With all this talk about tapping alternative resources, I have decided to jump on that bandwagon. Sadly, this does not mean I am driving a little battery-operated SmartCar. Instead, I am capitalizing on my ability to bleed easily.
Like every good college town should, Athens has a plasma donation center. Which means that twice a week, I roll down to BioLife, spend an hour in a curvy chair, listen to the iPod and flip through trashy magazines. And get paid! As long as you don't get the big smelly phlebotomist, things are cool. It doesn't hurt, and it is pretty satisfying to watch the plasma fill up. And the process is kinda cool to watch.
I tried this back in January, but because of scheduling and medications in flux, I wasn't able to donate. I only gave it another chance a couple weeks ago, now that I have free time and a stable medical history. My first donation involved a charming hematoma that only just faded. The big smelly phlebotomist poked me weird, so during the RBC return, my arm started puffing up. The other nurses took care of it superfast. In a quick instant, they removed the needle and iced and elevated it. So not only is this guy smelly, his venipuncture blows. (Another nurse had to correct his work yesterday).
I like doing plasma. Not only is it some income, I also feel like I am helping. It is so easy for me to do something that can make a difference. By the same token, I have no problem donating whole blood, but my type is the only one they have sufficient supply of. (It helps being universal recipient, too). By the same token, I am an organ donor. And if I have the recoup time available, I would do bone marrow. Having read Stiff, I am starting to do a bit more research into options for my beautiful corpse. Which sounds macabre, but it seems like such a waste to just pump it full of chemicals and then stick it in a box in the ground when it could be put to better use. Although, I am still holding out hope for spontaneous combustion, which would just be cool.
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2 comments:
Ack. I am steadfastly opposed to doing anything that will save lives. There are already way too many people in the world who are living too long and having too many hungry babies. My universal donor blood is staying in my veins and my organs are gonna rot with the rest of me in the dirt. Besides, social security only works when most of the people paying in die young. Die, die, die!
I'm incredibly touched to read this post. My children are plasma recipients, having been born missing part of their immune system, they can live totally normal lives with plasma donations - my youngest has an issue that makes him react poorly to a part of plasma, and his plasma has to be processed differently, this is done by Baxter, who gets their plasma from BioLife - for us, their are no other donors, just BioLife.
Thank you for helping to allow kids like mine to live more normal lives.
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