Good thoughts and vibes to all
those out there recovering from Sandy's wrath. The Care and Feeding of Nerds
was very fortunate and weathered the storm with minimal damage but countless
others along the Eastern Seaboard were not so lucky. If you're looking for ways
to help out, PayPal and iTunes have both set up donation sites while dozens of
major retailers have teamed up with the American Red Cross. The guys over at NerdWallet have also put together an excellent compendium of links to donate program rewards, points, or airline miles you may have accumulated with your credit card. Donations of
non-monetary items, such as clothing, furnishings, or home repair supplies can
be dropped with Goodwill or United Way.
If you'd like to give of your
time and partake in active service towards the relief effort AmeriCares,
Habitat for Humanity, and food banks associated with Feeding America are
accepting volunteers. The Humane Society and the ASPCA are also on the lookout
for individuals willing to help with their efforts to recover and/or foster
pets while their families return home or rebuild.
Blood is also a desperately
needed commodity that can be given from any number of sites (click here to find a donation center near you). It's something that nearly everyone can do, but
the notion of being interrogated and then poked with a needle tends to drive
most folks away. Funny that. Blood donation is something I've done for years
and, in actuality, it's neither an arduous nor a painful undertaking. So, in an
attempt to tamp down some of the anxiety surrounding blood donation, here's a
brief rundown of how the process goes.
The Basics: In the US, you
need to be at least 17 years of age (16 if you get written consent from a
parent), in good health, and weigh at least 110 pounds (49kg) to donate blood.
The entire process takes about an hour from start to finish, but only 8-15
minutes of that time is spent actually having blood withdrawn.
Phase 1: Pre-Donation Screening
- The majority of the screening process
is a fairly sizeable questionnaire that may be administered electronically
(just a survey on a computer) or interpersonally with a nurse or attendant
asking you questions and recording your answers. Depending on your donation
site, the questionnaire may end up being a hybrid of both and/or can be
completed in advance over the internet if you make an appointment. The
questions themselves range from basic biostatistics (age, height, weight, etc)
and any pertinent allergies to fairly specific inquiries about your recent
travels and extracurricular activities.
Are they going to ask me about my...history shall we say?
Short answer: yes. They're going
to ask you if you've had unprotected sex, if you have a habit of sharing
needles, or if you have or have had a persistent viral infection or certain
types of cancer. You know, common sensical questions to get an idea if your
blood is safe to put into another human. More surprising questions that will
come up are those pertaining to any recent vacations or significant time you
may have spent abroad. This may seem kind of weird, but the practitioners are
looking to see if you've been in contact with a specific set of infectious
agents: namely Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the human version of Mad Cow) or
malaria.
That's a lot of personal information. I'm not sure I'm comfy sharing
all that.
Which is fair; it's a lot of information.
However, your anonymity as a donor is under federal protection. Aside from
basic administrative data, like your address or email, no information is
maintained after the donation session. Your blood will be tagged with a long
series of digits and will be traced back to you only if something comes up in
post-donation screening (more on that in a minute).
So, long story short, it's a lot
of information, but it's not going anywhere and it's only garnered to protect
those individuals who may receive your blood.
Phase 2: the Mini-Physical:
After completing the questionnaire, a nurse or medical assistant will take your
blood pressure, your pulse, and your temperature. Immediately following will be
the first of two encounters with a needle during the donation process. The
nurse/med assistant will determine your hematocrit/hemoglobin levels by
administering a pinprick to one of your fingers. It's very fast and can be on
any finger you choose. In all honesty, this blink-of-an-eye puncture tends to
be more painful than the actual donation. I recommend using your ring finger on
your non-dominant hand, as this digit tends to get less use than your other
fingers. It will take only a minute or so to obtain the necessary data and
determine if you're not anemic. Once that's been established, you'll move on to
the donation itself.
Phase 3: The Donation:
<dunDUNdun> So it's come down to this, your date with donation. As
mentioned above, this part is going to seem very quick compared to the
questionnaire and the mini-physical. The majority of people volunteering to
donate will make an 'allogenic' (a.k.a. a homologous) donation of whole blood.
You'll be asked to lie down on a padded chais or table and select a donation site,
typically from one of the medial cubital veins on one of your arms (the ones
you can easily see through your skin at the crook of your elbow). It's
generally a good idea to choose your non-dominant arm for this, as you'll have
to contend with some bandaging at the donation site for much of the remainder
of the day. The extraction site will be prepped with sterilizing agents,
usually iodine, and a tourniquet of rubber tubing may be affixed around the
bicep of the arm doing the donating. After this is the actual insertion of the
needle. It may seem absurdly large, but only because it's far bigger than
what's typically used for a vaccine or the application of an IV. The actual
insertion is a momentary pinch. It would probably be more painful if you tried
to replicate the process by pinching yourself in the crook of your elbow. After
that you just lie back and relax for a few minutes while gravity does all the
work of donating for you. You may be given a soft foam ball to squeeze to
provide added pressure and help keep the process moving.
Related aside: There are handful of different types of blood
donation, of which allogenic is only one. Depending on your unique physique and
the facilities available at the donation site, you may be asked if you'd like
to make a different type of donation. The
most common variant is apheresis, which is a process of extracting blood,
running it through a centrifuge to obtain certain blood components, then
returning the remainder of the blood back to your body. Subtypes of apheresis
are used to garner supplies of blood plasma, platelets, and pure red blood
cells. The physical requirements for this sort of donation differ from those
for allogenic donation, so check with the administrators at your donation site
to see if you qualify if this interests you. Bonus: apheresis uses smaller
needles than standard whole blood donation.
Phase 4: The Recovery: Immediately after donation, you'll be asked to
lie flat and relax for a few minutes, then gradually move into a sitting
position before being allowed to stand. Fainting spells resulting from shifts
in blood pressure are the most common side effect of donating and these almost
always occur immediately after the donation is finished. Not to worry though,
as you'll be in the capable hands of a technician the entire time. Once it's
clear that you are able to stand and move under your own power, you'll be
guided over to a recovery area to partake in some light refreshments. You'll be
encouraged to have a snack, usually something starchy or sugary, and at least 8
ounces of water. Take your time, relax, and enjoy your snack. Once you've
finished nomming, you'll be cleared to go about your merry way. That's it!
You've donated blood!
So...what happens now? I just go home?
Yep, you just go about
your day. You'll want to avoid heavy lifting or rigorous physical activity for
the next 5-8 hours and drink extra water but, other than that, it'll just be a
normal day. The donation site may be a little tender or exhibit some minor
bruising for about a day, but you probably won't even notice.
What happens to my blood?
It'll be treated with
anticoagulants and subjected to post-donation screening to ensure that no
infectious agents are present. Technicians tend to look for infections that are
asymptomatic for some of their tenure in your body, like Lyme disease or Syphilis.
You'll be notified immediately if anything should pop up during this screening.
Otherwise, your blood will make its way into a network of hospitals and clinics
to be used by patients in need.
This still sounds unpleasant. Does donating really accomplish all that
much?
At worst the donation
process is enduring some minor discomfort for a short while. On the flip side,
your one donation can help save the lives of up to three people.
That's a crazy ratio right there. Blood is something that's needed on a
constant basis and, until we come up with excellent synthetic versions, there
are no substitutes for actual human blood. You get to be a hero, potentially
for three different people. Not many other types of donation have such a direct
impact.
Even the smallest effort
can create powerful ripples and will be appreciated. We stand in solidarity with
those impacted by Sandy. You guys are tough and will be back on your feet in no
time, but we'll happily help you get there.
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