Some Red Cross Answers

As I have said before, I donate platelets through the Red Cross on a regular basis. Every time I go I am asked a set of questions. They are the same set for anyone donating whole blood or platelets. My answers are almost always the same.

First, I say some basic information such as my name, address, phone number, gender, and weight. Then, I acknowledge I read the educational materials, ask any questions that arose from it, and say I never donated under a different name. Next, there is a check of my physical condition. My blood pressure, iron level, heart rate, temperature, and skin condition are all checked. Eventually, I get to answer questions on a computer. I click Yes, No, or Skip for each question. I have done this so often, I know what my answers are:

EDIT: I got questions 1 and 5 switched. The corrected version is below.

1 Yes (Are you feeling healthy and well today?)
2 No
3 No
4 No
5 Yes (Have you read the educational materials?)
6 No
7 Skipped by computer
8 Skipped by computer
9 Yes (Within the past 8 weeks, have you donated whole blood, plasma, or platelets?)
10 No
11 No
12 No
13 No
14 No
15 No
16 No
17 No
18 No
19 No
20 No
21 No
22 Skipped by computer (Since I indicated I am a male, I am not asked if I am pregnant)
23 No
24 No
25 No
26 No
27 No
28 No
29 No
30 No
31 Yes (From 1980 to 1996, where you a member of the United States military or a civilian dependent?)
32 No
33 No
34 No
35 No
36 No
37 No
38 No
39 No
40 No
41 No
42 No
43 No
44 No
45 No
46 No
47 No
48 No
49 No

The Yeses for questions 9 and 31 raise flags. The first one is resolved when the technical looks at my chart and determines my last platelet appointment was two weeks ago or more. The second question about the military is answered when I explain that during my entire lifetime my Dad was stationed in the United States.

Since the donation process takes around two hours, I get to watch one of several movies they have available. The latest movies I saw with comments on a few of them are:

• Sherlock Holmes


• Surrogates I am one of the worst people when it comes to judging movies, acting, and all aspects of film making. However, if they had spent a few minutes developing the characters so I would actually know and care about them the movie would have been much better.


• Crazy Heart


• Alice in Wonderland I have not read Carrol's books nor had I seen a movie adaptation of the story so I had no idea what to expect from the story.


• Sin City I liked this best of this movie bunch.


• Little Miss Sunshine


• Cop Out Better than I though it would be based upon the trailers I remember seeing before it came out in theaters. In interrogating a suspect, a police detective portrayed by Tracy Morgan starts using famous lines from different movies to scare the person into talking. While this happens his partner played by Bruce Willis is watching from the observation room and commenting on these impersonations. My favorite exchange:
  Tracy Morgan: "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!"
  Bruce Willis: "I've never seen that movie before."
  If you are not familiar with John McClane, you are missing out on some great stuff.

If you donate platelets at the right place you too can watch movies.