Dang, you guys have reminded me that I haven't given blood in years. And I don't have a problem doing it, so I have no excuse -- it just slipped my mind. (I even live pretty close to the main blood bank location, so I really have no excuse.) I need to get on that.
You know, it's funny. We went to war never looking to come back, but it's the real world I couldn't survive.
Tracy ,'The Message'
Spike's Bitches 48: I Say, We Go Out There, and Kick a Little Demon Ass.
[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.
Steph L. - Oct 15, 2014 3:38:42 am PDT #13744 of 30002
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
Toddson - Oct 15, 2014 4:10:10 am PDT #13745 of 30002
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
I've given blood ... these days I'm taking so much stuff that they really don't want it (I think the blood thinner was the final straw).
Kate P. - Oct 15, 2014 4:11:13 am PDT #13746 of 30002
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love
I just gave a couple of weeks ago! I'd tried to give blood several times in the spring and couldn't for various reasons (sick, didn't meet the iron level requirement, etc.), but I finally made it through and was able to give. It's something I can do relatively easily, so I try to do it as often as I can.
Toddson - Oct 15, 2014 4:13:28 am PDT #13747 of 30002
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
To change the subject it suddenly occurred to me - those taxidermied mice, with costumes and accessories? those are Aeslin mice!
Strix - Oct 15, 2014 4:26:58 am PDT #13748 of 30002
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
HAIL!
Ginger - Oct 15, 2014 5:02:06 am PDT #13749 of 30002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
The rule is an aggregate of 6 months in the UK.
The Red Cross site [link] says 3 months. It's 6 months for certain European countries.
Amy - Oct 15, 2014 5:08:29 am PDT #13750 of 30002
Because books.
How do they check on the iron? Or do you have to have lab slips that prove you're eligible? (Mine is always, always low.)
Steph L. - Oct 15, 2014 5:11:45 am PDT #13751 of 30002
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
They do a hemoglobin test, don't they? That fingerstick thing where they check to see if a drop of your blood floats or sinks. (Although you can have a normal hemoglobin level and still have low iron.)
SuziQ - Oct 15, 2014 5:20:29 am PDT #13752 of 30002
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame
When I used to donate, that hemoglobin test would let me know if I needed to make an appointment with my hemotologist.
I just had my physical and while they didn't run the iron test that my hemo would run, all my other blood results came back well within limits, so I'm assuming I'm ok for the moment. My B12 is low so I'm doing weekly shots. Joy. CJ takes a bit too much pleasure sticking me with the needle.
Kate P. - Oct 15, 2014 6:59:03 am PDT #13753 of 30002
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love
Yeah, they do the fingerstick. The threshold for donating is a couple points above the threshold for anemia, but after several low readings in a row, I figured maybe I should start taking an iron supplement. I don't know if it's made a difference in how I feel day-to-day, but it put me above the donation threshold, so I'm happy.