The American Red Cross loves me! They call, alot, to set up appointments for me to come donate blood. I set the appointment up, but for the last year, I get to the point where they measure my hematocrit, and then I get the heave-ho. Apparently they have certain standards for their blood donations....like they want you all nice and healthy with lots of oxygen carrying capacity. I almost felt guilty one time because the happy lady who scheduled the appointment cheerily told me that I'd (well, my blood) had been approved for pediatric use. Then I of course got rejected for my crit....great, some kid that needs blood isn't gonna get it, but I got over it. Oh, and you don't have to be special or anything to be approved for ped use, just CMV negative.
So today, another appointment comes for the blood-letting. We got through the preliminary stuff, and the guy opened the centrifuge, read my hematocrit, and I steeled myself for yet another goodbye, try again. But then he told me my crit was 39%.....WHAT! Thirty-nine percent! No wonder I've been feeling so good! Hooray! I finally got to donate. I know, I'm weird, only I would get excited about having a 16 guage needle jabbed in to my arm and a pint of blood allowed to drain into a bag! So the vampires got their wish, and they got their blood from me, and I am happy because someone out there is gonna get something they desperately need, my blood.
Even better, look at what I got after I donated! BLING! I have now officially donated 1 gallon of blood. Not that I'm gonna go around wearing it....but I am kinda proud of it. :) I'll put it in my jewelry box next to my bone marrow donation pin. Just to look at. Maybe I'll collect them all! Here I come 2 gallon pin!
Friday, October 19, 2007
A visit to the Vampires
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4 comments:
wow way to go! i don't think they want my blood anymore since i have been radioactive. darn. but good for you! that is some fabulous bling! how many pints does it take to make a gallon? i am math tarded. and like easy answers.
Let's see...2 pints in a quart, 4 quarts in a gallon, so that's....8! (I'm math-tarded too, I had to ask my hubby if that answer was correct before I typed it!) I know I've donated more than 8 pints though. I started donating when I was 16, not to mention I've done 2 autologous units for when I donated bone marrow, but I got those back! I think though since the Red Cross is keeping better track, that now they know I hit 1 gallon!
I've never gotten a nice pin :(. Sniff sniff. I was a regular platelet donor for Red Cross before I had kids, too. And I've donated whole blood probably a couple dozen times. I'll have to ask them for one. That's cool that you've donated bone marrow! I'm on the registry but haven't ever been called.
I donate too...but I like the fancy one that United Blood Services does that allows you to donate two pints worth of red blood cells and get the rest of the blood parts back--sorry for being so descriptive but I can't remember the name. But I don't get pins either...darn. :)
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