Just curious if there are any blood donors out there that have had the band? I am one week post op and have been called by the red cross two times since surgery. I am a dedicated blood donor and feel that it is a very important cause but I'm worried that due to my diet restrictions donation may take me a while to recover from. Appriciate the input

I don't donate anymore, but I would totally suggest you ask your surgeon about this. My guess is donating is ok if you have a balanced diet, take a dialy multi vitamin, but you'll want to wait so many weeks post op to donate since your body is recovering and you need to restore blood lost form surgery.

I would talk to your doctor bout how long after surgery you should wait. In general though thin people give blood. My goal is to eat like a thin person. So If I've eating the same amount as a thin person I should be able to give blood like a thin person.

I donated blood six weeks after surgery. I had looked it up on the web and it said as long as your back to normal activity you can donate. I did tell them when I went too just to verify it was ok

I've donated both blood and platlets since being banded. I was fine. My only issue was low iron, but I had that before being banded, so nothing new. I was worried about thta as well.

I have had my band for 18 months. I have donated 2x, but last month my iron was too low. It doesn't bother me, just make sure that you remember to take their offer of liquids and snack. I took "Gatorade" when offered a drink. I thought that the high sugar, etc would help me rebuild my strength after giving. I am not sure that I would give right away, you should check with your surgeon. Karen