Blood

Today (06/06) I started working on my 14th gallon blood donation for the American Red Cross. The blood drive was at a nearby CofC (the same place where I go to vote). It was a little busy there because they also were running a community food pantry as well as a car wash.

I started giving blood in 1970. My aunt was being operated for a very serious heart operation, and her hospital called many of her relatives to donate blood so that her hospital doctors' bills would be somewhat less.

About two years later, the company where I was working at the time sponsored a Red Cross drive on its manufacturing site. I figured, well, why not. There was already a big line, but since the company allotted its employees time to participate, I was [I thought] "good to go."

I donated by first pint that day, but when I returned to work, my boss said he needed to see me privately. RESULT: "Son, we're gonna have to lay you off." :thumbs:

Actually my layoff had nothing to do with my blood donation. It had more to do with them having to deal with the effects of a UAW strike that lasted 6 months--during which our work was merely farmed out to brother unions such as those of the unionized electrical workers.

Anyhow, God was leading me to leave PA to go to TN to attend a Bible college there, so He "worked things out for me" :godisgood: in that case.

As I got established in TN [Not too far from Ft. Campbell KY, Salty!], I began donating there as often as I could.

Then I moved to Music City TN in the early 1990's to work for what used to was BellSouth (now it's AT&T), and the center in which I worked had Red Cross blood drives right on site.

That's a fairly concise summary of my dealings with the Red Cross.

Have any of you BB folks given blood?

Do you have any interesting experiences doing so?

(I sorta look at it this way.....Jesus gave His blood for me, so if/when, I can why not take an hour or so to give a pint of my blood for someone.)

 

If you'd cut down on your 50+ donuts per day at your job, maybe your veins wouldn't be as clogged up and they could find them when they need to jab you.

Also, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane helps your blood that's all gelled up in your size 17AAA feet.

 

GinaB--- I believe that the blood "samples" the ARC takes after your actual donation are for some kind of testing and/or research.

Although you're no longer able to donate, you at least can be glad that the ARC is concerned enough to have such high standards as they do.

Not every kind of blood donation organizations do.

 

I just finished calling the ARC to find out exactly what is/are the purpose(s) of those additional blood samples.

After a 12-minute conversation with ARC, I was told that they use them to detect the possibility of the presence of various forms of hepatitis, HIV, and other such blood-born diseases. They do this not only to preclude giving these diseases to anyone who would need ARC blood, but also to notify you (the donor) that they've detected the presence of one/more of these diseases in your blood.

If I had one/more of these blood-borne diseases, I'd sure like to know about it, wouldn't you?

 

Yes, Gina, they did.

The actual donation that a person gives each time they donate can only be one pint, and one pint only.

Regardless of one's physical conditions, donating more than one pint at a time puts your body at risk for medical/physical problems.

The ARC has determined that this policy reduces the possibility of them subsequently being held liable in court for problems that donor may encounter.

IOW, this is why the ARC has elected to "err on the side of caution." :applause: