Last month I was *finally* able to give blood again – I had to have a brief hiatus because I went to Kenya (after which your blood is considered “malarial” for 6 months), then I was booked to give in July last year, which was cancelled at the last minute Because COVID and quite honestly finding a session that is reasonably near and at a convenient time is surprisingly tricky. For some reason, the centres I go to seem to switch when they operate – it feels like for ever since they have been at the Civic Hall in Ormskirk, for example, where I can walk to and where last time I bumped into my mate Gareth.<\/p>\n
This time I went to Formby Hall Golf & Country Club, 20 minutes drive away, at the not-super-convenient time of 13:45 on a Wednesday. Honestly, the hands-free, excessive personal space experience of giving blood during a pandemic very much worked for me, and as always it was something of an effort to stay awake while reclining, with only the rythmic clenching of my hand to keep me conscious.<\/p>\n
One brief moment of excitement came when the nurse “sorting me out” shared that “the people from PR9 are here” in a stage whisper. This confused me, until she clarified that PR9 is where the South African Variant is, and they aren’t meant to leave their homes. At this point I was on a recliner with a needle in my arm, so there wasn’t much I could do other than shrug and carry on not touching anything.<\/p>\n
This was a month or so ago and I don’t appear to have caught anything, so bullet dodged, eh.<\/p>\n
Today I got a link through saying that my blood has been given to a person in need in Preston, with a link to a map of its journey.<\/p>\n
Amazing what technology can do these days, eh?! I’ve got 17 donation credits so far, I’m aiming for at least 25 so have got my next one booked in for as soon as I’m allowed, which is mid-to-late June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last month I was *finally* able to give blood again – I had to have a brief hiatus because I went to Kenya (after which your blood is considered “malarial” for 6 months), then I was booked to give in … Continue reading ![\"map](\"http:\/\/www.jude.hanlon.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screenshot-2021-03-06-at-19.19.44.png\")
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