In what will be a surprise to those who know me best, my direction to "Go do this" heads a post that is in no way sex-related. Rather, it's a good deed.
I'm sure many of you (as if I have "many" readers!) have given blood, as had I. What I hadn't done is gone in for a platelet donation.
Today, I went for the first time, having the procedure done at the Melville location of Long Island Blood Services. It's an interesting procedure. They hook you up to a computerized machine that has all kinds of turning thingies (like my fancy technical language?), including, somewhere inside it, a centrifuge. So, by the time you're done, the platelets have been separated and are ready to be used. They also took some red blood cells (200ml, but who's counting?), but they told me they'd instead take double the platelets next time since I have a good platelet level and can donate that amount.
The only weird feeling in all of it was when the machine first started. It took the first of the blood and then backwashed the tubing with saline solution. This being at room temperature, it made my arm and shoulder feel cold, but they had warned me that would happen.
Later, the reverses weren't cold, because it was just putting back my own blood that it had taken out, after it was spun out (to get the components it needed). Basically, the machine's job was to give me back the parts of my blood it didn't want! :)
Anyhow, the really important part is that one of these donations gives as many platelets as eight regular blood donations can provide. So go do this! It's easy--they even give you your own personal TV set to watch while you donate (at least where I was)--and you can help save lives. So go do this right away!!!
3 comments:
Around these parts (Boston) they won't even consider a gay man as a blood donor and I thought that was the situation all over the country. How did you manage this?
As I mentioned in an earlier post (a few months back), I have less chance of being a risk than any non-monogamous, thoroughly tested straight man you'd like to point out. So how did I do it?
I won't let bigotry get in the way of my helping people. I have been with my partner for nearly a decade. We're monogamous, were tested multiple times after we started dating (and after the potential dormancy/false negative period had passed) and, frankly, I pose no HIV risk to anyone. So, again, how do I manage to get them to take my blood? Hmmm... I'm just so bad about getting those yes/no answers right. Think maybe I've been checking the wrong one?
I am far too queasy to do this. I'd faint dead away. Or worse, I'd go into minor shock. Seriously.
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