Donating Blood

What to do on a vacation ?

It's a valid question to ask, right ? Whenever I go somewhere new/different, I look at a list of things to do or see. I'm certainly no stranger to checking out restaurants (favorite and new cuisines).

So what's up with the title of this blog post ?

Desperate need for blood donors as we head into "trauma season"

The need for blood is almost always desperate and urgent. It doesn't have a very long shelf life and the supply is generally below the need value. It also cannot be made with a 3D printer and--to the best of my knowledge--it does not have a synthetic option.

There are different types of donations: platelets, plasma, whole blood, double red... Who'd have thought there would be so many different ways to collect and/or serve up human blood?

I have been doing this since I was 18. Sometimes I go to a hospital, sometimes the American Red Cross, and sometimes I go to Vitalant ( Locations ).

Not everyone is eligible. I do remember getting some angered blowback from the gay male community about the screening process. There is (or at least used to be a question) about whether or not the applicant has engaged in same-sex activity. I don't know if this question has been removed or if it is an automatic disqualifier.

Why was it asked? Why is it still there?

It was initially put on the questionnaire as a method to alert the bank that the potential donor might have a virus in the blood. Detection and screening were not as sophisticated in the early half of the 1980s as they are at present. And the virulence of viruses has also changed over time.

The bank does not want to lose out on potential donations. It is compelled by law to follow direction on what questions need to be asked before blood is drawn. If it does not follow the screening process, it can lose its accreditation or license to practice phlebotomy.

The short of it is, if you have it to give, GIVE!