Isn't It a Shame?

Yesterday was blood donation day with work. I'd finally worked up the courage to do this, although I was pretty tense and nervous on the way there with the other 12 peeps from the office.

I managed the finger prick thing ok ( although even this was a major accomplishment for me), filled out their little survey...and got rejected by the nurse who asks you all the awkward questions about sex with men.

No, no, it wasn't any of THOSE questions that did me in, it was Costa Rica! Yup, apprently according to Blood Services it's on their Malaria "no go" list, even though the travel clinic doctor we saw before the trip told us we wouldn't need any shots as there was only one small area of the country (on the coast we didn't visit!) that had some malaria. So, I didn't get to donate : (

Even worse though...of the 13 people who went SEVEN got shot down. Everything from Travel(Mexico, Morocco, India, etc) to low iron, and even a "pulse that's too high".

I understand the need for rules, but with the amount of travel people do these days, a full 1 year wait after a trip to just about anywhere seems harsh.(seriously, I eventually found the list of no go countries on their website, and there's easily 150 no go countries) Obviously it's all about safe vs sorry, but it's too bad they aren't better able to test / screen the blood once you've donated...presumably odds of any of the travel folk actually HAVING come in contact with malaria is seriously low.

Labels: Blood, Costa Rica