Donating Blood

One of the PHC student groups sponsored a blood drive today. I've been donating blood since I managed to gain enough weight to meet their minimum--something like 10 years ago--and took the time to donate today.

As I was reading through their pack of information about blood donation, I noticed that they were talking about a "new blood test"--the Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT). I know from my experience that the Red Cross has been doing this test for AT LEAST 5 years. How long does something remain "new?"

So, I asked the lady who took my blood pressure and history. She noted that the use of the barcode on the history to say "Yes, use my blood" or "No, do not use my blood" started out as a 6-month experiment that has now been going on for 5 years. (I would've guessed even longer, as I remember that before the NAT testing. Checking on the Internet, the Red Cross has been doing the NAT testing since spring of 1999.)

Since I've been donating blood, they have also moved from using the ear to using the finger for the iron test.

I'm not about to argue that my 10 years of donating is a "long time," but there have still been a few changes.