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October 15, 2003
Blood Work
My deferral time has expired, so I was finally able to give blood today. I had been rejected twice before due to the week I had spent in South Korea. The Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas is apparently rampant with malaria, so the FDA decreed that I had to wait until after August before I was eligible to give in the US.
The most difficult thing about giving blood today was the paperwork. First of all, the computer program they use only allows for a ten-character first name. The name "Christopher" (my name) has eleven letters (I also had this problem with my first MasterCard, so they truncated it to Christophe). During the meeting with the nurse, I was asked if I had been outside the US or Canada within the last three years. I told him about my year in Japan and my stay in South Korea. The nurse made a note about how I had gone to Kora to visit the DMV. I wanted to tell him sarcastically that I don't think I could have gotten my driver's license renewed in Panmunjeom, but decided to be nicer to the man who would soon be sticking me with a big needle.
It turns out he wasn't the one doing the sticking, but the man who performed that honourable task ended up missing my vein and leaving my inner-elbow bruised and sore. It's such a small amount of pain for such a worthy cause, that I really didn't mind. Besides, it got me out of work for an hour.
Comments
I don't know why the yanks would want your Canadian blood, I mean, that stuff is practically beer. And the rest is either ice or transfused polar bear blood.
Posted by: Rew at October 17, 2003 12:22 PM
Oh Christophel, when will you learn?
Posted by: mark at October 20, 2003 5:22 AM
I'm not sure what's worse, missing the vein or, what Canadian Blood Services did to me, stab right through the vein at a 45degree angle. I guess she didn't take note which way the vein ran before doing the stabbing. She couldn't figure out why the blood wasn't flowing into the tube...until I pointed out my swelling inner elbow, now engorged with precious blood. I politely pointed out to that the vein runs 'this' way up my arm.
It's not the slight pain or the massive bruise I'd have for the next week that urked me....it was the fact that I came to give blood and do my civic duty but what I lost was 1.5 hours and was now the proud owner of two bruised arms...oh yeah, I forgot to mention I was stupid enough to let them "try" the other arm (different nurse).
Posted by: Brian at October 20, 2003 10:00 AM