Blood Work, it flows both ways

Everyone knows that Africa has it’s share of diseases right? Well it does, and many of them are preventable and some of them are curable. So in preparation for my trip I’m going to a travel clinic to make sure that all my immunizations are up to date. In fact they won’t let you into Kenya unless you can prove that you’ve had all the right shots. My appointment is this Thursday, the doc is going to jab me a few times, and give me some prescriptions for common virus’ that might get me. But before I go get stuck, I’m going to get sucked.

I give blood at the New York Blood Center whenever I can, you can only donate whole blood every 56 days. I’m lucky enough to not be afraid of needles (unlike some people) so that’s not a big deal, and I see it as a great way to help the community. It only takes about 30 minutes to give whole blood, 15 minutes is a quick interview and health check which they have to do each time, then for 15 minutes I lie watching whatever day time movie they have on, while squeezing a little ball to help the red stuff flow. Part of the very thorough interview are some questions about travel, and one of them is about Africa. If you’ve been to Africa, especially for an extended period of time, or had certain immunizations, you can’t give blood for a few years. So I’m going to give one last time before I go. I’m a bit sad that I wont be able to contribute to my New York community in this way for a while, but I’m glad to be off to help another community.

The Red Cross accepts blood donations in most places around the world, except in New York where it’s handled by the New York Blood Center. Blood is needed by hospitals in communities everywhere all the time, I would encourage everyone to donate a little of the red love to their community, you never know when you’re gonna need to make a withdrawal.