One down Many to go

Gator Bait

OK, Stick a cork in him, he's done . . . for now.



Have a great day.

stike

that's great.
more folks should do it...

i have a ways to go though

Gator Bait

Thanks stike, I agree many more should do it. They say that only 5% of those that can do.

I was surprised when this came in the mail yesterday, I wasn't keeping count. I am lucky and have a clinic right down the road from my house and it is convenient.

Gator

Semolina Pilchard

Great work GB. I used to give on a regular basis. About a year ago I was giving blood, andd there was another guy next to me giving blood also. The needle came out of his arm and blood was flying everywhere. I have yet to go back.
:ermm:

stike

i do the double-red donation. twopints come out, but than all the plasma and stuff (except the reds) go back in. i wonder if they count the two pints, or the net amount?
hahaha

Fidel

Good for you. I just gave another pint this past Sunday - the 5th - after a few hundred too many beers on the 4th.

Then I staggered into the baseball game and got a really heavy buzz on 2 beers.

There is a critical need in the Atlanta area right now for all negative blood types (esp O-neg) - so if anyone sees this and is so inclined, please donate. It's worth it for the cookies.

Gator Bait

Interesting Semolina, I bet that might happen once in several million times. I can't imagine how that could happen, they always tape everything down very well. I guess I have seen enough blood, both mine and others, that it wouldn't bother me.

I hope it doesn't deter you from eventually going back, every little bit helps.

Gator

stike

best part about giving is the economical effect on beer ingestion as it relates to sobriety (or lack thereof)

Fidel

yea, but I screwed up the next day. They are serious when the tell you not to do any strenuous activity the next 24 hours after donation.

I took my mountain bike on some pretty hairy trails Monday morning and was completely wiped out after just a few miles. Paid for it all afternoon.

Gator Bait

Hahahaha, I bet you were in great shape for the baseball game! Your probably lucky they didn't use you for home plate. :laugh:

Good for you, back at ya! Rod.

Being diabetic donating is the only time I allow myself to indulge in orange juice. It's a cruel and unusual punishment to live in Florida and can't touch the fruit.

Gator

fishlessman

do they still take your temperature before donating, everytime i tried i got the boot, my temp seems to run high on average. i havent tried in years.

Gator Bait

Down here I think they are happy to get a regular pint on a regular bases. They have me on their mailing list and send me post cards reminding me when I can give again. Someday I may ask about the double-red donations, it's six of one, half dozen of the other to me. I figure once they get the needle in me they can have what ever they want, just leave me enough to get home on.

Gator

Fidel

They did me. Checked temp, BP, pulse rate, and did a specific gravity test for iton level in the blood. I swear the finger prick always hurts worse than the draw needle into the vein.

That would be a great band name - "The Finger Pricks"

fishlessman

then they would still send me on my way. used to help during the blood drives pouring out juice back in college, atleast i got my free juice :laugh:

Gator Bait

Hi fishlessman,

Donating has become so routine I am ashamed to say I can't remember! :blink: I have a hunch that they did. I know they check blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin count. I bet if they used a Thermapen I'd remember! I was turned away once because my hemoglobin count was low but went back a couple weeks later and it was fine. I was turned away for years because hospital policy was that if you had heart trouble you needed clearance from your cardiologist. My cardiologist and I had parted company years previously and I could no longer afford to see him so there was no way to get the clearance. I was very happy when the hospital changed their policy and allowed me to donate.

I would ask them how you can resolve this with them.

Good luck,

Gator

stike

that's why i don't even have a mountain bike. i'm saving my heartbeats, man. jimm fixx died of a heart attack while running. coincidence? i think not

Mainegg

Thank you, thank you blood donors and organ donors.... hold a place dear to my heart.
10 years ago I had very close friends that were in a bad motorcycle accident and she spent 2 1/2 months in Lee Memorial before they flew her to Maine medical in Bangor for another month. her husband died at the scene. she may have some of your blood... so thank you it is a good thing you do and helps so many people that you will never know. Julie

Semolina Pilchard

The sight of blood does not bother me. But the thought of being sprayed with someone else's blood (especially in this day and age) really creeped me out. I need to get back to donating because blood banks all over the nation seem to be running low. No doubt that it was a one in a million deal, just really creepy.
Congratulations on your milestone.

Gator Bait

Thanks Semolina, I can understand getting sprayed with someone else's blood. Thats not just creepy thats scary as heck!

Gator

Clay Q

Nice work Gator Bait, your savin lives and helping the injured and sick! :cheer:
Well I got two more donation trips to get my 3 gallon pin. Some day's I feel drained...he he. :silly:

Gator Bait

Hi Julie, Sorry to hear about your friends. Situations like that are one of the reasons donors like to give blood. It gives us a chance to help. It only takes a few minutes, it is not very painful and we feel good for having done it. Everybody wins.

I would not be surprised if most blood donors aren't also organ donors. Someday I will be an organ donor, I have my drivers license marked for it. I haven't tried to be a live organ donor, thats pretty scary.

Gator

Gator Bait

Congratulations Clay!!! Three gallons is fantastic. At 1 pint a trip thats what I call dedication. That's about three and a half years of donations! That's a whole crowd that has benefited from your generosity. :woohoo:

Gator

mad max beyond eggdome

way to go gator!!!! ..i'm an O+, CMV neg donor. ..give every 56 days. ....don't even know how many gallons i've given over the years. ...and the thought of how many little kids are running around with a pint of 'mad max red' in em is a scary (yet humbling) thought. ...

there is no greater thing in the world in my mind than being a blood donor!!! you are my hero!!!

mad max beyond eggdome

yeah, but you have to remember that donor's blood is very heavily tested. ..chances are that that guy was a regular donor too and his blood was "clean". ...little chance of getting anything if you did get hit. . .

mad max beyond eggdome

a double red donation is supposed to count as two pints. ...but i know my red cross place here is so screwed up i think they miss it most times. ..when i go on line and check, they never have my total count right. ..and i'm a "champion for life". ...they've never sent me any of my gallon certificates or pins or nothin. ...oh well....i rest secure in the knowledge of what i do . .

stike

i think they are all different. my mother had to give a pint a month therapeutically (for her own health, i mean). she still does.

up here (in New England), they (the hospital) won't let her donate it, and they dispose of it. in florida, they accept it.

different rules or organizations i think.

i get postcards AND i get calls, and even when i make the appointment, i still go in to find i'm waiting

they could probably improve their methods and increase the donation rate just by doing that

FSUScotsman

Good for you!!!

I tried to donate and they don't like the flavor of where I've been. I guess too many nasties in the air and water certain places "over there".

Gator Bait

Hey Max,

No hero's here, I'm like you and just gotta do what I gotta do. I think there is a selfish side to donating, we get to make ourselves feel good. If we can help people while we make ourselves feel good we all win and we get to be a little selfish.

Gator

Gator Bait

Hi Max,

I didn't expect this award, it just came in the mail the other day. It's like the other gifts they always have, not necessary. I'm like you and all the other donors I know, I'm just happy to be of help. I didn't know I was up to a gallon, it never crossed my mind. I'm happy to share the award with friends and family on and off line if for no other reason then to put donating blood in the public eye.
I think it is to bad you do not get the recognition that you so deserve but fully understand your viewpoint.
For what it's worth, my hats off to ya Max, you have helped countless people with little thanks.

Gator

Gator Bait

Thanks Ron, Sorry they will not take you. I know they would not take either of my parents for one reason or another. You get credit for trying. I think it's a little strange that of the 6 in our family I am the only one that donates blood.

Gator

mad max beyond eggdome

thanks gator. ... i agree with you about trying to get the word out to get others to go down to the blood bank and make a donation. . . .i always tell "guys" to go in on saturday mornings ... . one of the benefits of doing this is that they give you a "get out of chores free card". ..that piece of paper that says no heavy lifting all day ....i keep it right by me while i'm laying around watching tv all day . ..if my wife asks me to do ANYTHING i simply point at the bandage on my arm and that piece of paper and say "no can do honey, i gave blood today, can't" ..LOL .. .

the other thing i do is, i have a lot of "pins" they give cause i'm CMV negative. .means they give my blood usually to premature babies and those with auto-imune issues. ..i put the pins all over my lanyard that has my work IDs on it, gets a lot of attention whereever i go throughout the day ....always tell people i'm a blood donor and then i ask em why aren't they?? . . .if i get even one of them to go give a pint i figure i've done my job. ...