That's an especially good rule if you have a wife that can kick your ass.

I spent most of the weekend in a novel brainstorming/critique workshop with 11 (I think) science fiction/fantasy writers. I still think that the twin Barry hypothesis is right up there with fantastical plots.

(God, I'm so tired I could die, though.)

See? I knew it was a good rule!

No. They used Joe McCarthy's (better match).

Since Joe was an alcoholic, I'm sure his heart was well perserved.

You need to ask him if he was ever a blood recipient. He will say no, but his little brain will be buzzing with sheer panic if he has been a recipient.

I know they type and cross match blood. I wasn't aware that they sorted it by race. I haven't given blood in ages but I don't remember them ever asking my ethnic background. Can a recent donor tell me what they ask now?

I donate platelets regularly and they do ask if I have any Hispanic heritage. I actually can't remember if they ask any other questions about race or ethnicity - I do it so regularly all of the questions become a blur. I am scheduled for next Saturday so I will try to remember what they ask.

My favorite question is whether "I was born female" - sometimes phrased as "are you biologically female?" I'm not sure why they ask that, but they have been doing it for a couple years now.

Another newish questions is about the number of pregnancies and the date of my last pregnancy (going on 23 years now). There is an antibody that women can develop after multiple pregnancies that is thought to be related to transfusion problems in some people so the question is related to that. I don't know what they do if someone has had more than one child or the pregnancy was more recent.

Here's a page about eligibility which should give a clue about what questions they are going to ask. They also require ID such as a DL.

http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-b ... pic#travel

Here's some information about blood types and diversity.

http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-abou ... -diversity

Again, the more things that match, the safer it is for the person who gets the blood. I have been on the receiving end quite a bit in the last few months since they have been regularly wiping out my own with the poisons. So, many thanks to the donors out there . But every time, I have to sign a consent form about all the risks.....most commonly allergic reactions.

I started donating blood in high school, at the age of 17. I had a permission slip. I continued to donate blood on a regular basis because it was the right thing to do. Also they like my O-Pos almost as much as they like teh O-Neg. Fuckin' vampires. Also, after you drink the OJ and eat the cookie and you go home? Slammin' some beers will totally waste ya! I donated more before I had knee surgery to build up a bank, just in case.

Anyway, I donated up until I got Hep-A. Misdiagnosed as Hep-B, but 6-of-one...I could no longer donate, even though I test clean. I do not carry any form of Hepatitis. Herb Titus? Nope, clean, got teh shots for that mess.

Then the whole no gay male thing kicked in.

Guess what? I test Hepatitis free, HIV/AIDS free, every fricking thing you can test for, I test FREE. I'm not gonna tell ya how long it's been since I had unprotected sex, but I'm 52 years old and the time frame is measured in decades.

But I can't give blood because I'm a gay male.

Fuck everyone, I'm keeping my blood until I get an apology. And a cookie with some fricken orange juice. And a gods be damned pony. I don't want to keep it, I just want a pony dammit.

My mother is over 70 and had 4 pregnancies during the early '60's. She still gives blood regularly.

I'll make an appointment today. That will be a happy ending to the story. The GBS shouldn't stop me. It's a nerve disorder, not a blood disease.

One time in a McDonalds in Minneapolis in wintertime, I heard a group of homeless men in a discussion about the best way to maximize your income by giving blood. These were not amateurs. You have to have your act together to be homeless in Minneapolis or you'll freeze to death. They don't have wimps like the crew that winters in L.A. and summers in Eugene.

Just one of those memories that sticks with ya ...

For years, I didn't weigh enough to give blood, definitely not a problem now . The first time I gave blood, I had a really bad experience. My friend were going to go to lunch and then donate blood. On the way to lunch, we passed the donation center and decided that since we're here, we'll give blood then eat lunch. Not knowing any better, I agreed. This was one of those days I was running late for work and had not had time to eat breakfast so by the time I got to the donation center, the only thing I had had was coffee. I was really anxious since I had a bad experience -- which involved needles and lots and lots of nausea -- after one of my surgeries and was afraid I would have a similar problem. Well the process of actually taking my blood went smoothly UNTIL they placed the bag of my blood next to me and I could feel its warmth. While my mind was working overtime to let me know that losing that much blood was a bad thing, my blood sugar dropped to an incredible low level which made feel nausea, light headed and I was sure I was going to pass out. I started hyperventilating so they placed a paper bag over my face to help me breathe normally. As soon as they did that, I was able to drink some orange juice and was able to rejoin the living.

The next time I tried to donate blood, the nurse had barely gotten through inserting the IV when I suddenly became very, very nausea and lightheaded and I made the nurse remove the IV NOW. The next time I tried to donate blood, I had the very same experience. Fast forward 15 years. Because of my bad experience I had had with one bad hospital stay and donating blood, I had a problem with extreme nausea and the feeling I was going to pass out whenever I had to undergo any medical procedure -- even something like some very minor dental surgeries. With the help of a nurse, I found a number of ways to handle the problem such as an ice bag at the back of my neck, listening to music to distract my mind and so on. I was finally able to give blood and I was so proud of myself because not only was I helping others but I conquered a what for me was big problem. I was able to give blood about 5 times and then Red Cross and other blood donation organizations decided that because of the Mad Cow outbreak in England, they would no longer take blood from folks who were lived in England (and some other European countries) for any extended period. Since I spent 2 years in England during the outbreak of Mad Cow disease, that meant I could no longer donate blood. I was so bummed out about that because of all the effort it took me to reach a point where I could donate blood without immediately experiencing extreme nausea and the feeling I was going to pass out.

Awesome! Good for her. I guess that means I have a lot of years left to give. I've been giving since high school and switched from whole blood to platelets about 3 or 4 years ago.

I try to go every 2 weeks for the platelets but sometimes have to be deferred due to low iron. A couple weeks ago while I was giving I jumped at a startling scene in the movie I was watching and the needle in the return arm punctured the vein. About 5 minutes later (after telling the staff I jumped because of the movie and not in pain) I had intense pain in my arm - all of the returning blood was pooling in my arm. I had them adjust the needle and was able to finish the donation. But I had a lump/bruise roughly the size of a baseball for over a week and a lot of pain in my arm. I pushed my interval to 3 weeks to let my arm heal. My next donation had no problems and I am going again this Saturday.

For those who don't know - platelet donation can take more than 90 minutes and there is a two arm procedure and a one arm procedure. I usually do the two arm and watch a movie on an individual screen with head phones during the procedure. The only real problem is that I always start yawning or my nose itches and I can't cover my mouth or scratch because both arms have needles in them. Even when I get sick toward the end of the procedure I figure it is a small sacrifice on my part that is guaranteed to end once they take the needles out - but the person who needs the platelets due to illness can't just turn off their pain but hopefully my platelets can help them in their fight.

I started donating blood and then platelets without any real family history of a need for blood products - but over the years various family members have had cancer and in the last 18 months specifically my cousin's 7 year old son and my sister-in-law's 17 year old sister have been diagnosed with leukemia. I think of them often when I donate and happily both are doing well in their battles with leukemia.

Katie just went in the hospital today for a scheduled visit due to a change in her chemo treatment (they want to closely monitor her during the initial treatment in case of a bad reaction). I am so proud of her - yesterday was the 6 month anniversary of her diagnosis and she is really doing well. She can't attend classes, but is keeping up with a tutor, going into school when she can, attended the winter formal and even has a lead role in the spring musical. Please send her any good thoughts you can, she is a really great kid.

Babs I'm so sorry to hear that you conquered your problems only to be permanently deferred from donating. What a rotten thing to happen!

It is really funny to think, but the manager on duty most of the time I donate is also permanently deferred - from living in Africa as a medical volunteer in the 80s. In fact, I think most of the staff aren't regular donors for various reasons.

I'm having a hell of a time trying to schedule a donation. I called the 800 number and they hung up on me, because I used Skype. But we don't have a land line anymore. Skype is what I use.

I'm on the phone with a lady and finally got an appt. at 2:30 p.m.

Took WAY too much time to set it up, though I'm glad it's done. Also going to see John Carter kicking ass on Mars today, with kids on a two-week break ...

I often wonder if they will reverse the ban sometime in the future. A lot of military folks can't donate blood for the same reason I can't and since military folks tend to donate lots of blood this has lead to lower levels of available blood in areas with a larger military presence. It's almost 30 years since the first cases of Mad Cow disease appeared in humans and supposedly the incubation period maxes out at around 20 years. I read not too long ago that the scientists in the UK have developed a test that in its initial testing can diagnose Mad Cow in animals and humans who have the Mad Cow disease. They are looking to refine the test to detect the presence of the prions that cause Mad Cow disease in people who do not have Mad Cow disease. So maybe I'll be able to donate blood in the future. If I ever suddenly go crazy, I can always blame it on the Mad Cow kicking in.

And I asked them, "If you hang up on people who call to donate blood using Skype, how many thousands of gallons of blood are you turning away? Most folks wouldn't spend 1/2 an hour trying to find some way some how to get in there anyway, they'd just say 'Too much trouble' and do something else!"

I think that's one of the reasons the military and civilians who work at military installations donate so much blood. They make it super easy to do and in many cases, you can get to up to half a day off of work -- and paid for it if you were a civilian employee. I knew a lot of people whose sole reason to donate blood was to get the time off. For me, it was very convenient because I had to pass the main blood donation center on my way to see my doctor. It was often a spur of the moment thing as I neared the center.

Foggy, although you finally were able to make an appointment, you could also try redcrossblood.org. I just did it and using my zip code was able to find lots of scheduled blood drives and donation centers where I could make an appointment to donate. I think you can register using your existing red cross id # or sign up as a new donor on the site if you don't have one.

One of the really nice things about the platelet donation program - Yolanda calls me to schedule my next appointment (sometimes the next 2 or 3) and also calls on the Thursday before an appointment to remind me of my scheduled time and also not to take aspirin for 48 hours. After 3 years I finally got her to call me by first name.

"x"?

From a hijack on the poopie thread about moonshine

When I was running with the rescue squad (once upon a time) we got called out on a chest pains call in the middle of the night. It was WAY out in the middle of BFE and when we arrived there was a police officer there with the patient who walking around and didn’t really appear to be in very much physical distress. We did our thing, O2, IV, & EKG. Initial readings were fine; he seemed more upset than sick and was even tearful but no longer complaining of chest pains. Before we left the cop took me aside and told me what had actually happened.

The patient’s wife had come home and brought her boyfriend with her. Patient yelled at them to get out, and the wife struck him in the face. He got pissed and called 911 and when they arrived he said he wanted to press charges of assault. Wife responded by saying, “Oh yea! Well he’s got a still in the back yard!” Actually he had two, and as soon as she said that the patient started having chest pains. Patient cried and sniffled all the way to the hospital.

Honor among thieves, so to speak. Eh, MsDaisy?

Back in a very early period of a prior career, I worked with the news department of the CBS affiliate in Chattanooga. We always described our news as "wrecks, fires, crimes and public statements," but there was one more thing our boys loved to cover: moonshine busts.

So one night about 4am, the revenooers go creeping up the hill to a working still, complete with the two dudes in overalls lazing about and tending the still. The head revenooer gave the signal, and our guy stepped out into the clearing and turned on his sun gun so he could film the bust.

The two moonshiners started, and then one turned to the other and said, "Oh hell, Clem, we cain't run now. We're on TV!"

That became the saying in the station's private language that applied to anything we thought the better of after we were involved, but when it was too late to back out: "Well, we cain't run now -- we're on TV!"

Estevio - I can't give blood either anymore, all because I lived in Germany for more than 6 months after 1980 or something like that. Apparently, I may have been exposed to Mad Cow or something like that.

I used to give regularily until a few years ago when filling out the questionaire was told nope - not you.