Jan 31 2008
Blood, It’s In You To Give…. Or Not
They had a blood donor clinic at work today. I tried to give, but they rejected me. I snuck out the back door, head hung low, trying to ignore the whispering from the crowd in the room. “What’s he leaving for? What’s wrong with his blood? He must be an addict or something. I heard he used to be a (very successful) male prostitute”
No, I’m not gay; and no, I don’t have a boyfriend who is. I haven’t been in jail for more than 48 hours in the last six months, I haven’t shared needles, I haven’t traded money or sex for drugs, I don’t have AIDS, syphilis or gonorrhea, and I haven’t handled monkeys or handled their body fluids at any time in my past. (They actually ask all of these questions, including the monkey one.)
But…
I have had an operation in the last six months, I did get a vaccination recently (flu shot), and I did travel outside the US and Canada in the last three years, twice.
Apparently, my trip to India was the show-stopper. Sorry, my Indian friends, but because I spent 10 days gracing your piece of the earth-pie with my presence, my blood must be filtered through my liver and kidneys or whatever for a total of 12 months before it is fit to flow through someone else’s body. I guess Malaria can sometimes take a while to show its ugly head and there is no test available for it in Canada.
So… if you’re looking for A+ blood anytime between now and the end of October 2008, I can’t help you. If you are wondering where to find a good burger in Chennai, India…. well, actually, I can’t help you there either.
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February 1st, 2008 at 7:03 am
It is great to give blood I have done it 33 times…but the 10 or so times that I was turned down are very embarrassing.
you come out of that little room and have to leave the heads all turn and wonder why…I know that I never traded money or sex for drugs but those people sat there don’t…
And to make matters worst you already have the finger pricked before they find out you can’t give it and in my opinion that is the worst part of giving…
February 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
Yeah… but have you ever handled monkey fluids? Tony IS kind of hairy, I’ve always had my suspicions.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:57 am
You’re both doing it all wrong. If you get rejected, you need to walk out with your head held high and a smile on your face! Those people can think whatever they want, but they’re more likely to think that whatever happened is exactly to plan.
I’ve only been rejected once or twice due to low iron. The smile came from thinking about the massive steak I was going to cook up in order to boost my iron levels!
February 1st, 2008 at 9:15 am
No way! See that just goes to show how rumours change in the telling and retelling. “I heard he used to be a (very successful) male prostitute” started out as “I heard he used to be a (cheap-trick) male prostitute”!
Man it is amazing how these things get out of control!
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 am
Yes Steve I did handles monkeys …We used to have two as pets
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:12 am
I’ve always donated blood several times a year but earlier last year they warned me once that my iron level seemd a little low. Then when I went in to donate back in December, they denied me because my iron level was alarmingly low. Turns out I’ve become anemic and didn’t even know! Moral of the story: donating blood isn’t just a kind deed that you can do for others - it can also help catch other issues. And I’ve read that donating blood also helps (slightly) to lower your cholestrol.
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Yeah, Eob O. There’s lots of things that they check when you give blood. In fact, if they find something remotely serious, they send your family doctor the results.
A little peace of mind.