Donating desire has been in vein
“If you prick us, do we not bleed?” — William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
I LIKE to think I’ve done my fair share of volunteering. It’s one reason why I don’t feel the need to explain myself when I decide I don’t want to be waylaid by well-meaning types seeking to sign me up for their cause-of-the-week.
I’ve coached my daughter’s primary school mixed netball side (even won a flag). Spent more than five years as a member of the local SES unit. And regularly given blood.
But now I fear that latter may have gone the way of the former two.
Sure, blood donation isn’t without its disadvantages. Side effects can include bruising, continued bleeding, dizziness, light-headedness and nausea. But that’s not what’s dissuading me, far from it. I genuinely believe it’s one of the easiest ways anyone can help their fellow man. And they give you a free cookie at the end.
I walked past the Blood Bank last week and ducked in and made an appointment for the first time since 2011. From past experience I know that looking for my blood can be like hunting for gold: once you tap into the vein it’s worth it but finding a suitable one is the tricky part. If my veins were in proportion to, say, my size 13 feet, giving blood would be like tapping a keg. Instead, staff have resorted to drawing on my arm when they think they’ve found a suitable source. (On one occasion last year when neither arm could be coaxed into giving up enough for just a blood test, they tapped into a vein near the base of my thumb).
But none of that was weighing particularly heavily on me when I fronted for my appointment yesterday.
I felt I was suitable hydrated, having struck a balance between taking on enough water to let my blood flow freely, but not so much that I need a toilet break middonation.
But more than an hour later my veins were acting like a hungry dog jealously guarding its bone. Three staff members working on both arms had managed only a trickle at best.
Disheartened but not defeated, I’ll give it one more try in a fortnight, trying to give whole blood instead of plasma.
Honestly, I’ll do anything for a free cookie.
If you want to give blood, go to www.donateblood.com.au