Celebrating 70

"You have a really great vein."

I used to joke that the only reason I donated blood every 56 days was because that was the only compliment that I got.  

Yeah, I have a really good vein.  But, that wasn't why I donated blood.  A couple of days ago, I donated blood for the 70th time.  Other than being told that I have a really good vein, that was the only mention of it.  I had missed my regularly scheduled appointment because of weather and decided to go in the early evening.  It wasn't busy.  There were many 4 donors in the hour that I was there.

I wish I had more contributions than 70.  I started young.  I believe I was only 16 at the time.  I know I was in high school and I went after school.  I would have more donations but I had two children so between my pregnancies and nursing, I lost time.  I also lived in communities that only had mobile clinics twice a year and I ended up missing them for various reasons.  Also, as a woman, I was deferred many times for not meeting the hemoglobin standards.  

I used to be the biggest proponent for donating blood and was so proud of my donations and encouraged everyone I knew to donate blood.  I used to say that so many people aren't able to donate blood, so if you are able, you should.  

Today, I am reversing my position.  Well, I won't be discouraging anyone to donate blood, I will no longer be recommending it.  

It is no longer a pleasant experience.  

It is very sad for me say.  There is an obituary circulating on social media of a vibrant Australian woman who passed at the age of 27 from a rare cancer.  In that obituary, she thanks all blood donors for keeping her alive for an extra 2 years.  That is why I have kept donating.  That, and one day, a high school friend of mine posted on facebook that she receives regular transfusions.   So, I will keep donating as long as they will have me, but, I believe Canadian Blood Services must seriously look at how they treat donors in order to maintain their supply.  

First of all, no one is getting anything out of donating blood.  People who do so are good people who are trying to save lives.  They are not giving up an hour of their lives for a free donut.  They are giving because they want to contribute positively to their community.  I guess there may be the odd bad apple out there who has nefarious motives for giving blood, but, I am sure that is really rare.  I am sure that 99.9% of those donating blood are good people.

So, why does Canadian Blood Services treat us like criminals?  Why can't they assume everyone is good and have policies to screen out the bad apples instead of assuming everyone is bad?

Here is my last experience.  My partner and I went on a Tuesday after work and without an appointment.  Because we had no appointment, our first experience was negative.  The receptionist heaved a deep sigh and had to check to see if we could be accommodated.  I felt like I had done something wrong already.   There was someone who did have an appointment so even though she had already started with us, we had to be pushed aside as if we were "problems".  When we were allowed to be checked in, she tried to make another appointment for us.  

So, there is my first difficulty.  Last year, they changed the time requirements for females.  It sill is 56 days for men but now it is 84 days for women.  Of course, the public wasn't consulted and I get that this is a medical decision, but, I think this change will be costly for them.  You are essentially telling half your donor population that your blood is not as good.  It will be harder for women to achieve milestones in their blood donations.  I will be lucky to achieve 75 donations.  At one point, it seemed easy for me to achieve 100.  Now, I doubt very many women will ever achieve that.  Also, this also means that my partner and I will never be donating together again.  This was something we really enjoyed doing together on a Saturday morning.  We would have our appointments together at 8 am and it was a wonderful way to start the weekend.  What could be better for a couple than contributing to saving lives together?  Now, that we are no longer on the same track, we are not as motivated.  Indeed, he missed his appointment in December because he didn't want to go without me.  

My partner re-booked in 56 days.  I was asked to re-book and I didn't want to because I don't like donating on a Tuesday.  After I said no thank you, I was pressured by the receptionist to re-book.  I was told that I change it but by rebooking, I would atleast get reminders to tell me the first day that I would eligible to donate.  Again, why does Blood Services assume that I am a total moron?  I can remember April 3.  I felt that if I didn't re-book, I was not going to get further in this line, so I re-booked.  

Next stop is the computer questionnaire where we answer a series of questions.  We used to have to fill this in on paper, but I guess they have decided that it is better on computer because there is a time lapse before you can answer, so they are assuming more people are reading the questions.  I guess they felt people were just shading in all the "no"s and not reading the questions.  They were probably right.  Then, you used to have to go into the booth and meet with a Nurse to answer the same questions.   

I certainly understand the need for screening and I try to be as cooperative as possible, however, there should be a way to fast-track this procedure for veteran donors.  Somehow, Canadian customs has found a way to fast-track frequent flyers, surely, this should be similar.  

For example, I have been donating for several decades.  Every time, I have been asked if I was born in South America or Africa.  Do I need to answer that question every time?  After 69 donations where I have answered negatively, do they think I am going to change my answer for the 70th?  

Again, I have been donating for decades.  Do they think that during the last 84 days, I would suddenly become a prostitute and contract HIV?  Again, I do understand the need for screening, I just wish that the assumption could be made that I am a good person rather than assuming that I am evil?  

After you are done the computer questionnaire, you must meet privately with a screening person.  It used to be a Nurse that you were meeting with, now, it is a Donor Care Associate.  A couple of years ago, Blood Services announced that they were going to have Health Care Aides perform some of the functions that used to be done by Nurses. The public reacted and they changed this back to Nurses.  Now, it appears they have changed back to Health Care Aides and I didn't meet a Nurse during my time there.  In general, I don't have an issue with that, but, I don't like the process.  Blood Services assumes I am an evil person, yet, they make this major change without any announcement or consultation.  It seems shady.  Now, it is a Health Care Aide putting a needle in my great vein.  If this was so safe, why did you react to public outcry before, and why didn't you announce this change?

Regardless, while you are waiting to meet with your screener, you must read the pamphlet.  The pamphlet has not changed in over five years, but you still have to read it.  If you don't take the pamphlet, you don't go any further.  You have to be observed reading the same pamphlet before you can go further.  It is like you are in kindergarten.  The pamphlet is also not that interesting and I could probably recite everything in the pamphlet, but I am forced to read it over and over again.  Again, the assumption is that I am a bad person.

Then, you get to meet with your screener.  You go into a little room for privacy.  It feels like you are bad and you are going to the Principal's office.  It doesn't feel warm and friendly, it feels like an interrogation.  Over the years, I have met with very compassionate screeners that have made my feel valued for donating blood.  I have also met with screeners that are on a power trip, and try to spend the time treating me like a piece of dirt.  The screener checks your arms for signs that you use intravenous needles and are a drug addict.  I am sure a lot of drug abusers want to donate blood.  You have to answer a series of questions and list your medications.  I have been on Nexium for 5 years.  It is an approved drug and you can donate while being on this medication, however, every time, the screener has to check themselves by consulting their big book of drugs.  They don't accept my word that the last time I donated blood, that it was approved.  Your vitals are checked as well as your hemoglobin.  The threshold used to 125 which is actually high, especially for women.  I was deferred many times.  The first time I was deferred, I had to meet with a Nurse to review my lifestyle.  This was humiliating so I learned to eat a steak the night before I donated. I was surprised to find that they have now raised the threshold, again, without consultation to 130.  This will be really high for women, who are menstruating to meet.  They seem to find more and more reasons to exclude people from donating.  

I was able to meet this threshold this time.  My partner was not.  He had to do the walk of shame past all the people waiting to donate.  I have taken that walk.  You feel like you have been rejected.  It is a very humiliating experience.  I am sure that once you have been deferred, you feel like you never want to risk that experience again and stop donating blood.  My partner and I must have high self-esteem to continue.  Fortunately, for him, there was basically no people for him to walk past.  Like I said, the clinic was basically empty.  

So, after being in the Clinic about 30 minutes, I now get to the purpose of my visit.  That part of the experience never changes.  After I confirm my identity and told what a great vein I have, I am treated like an annoyance.  Deep sighs from all the staff.  They are so over-worked.  They talk to each other as if I am not there.  It dehumanizes me.  They talk about what a horrible employer they have and how they are so over-worked and under-appreciated.  It doesn't make me feel good about donating my blood to this organization.  I gave Blood Services some feedback about this once and, they made me feel like I was doing something wrong in complaining.  On Tuesday, the Clinic was not busy at all, so instead of complaining about being busy, the staff were all talking about breaks and how they felt they weren't getting their breaks as they deserved.  They may be right.  They may be treated poorly by their employer but they should address those concerns internally rather than telling me every time I donate blood.  

After I completed my 70th donation, no one thanked me.  Instead, I got their robotic response that I get everytime, "if you smoke, don't do so for over an hour,  the bandage must be on for four hours, and no heavy lifting during that time, if you are feeling dizzy or have any other health concerns, please contact us immediately.  Please have something to drink and eat before you leave."  It is such a robotic response, the donor care associate doesn't even look me in the eye.  

I am hoping that my 70 donations have contributed to atleast 1 life being saved.  I will continue to donate blood until they keep changing their criteria and I am no longer eligible with that hope.  I am not donating just to piss off an already over-worked staff by adding to their workload.  

So, for the moment, cheers to me for the 70th donation and all those who donate !