JoshMclean
Beach Fanatic
I've got it market on my calendar. I'll see you there!
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JoshMclean
Beach Fanatic
Well, I donated blood today. It took me about an hour an a half, but I did it. I had to explain everywhere that I had travelled in Mexico. I lived there for 4 years, so it took a while. They then missed the vein in my right arm and hit a tendon. We switched to the left arm and got it right! Also had blood spilled on my jeans. I guess saving lives is worth the trouble.
Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
Just returned from the blood center and they are still open if you can hurry. Open til 6pm today. Josh, yes, it is worth the hassle. Thanks for making the effort. :clap_1:
howlin'enterpri
Beach Comber
Thank you for all the great information...I use to be a donor in Missouri and helped with the blood drives....haven't gotten back into the swing of donating since arriving in FL, but I need to. The screening process certainly hase changed!
Poodleone
Beach Fanatic
I am so pleased to see this thread! I am a medical technologist and have been blood banking in hospital laboratories since 1980. So much has changed in those years- unfortunately the number of people donating has NOT increased.
However, thank goodness for the folks who do (or have in the past). When people ask me if they have a "rare" blood type, I always tell them that the most rare blood is the one that isn't sitting on the shelf in the BB refrigerator when I need it!
Also, if you can't give blood, you can help those who do donate by covering their job at work for an hour while donating (at an on site drive) or even volunteering to help at a local drive.
All of the pre-donation questions and limits may seem a bit bewildering but it all has been studied and thought out to help protect the blood supply. Also, they really help protect the donor.
Many folks don't realize how strictly regulated blood is- the FDA is stringent in all areas of handling the product. Unlike television (such as "ER"), doctors do NOT do their own crossmatching and do NOT just run into the blood bank and snatch blood off the shelf in an emergency!
However, thank goodness for the folks who do (or have in the past). When people ask me if they have a "rare" blood type, I always tell them that the most rare blood is the one that isn't sitting on the shelf in the BB refrigerator when I need it!
Also, if you can't give blood, you can help those who do donate by covering their job at work for an hour while donating (at an on site drive) or even volunteering to help at a local drive.
All of the pre-donation questions and limits may seem a bit bewildering but it all has been studied and thought out to help protect the blood supply. Also, they really help protect the donor.
Many folks don't realize how strictly regulated blood is- the FDA is stringent in all areas of handling the product. Unlike television (such as "ER"), doctors do NOT do their own crossmatching and do NOT just run into the blood bank and snatch blood off the shelf in an emergency!