What are your views on blood/plasma donation?

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Hitetlen

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Do you consider it a sin NOT to donate blood or plasma? Since these are both in great demand to help to save other people’s lives and there is never enough of them in the blood banks, it would stand to reason that Catholics should be urged to be there donatig at every possible opportunity.

Moreover, the donation of these substances is at most a minor inconvenience without any danger to the health of the donor, and they are both renewable bodily resources one would expect a preponderance of Catholic donors.

Nowhere have I seen an ongoing urge to perform this minor sacrifice for the ones in need. I wonder why? Is it not a sin to withhold help? Or are these resources considered part of our body - unlike the money we make (and charity is emphasised from the pulpit)?
 
I always thought that blood product donation (you left out platelets!) would make an excellent Friday act of penance.

Disclaimer: I never donate.
 
While I would hesitate to say it’s a sin not to donate blood (presuming, of course, that you are able), it certainly does strike me as odd that people would not do this when presented with the opportunity. Blood is always in short supply, and the requirements for donating are getting more and more stringent all the time.

I believe it is a very charitable thing to do, and would strongly encourage people to do it, and to question themselves seriously if they don’t.

My employer sponsors blood drives every eight weeks, and strongly encourages people to give.

If you are an employer, or are in a position to affect management decisions like this, please consider sponsoring a blood drive several times a year, even if it’s only twice.

This is a very practical and charitable way of showing solidarity with those who are in great need. There are no moral issues involved that would cause a Catholic to give pause.

It is completely safe, only mildly uncomfortable, takes only an hour, and does a great benefit to society.
 
Matt Collins:
While I would hesitate to say it’s a sin not to donate blood (presuming, of course, that you are able), it certainly does strike me as odd that people would not do this when presented with the opportunity.
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I agree with everything you say, but I am still wondering why don’t you consider it a sin? Should not the refusal to help be important enough to consider it a serious breach of morality?

Another question along the same lines: offering a kidney for someone whose life is in danger? A kidney transplant is also safe, and our body can surive with one kidney without any problems.
 
This sounds a bit extreme here. I would be wary of labeling something as a sin because I did not choose to help in a particular manner. If your attitude was selfish and uncharitable of course that would be a problem, but everyone should use judgement regarding the most appropriate ways to be of help to the community.

After all, I don’t think anyone here would accuse me of sin because I do not donate to EVERY worthy organization that asks, right?

Of course blood donation is commendable for those in good health who qualify.
 
Our atheist friend is simply trying to bait us. Next he’ll be asking why we don’t take off all our clothes and give them to the poor, or why don’t we invite all the homeless to live with us. It does not matter what answer you give him he won’t be satisfied!!
 
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Hitetlen:
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Nowhere have I seen an ongoing urge to perform this minor sacrifice for the ones in need. I wonder why? Is it not a sin to withhold help? Or are these resources considered part of our body - unlike the money we make (and charity is emphasised from the pulpit)?
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many parishes sponsor weekly or quarterly blood drives, and here there is an opportunity to donate at least monthly, which are highly publicized. Preaching from the pulpit should be based on the Sunday readings, and when appropriate should deal with our duty toward others, but not necessarily recommend specific acts or donations.
 
I would not agree that we can survive w/ one kidney “without any problems”. My husband donated his kidney to one of his brothers when he (the man now my husband) was 18. There are some very real health issues that my husband has today because he has only the one kidney. (And the kidney given to his brother no longer functions, so it isn’t even a life-long solution to a problem.)

While donating blood/plasma is definitely a good thing to do (barring problems that prevent one from doing so), I cannot say that it would be sinful not to do that particular act. Soup kitchens are very short on volunteers outside of holiday weeks (everyone wants to help out for Thanksgiving/Christmas, it seems–the volunteers are out the wazoo … whereas the week before or after, they’re struggling to get enough volunteers together to serve those who reply upon them). Is it then a sin not to donate your time every week to the soup kitchen? No.

While corporal acts of mercy are a good thing, there is no one act which is commanded upon pain of sin for failing to do that particular act. (I wouldn’t go so far as to say the same for the spiritual acts of mercy, but that’s not what we’re talking about w/ a physical act like blood donation).

I also would not be particularly happy w/ an employer who sponsored a blood drive at the work place if there were any recognition of who did and who didn’t. There are a lot of reasons why someone cannot donate, and forcing someone to justify failing to donate by revealing private medical information (such as having had hepatitis A as a 9yo child, having another blood disease, medications, etc.) is wrong.
 
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thistle:
Our atheist friend is simply trying to bait us. Next he’ll be asking why we don’t take off all our clothes and give them to the poor, or why don’t we invite all the homeless to live with us. It does not matter what answer you give him he won’t be satisfied!!
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Actually, you are mistaken. The questions you raised would also be a legitimate expansions of the original problem, but I am not interested in these. (But since you brought them up, yes, it is a hypocrisy not to do precisely those :))

The donation of money, clothing, food and time are fundamentally different from donating blood. There are two differences: one is that donating blood is directly connected to saving lives (the other ones are either indirectly connected, or simply make life easier for the recipients). The other difference is that donating blood is actually donating part of your body rather than something that you acquired and possess.

So the point is: should one unconditionally donate part of one’s own body to save someone else’s life? And refusing to do that should be considered a sin or not?
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melissa:
I would not agree that we can survive w/ one kidney “without any problems”.
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Well, sometimes there are problems, but those are the exceptions, not the rules. Generally one kidney is enough to lead a healthy life. Furthermore, why should we consider our own well-being as having primary importance when someone else’s life is in danger?
 
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Hitetlen:
Actually, you are mistaken. The questions you raised would also be a legitimate expansions of the original problem, but I am not interested in these. (But since you brought them up, yes, it is a hypocrisy not to do precisely those :))

The donation of money, clothing, food and time are fundamentally different from donating blood. There are two differences: one is that donating blood is directly connected to saving lives (the other ones are either indirectly connected, or simply make life easier for the recipients). The other difference is that donating blood is actually donating part of your body rather than something that you acquired and possess.

So the point is: should one unconditionally donate part of one’s own body to save someone else’s life? And refusing to do that should be considered a sin or not?

Well, sometimes there are problems, but those are the exceptions, not the rules. Generally one kidney is enough to lead a healthy life. Furthermore, why should we consider our own well-being as having primary importance when someone else’s life is in danger?
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Since you don’t believe in God what’s the point in asking if anything is a sin or not? There is no such thing as sin in your eyes so whether we consider something to be a sin or not can therefore be of no consequence to you other than to try to stir things up!!
 
As far as a living donor for a kidney, I cannot think of their being a situition where it is life or death matter for someone to get only a kidney. Not that I want to discourage someone who wants to be a living donor, but one can do daiylsis. If one is going to have trouble with daiylsis I’m sure they’d have trouble getting through the transplant. I will say there are many number of reasons, and good reasons at that, why a person would want a transplant than want to be on dailysis, but one can live just fine on dailysis.

I don’t know if not giving blood would really be a sin, atleast a mortal sin, unless one knew there was an emergency, knew one could give, and just refused, without even a good reason.
 
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thistle:
Since you don’t believe in God what’s the point in asking if anything is a sin or not? There is no such thing as sin in your eyes so whether we consider something to be a sin or not can therefore be of no consequence to you other than to try to stir things up!!
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How about understanding your position? And maybe pointing out an inconsistency in it? Not that you, or anyone else is compelled to answer my questions… if you don’t like them, just don’t bother answering them. Besides, I was careful in formulating my question, I did not ask if “it is a sin”, rather “whether you would consider it a sin”?
 
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Hitetlen:
How about understanding your position? And maybe pointing out an inconsistency in it? Not that you, or anyone else is compelled to answer my questions… if you don’t like them, just don’t bother answering them. Besides, I was careful in formulating my question, I did not ask if “it is a sin”, rather “whether you would consider it a sin”?
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I would not consider it a sin.
I have donated before, and it always makes me ill. I prefer to simply cut a check to the Red Cross.

If on the other hand I was faced with a grave situation where my brother needed my kidney or they would die, I would feel morally obligated to assist. That is heroic virtue. Some people are called to that.
But we can’t save everyone by giving away all we have. We use common sense in our charity.
 
Each case is different. Only God knows the full mind, heart and soul of each person. It is possible that withholding blood is a mortal sin. If it is a sin, it’s more likely a venial sin.
What is venial sin?

As stated before, venial sin is a sin of lesser matter than grave sin. It can also be a sin of grave matter in which the sinner did not fully consent to the sin or did not have knowledge that his actions where sinful. Venial sins will not destroy grace in the soul, and will not directly cause a person who dies in the state of venial sin to lose the promise of heaven. Yet, venial sin weakens a person’s will to avoid evil and thus may indirectly lead to mortal sin. Regardless, all sin is an offense against God and should be avoided.
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How could it be a Mortal Sin? In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet three conditions:
  • Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter
(Did someone die because you withheld blood that you were eligible to donate?)
  • Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner
(Did you know that that person was going to die because you withheld blood.)
  • Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner
(Do you have any phobia about donating blood or extreme concerns about the side affects?)
 
I used to donate occasionally, but I kept getting way too lightheaded.

Donating blood does have some health risks, and over time, it ruins your veins.
 
They won’t take my blood. I (and my wife) have spent too much time in Britain. Something about mad cow disease.

(Now where did I put my cud?)

MOO!!!

😛 😃

DaveBj
 
Maranatha said:
(Did someone die because you withheld blood that you were eligible to donate?)

(Did you know that that person was going to die because you withheld blood.)

(Do you have any phobia about donating blood or extreme concerns about the side affects?)
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Sorry, but I don’t see how these are relevant. You know that blood is always in short supply, you know that someone will die because there is no blood available. You don’t have to know them personally to make decisions. If you know about adverse side effects, that is a legitimate concern - in my eyes of course.
 
The result of these posts:

Refusing to share one’s bodily resources even if it would save someone’s life is not necessarily a sin (much less a mortal sin). I certainly agree with this assessment, and not just because I don’t accept the idea of sin.

Now let’s consider the case of a woman, who has a freshly fertilized zygote in her body. She refuses to donate her bodily resources to the zygote, and wishes to take a “morning after” pill to prevent the zygote from embedding into the uterus wall. She is not pregnant in any sense of the word, and wishes to stay that way.

May I presume, that you would NOT consider her action sinful either? After all she does nothing special, simply refuses to donate her body to to sustain an alien life. There is absolutely NO difference between the two actions, refusing to donate blood or refusing to donate “board and lodging” for the zygote. In a very good sense the refusal to donate blood is more serious, since it affects an actual human, which is very different from a single, undifferentiated cell.

Now let the rationalizing begin! 🙂
 
I don’t like being bothered. I gave blood one time and beacuse I am 0- those people drove me crazy asking me to donate agasins and again and I was so mad at all the invasons of my privacy that I don’t ever want to donate again. The one time I did donate was just to get out of math class in high school. I also realy dislike the process. The needle is big and you have to lie down still a relaly long time and for me it is an uncomfortble process I don’t want to do again. There is no way that me not giving is a sin. Now the exception would be if I was stranded somewhere with a group of people and there were no hospitals around and someone needed blood to live. In this rare scenario I would donate my blood to save someone but it still would not be sinful not to. Giving blood is a sacrifice not an obligation.
 
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Hitetlen:
The result of these posts:

Refusing to share one’s bodily resources even if it would save someone’s life is not necessarily a sin (much less a mortal sin). I certainly agree with this assessment, and not just because I don’t accept the idea of sin.

Now let’s consider the case of a woman, who has a freshly fertilized zygote in her body. She refuses to donate her bodily resources to the zygote, and wishes to take a “morning after” pill to prevent the zygote from embedding into the uterus wall. She is not pregnant in any sense of the word, and wishes to stay that way.

May I presume, that you would NOT consider her action sinful either? After all she does nothing special, simply refuses to donate her body to to sustain an alien life. There is absolutely NO difference between the two actions, refusing to donate blood or refusing to donate “board and lodging” for the zygote. In a very good sense the refusal to donate blood is more serious, since it affects an actual human, which is very different from a single, undifferentiated cell.

Now let the rationalizing begin! 🙂
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Wow thats kind of a stretch. There are some important distinctions here. If the mother takes the pill this unique life will most likely die. If a person does not donate another person may or may not die. There is a difference between being in short supply and having no supply. The way the Red Cross seems to work, if there is a critical short supply, they’ll get the word out. If you know there is a supply problem and they request you give blood and you refuse, even though you can and could, I would say that could very well be just as sinful as a mother refusing to give this life “room and board.” Also in the case of the mother, natually she is the only one that can give this life his needed supplies to live, in the case of the patient, his needed supplies can come from a lot of places, though spacifically his transfussion will come from anyone with his same blood type.
 
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