give it up

I wrote this last August. I think about donating blood unusually often, I realize – I think about it even more around holidays, and most of all around Easter. Parallels between my paltry service and a far more universal atonement, I guess. I do what I can…so, to that end, I re-post:

8.2006

I am addicted to giving blood.

I remember my dad's first trip to Bakersfield's Houchin Blood Bank when I was a teenager; he had made himself a goal to donate blood a couple times that particular year, partly because the cause was good, partly to get over his uneasiness with needles. Much to his surprise, over the course of the year, he grew to love donating. Houchin Blood Bank offers its donors some great rewards, including seasonal t-shirts and license plate frames for each gallon of blood donated (1 pint per donation; 8 pints = 1 gallon. My dad's presently in the 8 gallon club.). Bakersfield residents wear the shirts proudly, and fellow drivers sporting HBB license frames feel a cool, immediate sense of camaraderie. Due to the relatively clean standard of living required to pass the screening and be eligible for blood donation, my dad is always encouraged to see that such a large number of people in Bakersfield donate proudly; additionally, any time he's out cycling in spandex, he can always be found wearing a Houchin shirt - a subtle way of reinforcing his heterosexuality, should the spandex be misinterpreted. At any rate, his enthusiasm for this form of community service had me looking forward to my 17th birthday with great anticipation.

Veterans' Day 1998 marked my first trip to Houchin. I was both excited and anxious. Dad assured me that if I drank lots of water, the donation would go quickly so I drank at least 2 liters before we headed out. The bank was not busy on this weekday morning, and Dad made sure that Caroline, a kind older nurse, was the one to handle my first experience. I found myself more curious than concerned, and watched with great interest as she inserted the rather large needle into my right arm. When she saw me watching, she immediately expressed great admiration at my "bravery" - most people grow quickly uncomfortable at the sight of a needle beneath their skin. My dad and I began racing - a Crompton family tradition to see who can pump their blood out fastest - and I beat him handily, at a nice 4.5 minutes. Success! The 2 liters of water had done the trick (though the need to pee became very, very urgent the moment I was done). The whole procedure was so, so easy, and the rewards were so great, for me and for whomever received my blood. I decided at that point that I wanted to be a regular donor for the rest of my life. With the exception of 2 different one-year deferrals for getting tattoos and stepping on nails, I've pretty much kept that commitment.

My brother and I both have O negative blood running through our veins. It's not common for two in a family to wind up with this already kinda rare blood type, which makes us feel like superheroes when we go to the blood bank together. O negative blood can be given to a person of any blood type; it's therefore always in high demand, and there's always, always a critical shortage of it. So, Ryan and I tend to circumvent one donation rule in order to donate a little more often than is technically allowed. See, technically, a person is only permitted to donate blood every 56 days - come in a day early, and you'll be turned away. Researching the reason for this rule, I learned that it takes 3 to 4 weeks to replace red blood cells lost, and that it takes up to 8 weeks to restore the iron levels required for donation. We figure, if we can eat well enough to get our iron to donation-acceptable levels before the 8 week (artificial!) deadline, there shouldn't be any harm to us or to those who receive our blood if we donate early. So we do. We're on the 4 to 5 week plan. We accomplish this by rotating blood banks that don't cross-reference their records...so, one month Red Cross in LA for me, next month Houchin in Bakersfield. hush hush. Greater good. [editor’s note: as of 4.2007, turns out too frequent donation IS in fact a bad idea…I have managed to donate myself into anemia. Stick to the prescribed 8 weeks! I can’t give until I meat-eat myself back into iron health, so if you can’t give blood, give me steak. Thanks.]

I'm an addict. Ryan and my dad are addicts too. Maybe it's a Crompton thing. But I'd be a happier person if more people were doing it with us. So, 1-800-GIVE-LIFE - call and make an appointment. It's pretty easy to be a superhero.

Facts to mull over:
Every three seconds someone needs blood
Just one pint of donated blood can help save as many as three people's lives.
The average adult has 10 pints of blood in his or her body.
4.5 million Americans would die each year without life saving blood transfusions.
Approximately 32,000 pints of blood are used each day in the United States.
Giving blood will not decrease your strength.
60% of the US population is eligible to donate - only 5 do on a yearly basis.
There is no substitute for human blood.