-Caveat Lector- http://leviathan.weblogs.com From http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0101/15/A13804-2001Jan15.html If you've had chicken pox or shingles, give blood Source: SMH|Published: Monday January 15, 7:55 PM The Red Cross Blood Bank wants people who have just recovered from chickenpox or shingles to donate blood. In a departure from its normal practice of seeking only healthy donors, Australian Red Cross Blood Service spokeswoman Bet (Bet) Gaunt said such people carried valuable antibodies used to make the product Zoster Immunoglobulin to treat the potentially-deadly Zoster virus. Zoster Immunoglobulin is used to treat people with suppressed immune systems and children with leukaemia undergoing chemotherapy. "It's an opportunity to get donors in, simply because when we call for donors we are always saying, you must be well and not recently have been sick," Ms Gaunt told AAP. Children usually suffered from chickenpox but they were not permitted to donate blood, Ms Gaunt said. "But if adults get chickenpox or shingles, then these are the ones we are wanting," she said. "A lot of children with leukaemia who come in contact with kids who have chicken pox have got to be immunised straight away. "They can't cope with these kind of infections because their immune systems are already suppressed and if they got chicken pox or shingles, it could be life threatening to them." Ms Gaunt said the blood could be used up to a year after recovering from chicken pox or shingles but it was more effective as soon as lesions on the skin had healed or soon afterwards. Chairwoman of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service end-user liaison program, Dr Margaret Buring, said stocks of Zoster Immunoglobulin were low due to the latest epidemic of chickenpox. "During the summer and the school holidays, viruses get around a bit more often but these sort of epidemics tend to go in waves, depending on what the local immunity is as well," she said. Dr Buring said people with cancer and leukaemia were not the only ones at risk. "If babies get infected in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, they can actually get a congenital chicken pox infection which can be rather nasty," she said. People aged between 16 and 70 could donate blood in most states if they met the Red Cross donation safety guidelines. Tasmanians must be aged between 18 and 70 years to give blood. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
