8/27/07

Z-A of Me Meme

F is for False Positive.

Two times I've tried to donate blood. The first time, my blood clotted too quickly and the half-full bag had to be thrown out. The second time, I was sick and my blood didn't clot until after I had bled fully through the giant wad of gauze they have you press onto the needle insertion site. This was also the first time that one of the H.I.V. tests they do came back positive. The confirmation test they do was negative, but it was still enough to freak both my wife and I the hell out.

I then didn't go anywhere near the Local Blood Bank, and had no plans to until it became obvious that my wife, bless her heart, was having trouble each time she tried to give blood because of my false positive. So finally I go back for my "re-entry" bloodwork, hoping to ease my wife's anxiety about my health. The results, says the lady who took my blood, should be in by the end of the week.

Three weeks later, I finally remember to call them up and ask what's going on. I find out that the director of the Local Blood Bank is on vacation, and will be until August 27th. I wonder out loud why she hasn't gotten back to me already, and the lackey on the other end of the line goes to check and see if she can find anything. She says everything came back negative, and that she would have the director call me back when she got back from her trip.

Today I get a message from the director saying that AGAIN the HIV screening has come back positive, and the confirmation test is negative, so I shouldn't worry about having HIV, but to call and we'll talk about it. Apparently people with strong immune systems (like me, supposedly) often fail the HIV screening.

I don;t actually care that I can't give blood, as the Local Blood Bank is obviously very mismanaged, and I'm sure they just sell all the blood that gets donated anyway. However, my wife will now be able to give blood whenever there's a blood drive, but to quote her "after everything that's gone on with them? never again."

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