Another Blood Drive

My heart (or at least its life-blood) had been promised to another. This past Friday, by mistake, I broke my promise, spilling out a precious pint to a competing organization.

I learned recently during that short memory-loss episode that my blood iron level was sufficient to once again donate. Michigan Blood had been calling and I promised that I would come in to make a donation soon. It has been busy and it is an easy thing to put off, especially since it seems to zap my energy for a day or two.

So when I learned that my church was having a blood drive I thought that that would be a convenient way to donate. What I didn't know is that I had signed up to give to the Red Cross. They use the blood in their disaster relief efforts--and there has been quite a bit of that lately, so I should have no regrets, I suppose. They had a little different system and it was fast--a pint was drained in about 5 minutes flat as I was gently squeezing a ball to facilitate the flow. They measured hemoglobin, not calculating hematocrit level. I was at 14.5. I didn't feel dizzy afterwards, but later had little energy. I went home to lay down for a bit and promptly fell sound asleep, in the middle of the afternoon. My arm bruised a little and is turning many colors, but otherwise it was pretty easy and I am glad to have been able to donate and once again reduce my iron level to a low normal. I previously referred to this as my plan for blood-letting. I hope that some day it will be common knowledge that this is "a good thing."

 But having started my donation history (one donation and two failed attempts because of low iron) with one blood organization, I felt a certain loyalty to Michigan Blood. Like a woman once bitten by a vampire is forever changed, I was now connected, in a way, to the first blood-taker (sucker?). I had a donor card. I learned shortly before the donation that I had indeed now promised my blood to another--it was a completely different organization, but it was too late to turn back!

Oh well--how bad can one feel, really, for having given a successful donation to the American Red Cross? I called Michigan Blood to tell them to stop calling me now--for at least a year.

I wonder how much of my natural or acquired immunity (I claim to even have had West Nile virus) was transferred in that donation? I think I should get at least a hundred bucks per donation for my pure blood, tainted only by that daily baby aspirin. That seems only fair. What do you think?