      1994 - 5'10" - T-?/L-? (i forget what they really were)
      2006 - 5' 4" - T-56/L-40
      2008/09 - 5' 4" - T-73/L-45

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      • #4
        blood donation

        Proud Parents, ask your doctor about "Procrit," it's an injection, FDA approved for chemo patients. My daughter was given two injections during her blood donation period, it helps boost the red blood cell production. I know some insurance companies won't cover it. But our hospital is doing a trial study on it, with great results. Pat

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        • #5
          proudparents
          i don't think your daughter will have a problem, my daughter was to take an iron pill for a certain amount of time prior to donating and she at the time probably weighted not much more then your daughter. Unfortunately, my daughter ended up not donating she was too nervous and scared to do it and thankfully did not need any blood during her surgery.
          Good luck
          Jennifer

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          • #6
            Proud Parents, If either one of you are the same type you could donate for her yourself if you're worried about it or she is. My surgeon had only asked me for one unit even though they needed more. He didn't want me to be any lower than I needed to be. My son and daughter both donated for me and I didn't donate any. I ended up needing 7 units and went home anemic. That improved quickly though with eating.
            Theresa

            April 8 & 12, 2004 - Anterior/Posterior surgery 15 hours & 7 hours
            Thorasic - 79 degree down to 22
            Lumbar - 44 degree down to 18
            Fused T2 to sacrum
            June 2, 2005 - Pedicle subtraction osteotomy @L3 7 hours
            MAY 21, 2007 - Pedicle subtraction osteotomy @ L2, extended the fusion to S2 and added pelvic instrumentation 9 hours

            FUSED T2 - SACRUM 2

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            • #7
              Proud Parents
              My daughter couldn't give blood she was 78 pounds. My husband donated 2 pints she used one.
              Theresa
              THERESA

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              • #8
                Hi,
                Your daughter shouldn't have a problem with donating blood. I had a stature similar to your daughter's when I gave blood before my first surgery at age 12 in 1998. I had to take 3 ferrous gluconate tablets each day, and my doctor encouraged me to eat very very well for the six weeks that I took the iron pills, so that I would really "beef" myself up. I actually gained weight before both my spinal fusion surgeries...but I lost it all after surgery!

                Your daughter should drink orange juice (if she likes it) while taking the iron supplements. From what I know, the ascorbic acid & other nutrients in OJ tend to help with iron absorption. It helped me.

                Finally, bran muffins or cereals, as well as lots of salads is a must. Iron therapy tends to cause people to get a bit constipated, but it can be easily avoided. It is just another important reason to eat well while taking the iron supplements.

                When she finally goes to donate blood, make sure that she takes it easy for a few days afterwards. I used to feel kind of tired and a bit wiped-out for a day or two after having donated blood.

                I too had one of my parents donate for me, as well as my Godmother donate for me, since we all shared the same blood type. I think I had something like 4 pints of blood put aside for the surgery, but only needed two (I woke up in the recovery room with nice rosy cheeks because of that!). It's a very good thing to be able to go into surgery and have your own blood (and blood of your relatives) on stock. You just have to keep reminding yourself of that!

                Good luck and email me if you have any other questions!

                Take care,

                Cait
                "If it is possible, it can be done. If it is impossible, it must be done."

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                • #9
                  Hi!! That is almost exactly my situation!!! Before surgery, I was 5'2 and 91 pounds (I'm 15). What they did was not fill up the bag quite all the way. They were very nice and understanding, making sure they kept me warm and let me sit in the chair for a bit longer than most people afterwards. I didn't have any problem with fainting, which is what I worried about, since I'm so small, but I was weak for a few days, and rather weary.

                  THE BIG THING TO LOOK OUT FOR!!!!!!: They can only adjust the anti-coagulent in the bag for the not-long-keeping bag. So make sure you go give the first unit within 35 days of her surgery, or there will be a big fuss (I was at EXACTLY 35 days and they spent an hour on the phone trying to work it out).

                  I think she'll do fine if she eats really well the week before. And you may want to consider letting her stay home from school the day after the donation so she can sleep. I ended up sleeping for about 14 hours the night/day after. Good luck!
                  ~Carole~
                  Used to have an S curve of 55 and 55, but now I'm...
                  STRAIGHT-SPINED AND HAPPY!!!
                  Surgery July 11th went well, and I'm recovering now!
                  Feel free to email me--I'm a bracing and surgery veteran and I love to talk!

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                  • #10
                    Thanks so much everyone, for all the good advice.

                    Jane
                    Mark & Jane, Parents of Lisa
                    Daughter 15 years old
                    Posterior surgery was in October, 2005, with Dr. Paul Sponseller at Johns Hopkins. Fused T2-L2 w/4 rib thoracoplasty. Rib and local autograft. All pedicle screw and stainless construct.
                    Before: PT – 33, MT – 63, L – 32, kyphosis – 46.
                    After: PT – 7, MT – 4, L – 15, kyphosis – 32.

                    Comment

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