eww blood
So I got asked to donate blood about a week ago when I went to the rental office for my apartment complex. Sure I thought, I've done it once before (though about a 15 years ago) and it was no big deal. So I signed up for an appointment at 6:30 pm to give me time to get back from work.
I went to the rental office about 6:20 pm. They had me read a 7 or 8 page warnings and who could and could not give blood. I call bullshit on the Red Cross with their not allowing gay men who have had sex past 1977 to donate blood. what the hell? not all gay men have AIDS. Heck, should we have all straight people who currently have sex not be able to donate blood and only allow lesbains donate blood since they've got the lowest risk factor of getting AIDS? Screw the Red Cross and that homophobic out of date policy.
Anyways, back to me.
After reading their 8 page document, one of the volunteers asked me some questions and asked for an ID. Then I filled out a yes / no questionnaire for different health things. I answered yes to two questions: if I felt healthy and if I had spent more then 6 months in a foreign country since 1980.
So after explaining that I had been deployed to Panama and Haiti, the volunteer took a pinprick of blood from my finger for a quick test she did right there. Then some more questions and I was handed my yellow folder and told to go to the back room.
So I went to the back room and the volunteer there told me to have a seat while I waited for a table to open. A table opened up and another volunteer checked my arms to find a good vein. Lay down, wipe off the arm with Iodine, breath out, breath in and in went the needle. I felt only a slight prick and it glided gently in. That was one of the best, if not the best, blood draw I've ever gotten.
After some slight light head feelings, I sat down and waited my 15 minutes while drinking some water and reading my comic book. All in all it took 1 hour to do, between the reading, filling out the paperwork, answering all the questions, pumping out the actual blood and the 15 minute wait.
Hopefully someone out there will get use out of my O positive blood.
I went to the rental office about 6:20 pm. They had me read a 7 or 8 page warnings and who could and could not give blood. I call bullshit on the Red Cross with their not allowing gay men who have had sex past 1977 to donate blood. what the hell? not all gay men have AIDS. Heck, should we have all straight people who currently have sex not be able to donate blood and only allow lesbains donate blood since they've got the lowest risk factor of getting AIDS? Screw the Red Cross and that homophobic out of date policy.
Anyways, back to me.
After reading their 8 page document, one of the volunteers asked me some questions and asked for an ID. Then I filled out a yes / no questionnaire for different health things. I answered yes to two questions: if I felt healthy and if I had spent more then 6 months in a foreign country since 1980.
So after explaining that I had been deployed to Panama and Haiti, the volunteer took a pinprick of blood from my finger for a quick test she did right there. Then some more questions and I was handed my yellow folder and told to go to the back room.
So I went to the back room and the volunteer there told me to have a seat while I waited for a table to open. A table opened up and another volunteer checked my arms to find a good vein. Lay down, wipe off the arm with Iodine, breath out, breath in and in went the needle. I felt only a slight prick and it glided gently in. That was one of the best, if not the best, blood draw I've ever gotten.
After some slight light head feelings, I sat down and waited my 15 minutes while drinking some water and reading my comic book. All in all it took 1 hour to do, between the reading, filling out the paperwork, answering all the questions, pumping out the actual blood and the 15 minute wait.
Hopefully someone out there will get use out of my O positive blood.
posted by Margaret @ 8:57 PM
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