Well....saying I have to "stop by" to donate is a bit of a misstatement. I have two appointments to donate. The first donation appointment was 8 AM this morning. I haven't had to be anywhere at 8 AM in quite some time. Here in Boise I'd rather have a 7 AM or a 9 AM appointment (or beginning of my work day). Traffic is usually nuts approaching 8 AM.
I used to donate blood regularly. I had to stop somewhere around the 1 gallon mark because there was some concern that I may have Mad Cow Disease. Basically you have a permanent donation deferral if you lived in Europe during the late 80's to the late 90's. Since I stopped donating regularly I seemed to have become much more of a wuss. Small blood draws leave me light-heated and I loathe the feeling of that needle in my arm. It isn't the stick I dislike, it's the feeling of that metal in my arm.
The last two blood draws have been trouble-free. I've made sure to be well hydrated and had a good meal before I came in.
I roll in to the local donation center when they open. Drink in hand and a full belly. One of the first things I notice is that the ARC now has some sort of "loyalty card" program. Seriously? Donate whole blood, get X number of points....plasma gets you a lesser amount. You can trade in your points for various crap, or you can donate them to the troops. I have no clue what the "troops" need with red cross points or crap, but hey....if it gets you in to donate blood, I'm all for it.
Since I haven't been in to donate in the last decade I'm not in their system so we have to go through the normal "new customer" type setup. It isn't a big deal and I make plenty of small talk with the ......the....heck, what do you call these folks, a phlebotomist? I tell her I haven't donated since 1999 since the Red Cross is worried I have Interrupting Cow Disease. She doesn't bite. I was expecting her to say something in response so I could interrupt her with a loud "Mooo!" Yes, it is a cheap joke and I was going to go for it, but it fell flat.
The actual donation went by quicker than I expected and after a few errands I'm home to walk the dog and see the wife off to work. I'm surprised that I'm a bit more tired than I expected to be. Well...last time I was more than 10 years younger and in better physical shape.
Great...I go back in a week. The normal timespan between donations is eight weeks and it takes at least four to replace the red blood cells. I'll be upping my iron supplements until my donation.
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