vampires!

Today, I donated blood at one of those "blood drives at the office" (Carter Blood Center was the sponsor). The donating part took about 10 minutes, but the whole process took 45. This is the first time I've donated blood in 20+ years, and things have changed a wee bit since 1980.

Lessons learned:

1. The mobile unit (translation: special-purpose van, the size of a Winnebago™) can accomodate about 10 donors at a time (2 in the arrival area where the 2-page health screening questionaire is completed; 2 in the private interview booths, 4 giving blood; 2 snacking on cookies and PowerAde™).

2. The questionaire had 2 sections: you fill out part 1 by yourself (mostly Yes|No stuff: questions are mostly about any medications you've taken). Part 2 is administered by a clinic worker (in that private interview booth), looking into your eyes to see if you're lying (those are the personal ones, mostly about your sexual habits since 1977). If you answer some of the questions in a particular way, it's an automatic rejection, and your blood won't go into the supply chain.

3. Surprise questions: had I been to any place where SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) has been present? Had I been to the UK for more than 3 months in the past few years?

4. At the end of the private interview, you have to choose between two identical-looking barcodes, one of which is affixed to the questionaire, and the other is tossed in the trash (while the clinic worker looks away). This is a way for you to privately tell the blood center "Okay, I've heard all the questions and I know my blood is unacceptable, but I don't want to tell the clinic worker. just throw it out and we won't tell anyone, okay?". In hindsight, I thought it odd that they ask you to do this immediately before (not after) they draw the blood. At this stage, you're pretty committed to that needle in the arm, even though you know you're blood's going into the trash.

5. While you're in that private booth, they test your blood for iron content (finger prick), take your temperature, and your blood pressure/pulse (systolic of 180+ and/or diastolic of 100+ are rejected). While mine wasn't great (130/78), it was well within the acceptable range. Ideal BP appears to be about 115/75, and ideal pulse in the 50-100 range.

6. body temperatures higher than 99.5F are rejected (mine was 97.4). If you're running a fever, go home.

7. when they ask which arm you want to use, tell them the opposite of your -handedness. my writing/typing arm's a bit sore at the moment. and don't even think of crossing your legs while you're giving blood.

8. i don't wait particularly well, so I HotSync™'d my Palm before donating (sitting there for 10 minutes while I fill a pint bag doesn't strike me as a good use of time). part of my HotSync involves AvantGo (a must-have Palm application) so I got to read the Wall Street Journal headlines, the Motley Fool, Yahoo! and a few other channels. Good multitasking.

9. the nurse who swabs your arm, finds a vein and injects the needle does this a few hundred times a week, and tends to give you verbal instructions fast. i had to ask her to repeat herself several times (not being a "regular" at this blood donation thing). stuff like "squeeze the ball every 3 to 5 seconds" became "squeeze the ball every 35 seconds". I suspect I heard about 85% of what she was saying. Fortunately, there was no quiz.

10. In hindsight, her rapid-fire instruction must be how first-time fliers feel when the flight attendants are giving pre-flight instructions. "Hey, could you repeat the part about how to put on the oxygen mask?". Not once did the nurse ask me to raise my tray table to its fully upright and locked position.

11. your blood type and cholesterol info will be available within 5 business days. you have to call a number for the result.

12. since they don't want you to pass out (from loss of blood), you're asked to hang around the front of the Mobile Unit, and feast on some "cookies and juice" for 5-10 minutes. When I gave blood 20+ years ago, they asked me (before donating) if I had breakfast. I said "sure, sure" when in reality I hadn't. Big mistake: after the blood had left my body, it was obvious that I was going to pass out (!) and I was swarmed upon by a gaggle of health care workers, with cold towels and lots of orange juice. This time, I learned my lesson and had a good breakfast before donating. Much better this time!

13. minor problem (once I returned home): dogs and cats like the smell of blood. hmm. keep the Band-Aid™s and gauze out of their reach. do NOT throw them in a non-covered trash can (they won't stay there).

off-topic spot: Calorie Counters' Fast Foods Nutritional Guides
(now if I can find a way to download that entire site to my PDA)