Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
You’d have thought that having done an arrested landing and assisted take of from an aircraft carrier, taken a two hour helicopter flight to an oil platform off the coast of Iraq, been acupuncturally electrocuted and done barrels, loops and flown upside down in a single propeller carbon fibre box, giving blood would be a piece of cake, but when my son asked me why I was doing it I was hard pushed to think of an answer.
A minute later, without realising it, he answered the question for me when he asked me what would happen if I had a serious accident just after giving blood and I didn’t have enough blood inside me to survive.
I explained that if that happened, hopefully someone else would have recently given some blood that could then transfuse into me and save my life. What other reason could I need for donating a pint of blood?
So now I had my reason but in all honesty I was still feeling sick to the stomach at the thought of having blood sucked out of my veins while I sat and watched.
As I sat waiting for our illustrious photographer to drag himself out of bed and join me in the waiting room I could feel myself getting paler and paler as the blood I was supposed to be giving away was already draining freely from my face.
To distract myself I picked up the questionnaire that needs to be filled in and started ticking off the boxes that would give the doctor taking my blood the necessary information she needed on my medical history.
Strangely enough by the time I’d finish I was calm and collected and really quite looking forward to this incredibly selfless act of community service I had decide to undertake.
I would be helping to save a life and as such was doing my part for the country I’d made my home – no I’m not boasting, I’m giving you an insight into how I was attempting to keep myself from running out of the waiting room as fast as my chubby legs would take me.
The doctor came through and called my name and for a fleeting moment I was very tempted to look around me inquisitively as if looking for the person she had called for, but considering photographer man and I were the only people there it didn’t look like I was going to get away with that little ruse so instead I stood up and walked shakily into the blood donating room.
I sat down, smiled nervously and started to roll up my sleeve. The doctor looked at my questionnaire and asked about the only yes box I’d ticked: had I been tattooed, pierced or had acupuncture in the last three months?
Cue sound effect of record scratching to a halt! As many of you will know from reading GulfWeekly a couple of weeks back, acupuncture is something I’ve been doing with a miracle inch loss doctor and since any possible infection would take more than six weeks to show up in blood tests that disqualifies me from giving blood at the moment.
And truth be told despite my very extreme near phobia at the thought of giving blood I couldn’t help but feel completely deflated that I couldn’t donate. Having worked myself up until I’d calmed my nerves down it was a total let down to find out that for now my blood wasn’t going to be any good to anyone.
Fortunately, Anasuya, a colleague in the office, was ready and waiting to step in.
As for me, I will be back when I’m free and clear of acupuncture … and each and every one of you readers can hold me to that.
If I’ve learnt anything from this experience it’s how very necessary it is that anyone that can give blood does give blood.
When you take into consideration the fact that the United States uses an average of 32,000 pints of donated blood a day and that just one person that’s been in a serious accident can need up to 50 pints pumped into them before they stabilise, it’s a wonder there’s enough blood in the world to keep so many people living in it.
The top two reasons given for not donating blood are: 1 - “It never crosses my mind to” and 2- “I don’t have time”.
Well if you’re reading this then 1 doesn’t apply to you anymore and as for 2, the whole process will take less than an hour out of your day once every few months or so.
The life that a complete stranger could save by donating blood might very well be yours and it seems only fitting that you return the favour.
The blood bank at Salmaniya Medical Complex is open from 7am to 12.30pm Sunday through Thursday and 4.30pm to 6.30pm on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. For more information call 17289455.
Armed with all the information you need, you really don’t have any excuse not to do your good deed for the day!
By Marie-Claire
marie-claire@gulfweekly.com
