Willing donor

Coming from a medical family it was a rule that we donated blood as soon as we were old enough, for as long as we were able. 

I think my first donation was when I was 16, when I went with Mum to the Bromborough Civic Centre to what we called "The Blood Club". I was handed a card, on which that and every subsequent British donation was recorded. Mum and I would go together whenever we could, and there would be a race between us to see who could fill the bag first. After almost 20 years I notched up enough pints to be awarded a bronze medal. 

And then I left for the other side of the world, where I discovered my blood wasn't wanted because I had been living in Britain during the 1990s BSE / CJD outbreak*. There was no way to screen donated blood, so even though the disease was extremely rare, the risk wasn't taken. How frustrating, especially when there is a shortage of blood here.

Only in February last year was the restriction lifted. At the time the NZ Blood Service estimated that it would increase the number of donors by up to 10,000 people. However the nurses today at the donation centre in Oamaru, told me that more than 20,000 people from Britain, Ireland and France had signed up since the restrictions were lifted.

So yes, I went and provided an armful of blood this morning. (I have had two false starts since February last year: once because I had a bug, and once because the nurses all had a bug.)

It is reassuring that despite a 28 year absence I found it all the same as it ever was: a needle was stuck in my arm, I was given a squeezy to pump gently and I lay back and watched everybody else. The tea and biccies afterwards were as welcome as ever, and the chat in the room was friendly. 

Job done - as recorded for posterity by one of the staff who took my photo when she saw me awkwardly trying to take a selfie.

I took the rest of the day off and I'm having roast chicken for supper, to build up my strength again ;-)

By the way I made a quip about giving an armful of blood to a nurse and she very seriously told me that my blood circulates and I wouldn't end up with an empty limb. She evidently never saw the classic Tony Hancock sketch which I linked above.


*= Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (in cattle) / variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (in humans). Also known as Mad Cow Disease.