Donating Blood Was Easy!

I saw a "Give Blood Today" sign on the way to the Post Office, and couldn't think of a reason not to.

Not my most attractive picture,
but something to be proud of

I used to give blood regularly (it's a free and easy way to do a little good in the world, and to get cookies on the side!) but between one thing and another, I'd gotten out of the habit. This seemed like an easy way to get back to it.

The location was a Catholic Church in West Seattle, probably Holy Rosary; the blood drive was staffed by the Puget Sound Blood Center.

I went into the basement and found that the procedure was pretty much as I remembered. The main difference was that there was a lot more safety information, e.g. information about Crutz Jacobs disease. They'd also dealt with a couple of questions such as "Are you pregant?"; I had the choice of answering "Yes", "No" and "I am male". I suppose they'd gotten tired of silly questions about it!

The nurse who did the interview and blood iron test was, like me, an avid thrift store shopper; the guy who actually hooked me up to the blood bag was also friendly and we mostly talked about my new rain barrel; the crowd of donors sitting in the "Wait Here 10 Minutes" table seemed to be parishoners; we discussed the new archbishop and also the need for living wage jobs. 

I'm glad I took the time to give blood; it didn't take much time and I enjoy talking (as I always do!)
Talking it over this evening, I was amused to learn that Mother-In-Law had attended Holy Rosary while living with Aunt May. I wonder if we went through the same door!