Donating Blood with Type 1 Diabetes in Canada

If you live in Canada, you’ve likely heard the Canadian Blood Services calls for donations on the radio. And if you live with Type 1 diabetes, you likely felt a pang of frustration in the pit of your stomach every time they aired. Over the years, people with Type 1 diabetes in Canada have slowly dismantled and destroyed many of the barriers that kept us from doing things. Slowly the list of things you ‘couldn’t do with Type 1 diabetes’ has shrunk.  Except for when it comes to donating blood with Type 1 diabetes. 

In 2012, pilots with Type 1 diabetes were finally allowed to fly privately. (Shoutout to Lindsay Carswell who was one of the first pilots with Type 1 diabetes that we met through the Type 1 community!) 

People with Type 1 diabetes are firefighters throughout Canada, something that many of us were told was not possible when we were younger. 

And SCUBA diving? Yep. You can do it. SCUBA diving was another one the things that many people grew up hearing you were not allowed to do with Type 1 diabetes. But just ask CIM’s Slipstream Coordinator Julie De Vos who has been SCUBA diving in incredible places around the world for years. It is possible. 

But donating blood. That was a hard no up until very, very recently. 

On March 15, 2021, thanks to the advocacy work of Diabetes Canada, that changed. Finally, Canadian Blood Services would allow people with Type 1 diabetes to donate blood. Prior to March 15, 2021, anyone who used insulin was excluded as a donor. 

Finding the exact reasoning for the exclusion of people with Type 1 diabetes from donating blood in Canada has been challenging, but it’s widely assumed that a blanket restriction was created in the 1980s for anyone who used insulin, due to the risk of transmitting Mad Cow Disease (or, well, the human variant of Mad Cow Disease called Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD)). Up until the early 1980s, bovine (beef) and porcine (pork) was widely used to treat Type 1 diabetes. In fact, Novo Nordisk didn’t discontinue the production of animal insulin until 1995, and Lilly not until 1999. Since then, the large majority (Lilly estimates 99.9%) of people with Type 1 diabetes have moved to synthetic insulins in Canada. 

Now, there’s also the fact that the act of policy change is difficult, laborsome, and requires an incredible amount of advocacy. Although it seems like a simple change to make (animal insulin is rare = very, very few of us have mad cow disease = let us donate blood?), things like this can take years. Here in Canada, men who have sex with men still face bans from donating. Canada has been slow to respond to blood donation policies worldwide that have moved to less stigmatizing non-gendered, behaviour-based screening. 

Since the Health Canada policy change on March 15, we’ve been seeing adults with Type 1 diabetes lining up to donate and we wanted to share with you our collective learnings.

• No questions related to A1C
• No questions related to length or duration of diabetes
• No diabetes-management specific questions

• If you download the app, within a few days after your first donation, the app will be populated with your blood type. Pretty cool if you didn’t know your blood type before donating!
• They track your Bleed Time in the app – nothing like a little self-competition. 
• They heavily promote eating salty snacks before and after arriving. Encouragement to eat chips? We’ll take it! 
• There is a chance you may be the first person with Type 1 diabetes to have ever donated blood at the location you visit. Bring lots of snacks to help ensure the donation team that you’re ready for a low BG. 
• In general, the blood donation process takes up to 15 minutes, although the screening can take another 20 or so. You’ll be asked to stay for 15 minutes following your donation to ensure you’re feeling fine (and to eat chips.)

• Schedule an appointment at blood.ca or by downloading the Canadian Blood Services App
• Be sure to review the criteria above. DO NOT forget to eat within 2 hours of arriving
• Bring snacks and water along in case you’re feeling low. Once you’re in the donation chair, you likely don’t want to have to get up.

Thank you to the amazing folks with Type 1 who booked appointments right away and shared their donation experiences! Here are a few tips we learned: 

• Watch your BGs following your donation. Some people noticed mild swings (perhaps due to the difference in blood volume?) in the 6-12 hours after donation
• Don’t forget your low snacks. You don’t want to leave the chair once you’re hooked up for donation! 
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Be sure to drinks lots of water following the appointment. You’ll likely be thirsty and not need the reminder, but it’s worth saying – hydration is key! 
• Don’t forget to bolus for the snacks they provide! Your first donation is an exciting experience (especially the part where they give you free snacks!) but don’t get too caught up and forget a dose! 

Thanks to Rebecca, Jennifer, Amy, Taylor and Alycia who shared their experiences (and photos!) with us! Have a pic or tip to share? Head on over to the CIM – Community Group on Facebook and join the convo.