Do The Right Thing

I was supposed to give blood yesterday at my office blood drive, but after two stabs (pun totally intended) at a preliminary iron count, I came up one tenth of a point too low. I asked the guy if he could just fudge the number a little for me, but he simply smiled and said, "Sorry, you'll have to try again another time." Fail. :(

I used to donate regularly at the Long Island Blood Center when I still lived at home. I gave platelets once a month — they're used to help cancer patients and organ transplant recipients, and they have a shelf life of only 5 days, so they're pretty much in constant demand. I have A+ blood (I like to pronounce it "A plus"), which is the best type for platelet donation, so that kind of made me an apheresis superstar. As the American Red Cross donation website states, "During an apheresis donation, blood is drawn into a machine which separates the platelets from the rest of the blood. The platelets are collected in a donation bag, while the rest of the blood is returned to the donor." Basically: blood out one arm, spin it around and subtract the sticky part, then back in the other. The process took over an hour but it was actually kind of fun — you get a big, comfy reclining chair and your own private TV and headphones, and because both arms are incapacitated by needles and tubing, you can get the medical staff to do almost anything for you: "Excuse me, could I get a blanket, please? And could you possibly change this channel for me? And maybe itch right below my right eye, too? Little lower — perfect! Thanks!"

They also give you cookies afterward.

So yesterday's rejection has motivated me to find a new donation center near my new place and to start giving again. Anyone in the area who'd care to join me can go to the New York Blood Center website for more information.

And while we're on the topic, everyone could use a little help sometimes. Some could use a lot. If you want to help in other ways and would like some suggestions, I support and recommend these following organizations:

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres — particularly for their current relief work in Haiti

Habitat For Humanity — to make a donation or to volunteer

Heifer International — my all-time favorite charity: members of my family get "chickens," "llamas," "bees," and "tree saplings" for Christmas every year

Give what you can, if you can. We're all human beings, and it's good karma.