Some friends and I are gathering at Children’s Hospital at 5:30 pm to donate blood. I thought I’d invite local readers of this blog to show up as well. The center tends to be less busy after 4 pm and you can walk in any time up until around 6:30 pm (they close at 7 and the process takes about 30 minutes). You get free parking in the Children’s garage (across the street), a T-shirt, and name-brand snacks. The technicians at Children’s are much more skilled than the Red Cross staff (i.e., you won’t have holes in your arms) and the environment is much more pleasant than a university blood drive. Finally this saves Children’s Hospital from having to pay the Red Cross $200 for a pint of blood and cuts out a lot of middlemen.
[Remember that having lived for extended periods of time in England or other mad-cow areas is disqualifying as is having been to a malarial region in the last year (even places you might not think of as malarial, such as rural China). Statistical risk factors for HIV infection are also disqualifying. Call the number listed on http://www.childrenshospital.org/help/donate.html if you’re in doubt.]
Good thinking Phillip,
Anybody that wants to donate west of Boston (mainly west of the mississippi) and _not_ get perforated by the red cross, try this url:
https://www.bloodhero.com/index.cfm?
Actually they have a much better gift for you than a tee shirt if you ask for it — they offer really nice tote bags that are made of a heavy duty material, have two zippered compartments, and sport the Children’s Hospital name and logo on the side.
Sadly ‘politics’ has infiltrated charities and NGO’s all around the world. Blood donations here in South Africa have also been polarised safety and HIV risk profiling (accusations of racism). The cost factors
have also become outrageous (imported equipment, etc).
Gordon,
The US blood supply is not free fom the same issues that south africa faces, all of the US blood manufacturers were placed under a consent decree by the food and drug administration in the early nineties.
This was due to hiv entering the blood system (the worst instances regarded clotting factor) and poor tracking of products and donor histories.
Change control and solid IT systems have been a godsend to the US blood industry. The company that I work at was the first blood manufacturer in the US to be released from the consent decree, the experience has made us a much more solid IT shop, in addition to a credible source of information on proper blood manufacturing processes.
Aside from the outward costs of process development, equipment and software, the benefits are worthwhile. Every country must establish a sound blood supply. If you think south africa has it bad, imagine what the EU is facing with the mad cow ‘epidemic’. At least we have established procedures and tests to detect hiv, the New-Variant CJD is relatively mysterious at this point.
Philip, this is very beautiful mind. If I were in Boston, I would show myself.
Gary, can I have your e-mail address? I am studying for MBA too. I just finished my final examine-Marketing as strategy this morning.
Gary, I have read about the US HIV epidemic since its early days in 1981/2 (from SA). My post got slightly garbled while editing, but everything is politicised nowadays. I got up to 80 donations in 20 years, when my medication made my donations no longer acceptable.
We donate at Sanford Blood Bank instead of Blood Centers of the Pacific cause they have better tees and cookies. Stanford is closer too. We do give to BCOP at my club as we get a free diner with the deal. Wheee!
We used to also donate on singles night just for fun even though we are married. Im old and ugly but my wife is a hottie. She was tickled when hit on. Good for the ego.
The wife is CMV negative also which makes her a hottie at the blood bank and we get lots of calls for donations. Premies need CMV free blood.
Then there was the local case(Menlo Park) where the phelbotomist was reusing butterflys (small needle) and there was a big stink. I don’t think that kind of thing will happen at the big outfits.
“If you think south africa has it bad, imagine what the EU is facing with the mad cow ‘epidemic'”
Something between “very little” and “nothing at all”, I’d say.