#lifeblood — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #lifeblood, aggregated by home.social.
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Lifeblood's blood donation eligibility expands for gay and bisexual men, transgender people
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-20/lifeblood-gender-neutral-assessment-for-blood-donation/106578630Ever since the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, and the rampant homophobia and mismanagement in medical professions that helped HIV/AIDS turn into a crisis, the Australian Red Cross has had an overtly anti-LGBT policy regarding who can donate blood or platelets.
The Australian Red Cross insisted on maintaining that policy of exclusion even when called-out for it in recent years. They weren't hiding it; the Blood Bank put it in everyone's face with certain questions in their questionnaire that you fill-in before you donate your blood. I've filled-in those forms and found those questions distasteful. Everyone could see those questions had no basis in medical science, risk management, testing, record-keeping, or their duty of care for patients.
It's shocking to think the hate-based policies of the Australian Red Cross impeded their ability for the last 40 years to collect blood donations from the community to such an extent that it sometimes led to shortages of donor blood in hospitals. This reduced availability and slower emergency access would have cost some patients their life.
I think today's news signals a decades-overdue change of attitude from the Australian Red Cross toward gay and bisexual men and transgender people.
[Edit: nope, it doesn't. The "improved" version of the questionnaire includes a question that's so irrelevant to cis people that it will fly under the radar for most, but it appears designed to hurt and push away trans people.]
I'm yet to see the details, so currently I'm taking it at face-value and with cautious optimism. All-up, I hope that means better care for everyone.
[Edit: now I've seen some of the details, thanks to comments below. This "update" by Australian Red Cross is not about inclusion. It's about enshrining their exclusion of trans people. And the Australian Red Cross are giving themself a pat on the back for it. It's revolting.]
#Lifeblood #BloodBank #HIVAIDS #RedCross #AustralianRedCross #LGBT #LGBTQIA
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Plasma donation underway. This will be the last for a while as my work gets busy until after Easter.
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Just starting my next plasma donation. I think this is number 30. I will not be able to donate so regularly for a while after this, but I've managed a few this summer 🙂
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This just came from the Australian donation #Lifebloodau . I know it's meant to be encouraging, but .🤣🤣.
Anyway, I regularly donate in spite of being called Sunny etc
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Another plasma donation underway. I'm trying to pack as many in during the school holidays while I have more time.
Good news is that apparently Australia has over 600,000 donaters for the first time ever!
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Plasma donation underway. The centre in Launceston is pretty quiet compared to the last time I gave blood just after the Bondi shooting. I'm hoping this is a holiday lull.
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I am currently giving my regular plasma donation. I know a lot of Australians stepped up the past couple days to donate, and I hope some will become regular donators.
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Another plasma donation underway. I have a friend having an operation today which puts this into even more perspective.
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Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood - 2004
#Music #AlbumSuggestions #NowPlaying #NowListening
#ManicStreetPreachers #Lifeblood -
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – Lifeblood Review
By Twelve
Raphael Weinroth-Browne of Kamancello and Musk Ox, among other groups, is, in my mind, the most interesting cellist in metal. This is in large part due to the fact that he actually plays a lot of non-metal. Musk Ox is a fantastic chamber folk project with nary a distortion to be heard. His debut solo release, Worlds Within, covers a lot of ground, but is largely a work of classical music. And yet, you can just hear in the way he plays that Weinroth-Browne is a metal musician. The influence and emotion is just there, whatever he’s doing and however he’s doing it. The follow-up to Worlds Within, Lifeblood, offers a similar premise: one man with a cello and a pocket full of dreams. The question is clear: are there worlds within Lifeblood, or will it end up feeling lifeless?
Certainly not the latter; Lifeblood is a very lively album, upbeat and intricate with many layers to explore. Compared with Worlds Within, it feels like Weinroth-Browne has placed a greater emphasis on “roles.” As it progresses, you almost get the sense that there is a “lead/vocalist” Raphael Weinroth-Browne on cello, a rhythm Weinroth-Browne on cello, a bass Weinroth-Browne on cello, and a percussion Weinroth-Browne on cello. The four Weinroths-Browne build upon each other’s work, taking simple ideas and layering them upon each other until the whole transcends its basic components. The titanic “Ophidian” does this extremely well. For nearly nine minutes, it tells largely the same story—but beneath the surface, the bass Weinroth-Browne is building to an anxious crescendo, the rhythm Weinroth-Browne is weaving a tapestry, and the lead Weinroth-Browne is practically singing through his cello, with all the passion and inflection you’d expect from an actual singer. Of course, there is no singer—Lifeblood is purely instrumental—but it does not need one.
Last year, I had the unexpected pleasure to see Musk Ox live in concert, where they performed Inheritance—my 2021 album of the year!—in full. At the time, I was struck by just how much better Weinroth-Browne’s cello sounds live. It’s a rich, expansive, expressive instrument and, despite how amazing Worlds Within sounds, I’ve felt it missed some of that low-end power that gives the cello its majesty. Lifeblood seems to address this thought. It has a richer sound than its predecessor and a mighty low end. Weinroth-Browne’s influence from metal rears its head on songs like “Lifeblood” and “Possession,” where he treats his (“bass”) cello like a guitar, utilizing what are essentially power chords to give the songs weight. On “Nethereal” and “Labyrinthine,” he goes a little lighter, but the influence is still there; the former is a slow build to an electric payoff, while the latter leans lighter and more excitable; “Labyrinthine’s” layers build with fun, lively backdrops that give the song a journeying feel. It’s not “cello metal” like Apocalyptica; Rather, Weinroth-Browne’s fusion of classical and metal themes is expert enough to feel like it isn’t overtly one or the other.
Like most classically-inspired instrumental albums, Lifeblood is best experienced as a whole and can be thought of as a journey. This is its greatest strength, and I imagine for some will be its primary drawback. Indeed, I find it difficult to just sit down and play “Labyrinthine;” on its own, it’s a good song, but may feel a bit long or a bit much. But start with the opener “Lifeblood,” and it draws you in. It begins in a similar vein to Worlds Within, but quickly establishes its own identity. It does a great job of luring the listener into Lifeblood, and flows naturally into “Possession,” and from there into “Ophidian,” and so on. With that said, I do think Lifeblood is a touch long—and front-loaded. After the gorgeous “Pyre,” Lifeblood’s best songs—to my ears, at least—are behind it, which makes the near-hour-long runtime feel like a bit much. It’s never bad in any sense, but with so many paths to traverse, it does feel a little lost by the end.
But only a little—I can’t stress enough that Lifeblood is a fantastic musical journey that establishes Weinroth-Browne as a supremely talented composer, cellist, and musician. It is a rare album, one that rewards multiple listens, evokes myriad emotions, and creates a lasting impression. It really is remarkable. Who needs a band when you have an army of Raphael Weinroth-Browne?
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-release
Websites: raphaelweinroth-browne.bandcamp.com | raphaelweinrothbrowne.com | facebook.com/raphcello
Releases Worldwide: October 3rd, 2025#2025 #35 #Apocalyptica #CanadianMetal #Classical #Kamancello #Lifeblood #MuskOx #Oct25 #RaphaelWeinrothBrowne #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease
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I'm halfway through donation number 25, which gets me a photo on the centre wall. I'd like to have given more but I wasn't allowed to donate in Australia until 2022.
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Another plasma donation in progress. I probably won't be able to donate again until October, but every bit helps
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Class War and the Moral Bankruptcy of the West: A Call to Arms
The ruling class knows what it is doing. They understand the iron law of class struggle, even as they labor tirelessly to obscure it from the masses…
#Billionaires #Corporatocracy #ClassWar #USA #Empire #Bourgeois #Domination #Proletariat #Lifeblood #MoralDecay #Society #PunchDown #Lies #History #DirectAction #Politics #CommonStruggle #DualPower #Workplaces #Communities #Neighborhoods #Solidarity
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Another plasma donation done. This was very smooth and quite quick, my blood must be flowing well.
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If you've ever considered donating blood then now is the time to start doing it.
My partner and I have made a date out of it. We ride down to the Brunswick blood donor centre and have them suck out 800ml of plasma, make a chocolate milk and a party pie and then go to the pub for a dinner.
"An extra 9,500 donations of O positive and O negative blood donors are needed in the next seven days to ensure Lifeblood can continue to meet the needs of patients across the country."
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Giving another plasma donation. I've given enough to get a gift, a nice blood red blanket that a cat will enjoy.
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Currently, I'm donating plasma. Not my favourite thing to do, but what I consider my duty, so a bit of discomfort is fine.
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Due to lack of iron I've been unable to give blood for 6 months. I've been given the green light and am currently giving plasma. 🙂
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Back at #LifeBlood Civic.
Did you know the machine processes two and a half litres of precious bodily fluid in order to gather 879mL of plasma? It's #bloody amazing! @lifebloodau -
Currently donating plasma, doing my little bit for others.
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Another blood donation done.
I've also had an old person's health check today and need to have a fasting blood test for all kinds of shit that I'm more likely to get now I'm approaching 60.
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If you give enough blood and/or plasma, they give you a block of chocolate!!!!!
And a certificate. And a pin.
Worth it.
#donateBlood #lifeBlood #lifeBloodAu #donate #plasma #50 -
Plasma donation time.
A bit delayed today because of so many new donators.
#donateBlood #lifeBlood #lifeBloodAu #plasma #donate #donation #blood #criticalShortagw -
Waiting to give blood again. My sense of duty battles against my dislike of the process.
Looking through my phone photos to take my mind off of things I found this endemic Tasmanian plant that I saw at Cradle Mountain a couple weeks ago. It is Mountain Rocket, covered in seed pods of deep blood red....😵
#tasmania #lutruwita #flowers #EndemicFlora #bloomscrolling #donate #lifeblood
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Recipe for feeling unglummier:
1. drink lots
2. walk, drinking, to a #lifeblood centre (#wee, you'll need to, see 1.)
3. speak to the #nice person on the desk, say "I don't know what this is all about, but some rando on the internet said it'd cheer me up to #donate #blood or #plasma What do I do?"
4. drink more
5. answer a questionnaire
6. speak to another nice person, who will jab you and talk about "haemoglobin level' (I don't know, google it).
7. drink / wee
8. follow person to a chair beside a machine, you can smile grimly at the other people already connected to machines. They will smile back at you.
9. more chitchat, roll up the appropriate sleeve.
[ Do not look at your arm for the next ten minutes. What happens next hurts a teeny tiny bit. But much less than the end of a relationship, or banging your pinkie toe, or finding out about a papercut by squeezing a lemon carelessly. True. ]
10. be #bored. wiggle your fingers when the machine tells you to.
11. Machine goes #boodle-doodelly-doo, person returns.
[ Return to not-looking state. ]
12. get up
13. Eat pies, and chocolate, drink coffee and flavoured milk. You cannot think about diets after donating. Its A Rule.
14. Walk home #grinning stupidly about what lovely people there are in the world and how easy it is to be one of them rather than to be supporting some Fascist #OrangeShitGibbon.
15. still grinning
16. put post on ridiculously under populated social media site.
17. still grinning.
18. Stream 1970's #Disco Box Set. -
CW: Medical donation
It's plasma time! This such an amazing process.
#Plasma #PlasmaDonation #LifeBlood