Yesterday I came under the temporary care, for ten or fifteen minutes, of a phlebotomist. A phlebotomist, as everyone knows, is someone who practices phlebotomy. Her name is Sarah and she works in a too-cold mobile blood donation unit operated by Bonfils Blood Center. For some reason, giving blood has always been important to me. It costs nothing and it saves lives. As I was allowing some 5 billion red blood cells to drain from my body, I recalled the first time I gave blood.
I turned 18 shortly after beginning my studies at a university in South Africa. The local blood collection service would organize periodic blood drives at our university and I was among many who flocked to the auditorium to participate, and, of course, to make fun of the ones who regularly fainted. Back then, donating blood was easy. The questions were simple: What blood type are you? Do you have any infectious or non-infectious diseases (malaria, yellow fever, typhoid, etc.)? Are you taking any medications? Your finger was pricked and a drop of blood placed into a vial to check for anemia. The needles were more blunt, and the procedures far less delicate than those we experience these days. Our reward was a hot cup of tea and a plentiful supply of "biscuits," or cookies as we know them here.
Some of my fellow students would do stupid macho stuff; like donate blood on their way to rugby practice. Afterwards they complained about having a "hollow-leg" sensation and a shortness of breath. No telling why. Sometimes the biggest and toughest fellows would be the first to faint at the sight of their own blood.
As a 'universal donor' with type O-Positive, my blood was always in demand, so I rarely missed an opportunity to give. Over the years I probably gave around 100 pints (or liters) before returning to the USA and joining the Belle Bonfils role of donors. Then, in the early to mid 80's, things became more complicated, with the rising threat of AIDS and the need to test blood more thoroughly. Many more donors were traveling and living for extended periods overseas and more and more restrictions began to be placed on potential donors. Donors were asked to list medications they were taking as some could cause birth defects in donor recipients. The net result of this is that the donor pool took a big hit.
The actual time required to donate a pint of blood became much shorter than the time needed to complete the questionnaire. You have to come clean about any risky sexual contacts or practices, drug use, travel to areas of malaria occurrence, (e.g. Belize, parts of Mexico, or sub-Saharan Africa), and whether you have lived in a country in which Mad Cow disease has occurred. You also must confess to having had West-Nile Virus or one of the varieties of Hepatitis. By the end of the questionnaire I feel a sense of euphoria that I am actually alive.
Blood comes in four main types - O, A, B and AB. The blood types of different populations have been used extensively by anthropologists to track the movements of ancient peoples. The best place, for example to find group O is in the north of England, a throw back to before the 8th century when everyone was that group, and before the Vikings invaded and messed up the gene pool. The south of England has a preponderance of group A as a result of numerous European invasions. Asian and Chinese communities are mostly group B. It was discovered that Gypsies have a similar blood distribution to natives of Northwest India confirming linguists belief that the two populations were related. Norwegian people are almost all group A types.
The first successful blood transfusion was done in 1665, using animals. When transfusions of animal blood were tried on humans, physicians couldn't figure out why the humans died. It was only in 1900 that a Viennese doctor identified the four different blood groups in humans. After receiving the Nobel Prize for his discovery, he died of a blood clot.
We know that donated blood saves lives. It is used in many ways. If my pint saves the life of a new born child or improves the quality of life of someone in hospice care, or helps treat a burn victim or a wounded soldier, then I will never know about it. But that's okay. One day I might be taken into that emergency room and the plasma and red blood cells of a complete stranger will be fed into my body. I'm not going to ask who it came from. It really doesn't matter who the donor is. It's the recipient that matters.
The Bonfils Blood Center tells us that blood donations drop by as much as 20% in the summer months, yet the need often increases due to accidents, scheduled surgeries and other medical treatments. An incredible 4,350 donors are needed EACH WEEK to meet our communities needs and to hold in the event of unforeseen events.
If you have never given blood, give it some serious consideration. Your body has 5 pints flowing through it, and your bones will produce more to replace the 1 pint you give up. If you were a donor at one time, then schedule an appointment and start giving again. You can get a pretty cool tee-shirt like mine. (See photo.) I plan to donate again before September 8th to get a free Bonfils water bottle. And - another thing; I plan to save a life.
For information about donating blood go to
www.bonfils.org or call 800-365-0006, option 2.