Giving Blood

I have a fairly rare blood type. I'm A-, which is apparently only found in 9% of the population. As a result, I get calls from the Red Cross asking me to donate.

The first time this happened, it freaked me out. We had had a blood drive at work, and I had donated. I had donated once in college so I knew that I could give blood without any issues. On this occasion, the Red Cross called me about a week after I had donated. They left me a message, and I thought there might be something wrong with my blood. I didn't think I had HIV or AIDS, but it was the late 80s, when the disease was breaking nationwide. And so I must admit that having a message from the Red Cross made me panic just a bit. But as it turned out, what they wanted from me was my blood. Since I have a fairly rare blood type.

Since then, I have been a pretty regular donor. I have given more than 42 times. I try to give as often as I can, but with work schedules being what they are, I can't always get there every 8 weeks.

But the local Red Cross center has had logistical issues the last few times that I have gone. And as a result, I haven't been going.

Here's the problem. Because I have given so much, I have a card that says I'm a preferred donor. Being a preferred donor should mean that I get through the donor process more smoothly. Perhaps not faster. But perhaps even faster. The preferred donors have their own set of cards for order of donation. In theory, we should get through the process more easily. Certainly, I have read all the materials and answered all the questions on many, many occasions.

But the preferred donor line doesn't actually move smoothly. It moves just as poorly as the regular line. The last time I went to donate, I was there for 10 minutes, with no one else giving their histories, and no one came to get mine. I asked the receptionist to find someone to take my history (test my blood, take my BP and pulse, have me answer the history questions, etc.), and she looked at me like I was insane for even asking the question. Another 10 minutes went by, with nurses watching the TV in front of wear I was sitting and appearing to not be doing anything else. Finally, I just gave up. I walked out. And I have not been back since.

Next week, I am scheduled to donate at iNova instead. Hopefully the process will go more smoothly. Hopefully it will be a way for me to start donating blood regularly again. Because I do believe in the process. I do believe in giving blood because not enough people do. But I can't stand inefficiency.

Fingers crossed.