Every year MSU and Penn State have a blood drive competition. My student co-worker donated this year and gave me the schedule to give too. I have never given before. I used to be on medication that prevented me from giving, and then my excuse was I would have low iron because I am a vegetarian. However, a new thought came into my head on Tuesday. My grandma is having hip replacement surgery next month (click on the link to give the surgery a try!). I am pretty scared about it because she has heart problems and is on blood thinners. She may need extra blood during her surgery. I thought it would be fitting then if I gave blood here to show that I too support the blood bank.

So I went to the drive, filled out the paperwork, and started answering questions. I had to tell them about my formalin allergy, so we had to read the ingredients on the bags. Then the girl pricked my finger to check my hematocrit and the blood squirted all over my hand and the table. Eww! I went and washed my hands, she bleached the table. She was pretty surprised when it happened! Unfortunately, my hematocrit was 1 point too low to give. :( So she gave me a list of iron-rich foods and said I should stop back again before the drive ends on Friday.

The moral is: it wasn't so scary, and the people were nice. You never know who will need your blood. Remember Brenda and Dylan gave on Valentine's Day on "90210"? Check out the American Red Cross website to find a drive near you.