A Scare

I donate blood fairly regularly. It's safe to say I do it about once a year and I've been donating since my college days.

I'd like to think that I am giving back to society by donating blood. Being a universal donor (blood type O) I'd like to think that my blood has made a difference. Call it my own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive. Tom, Dick and Harry recently had a blood donation drive. A pint of blood for a pint of Connor's. Hey, if I'm going to donate blood  I might as well get rewarded for it :)

Prior to donating blood, an interview is carried out. It's a standard operating procedure that asks you about your health, recent travel history and some questions about your sexual habits. Certain activities increase the chances of  blood borne illnesses (i.e., those that can be transmitted through blood) and those who have recently engaged in those activities may be prevented from donating blood. 

A small prick on your finger will be administered by the health care professional to check for your hemoglobin levels and blood type. 

The National Blood Bank (Pusat Darah Negara) screens all donated blood for blood borne diseases namely Hepatitis B, Hepatitis and  most STD's (Chlamydia, Herpes, Syphilis etc). This is to ensure that no contaminated blood ever gets deposited at the Blood Bank.

As a result of this screening, some people may receive a letter form the National Blood Bank that they may have tested positive for any of the blood borne diseases stated above.

To my horror, I received one such letter from the blood bank. 

I panicked. Who wouldn't? I received the letter last Saturday and I wanted to go in immediately to clarify the matter. Alas, the time slots to see them was from 10:30-12:30, Mondays through Fridays. I had a full day of meetings on Monday and I could only get to see them on Tuesday.

But I couldn't bear to wait till Tuesday to get it done. I snuck out of the office on Monday morning to get the issue resolved ASAP at the National Blood Bank.

The doctors I spoke to were very kind and understanding. They explained that I had tested positive for a blood borne disease. I asked which one, but they couldn't say. Something tells me they know, but they just wouldn't say. I went through another round of interviews with them (A doctor and two counsellors) Blood was drawn and an appointment was set 10 days later to discuss the results.

10 freaking days later!

Not to mention 10 sleepless nights as well.

:(

A couple of frantic BBM's to a friend who went a long way in calming my frayed nerves. He joked that my gallivanting ways had come back to haunt me.

Heh.

He recommended I go get myself tested at a private institution for peace of mind. He reassured me that he has heard of cases of false-positives occurring before.

I drove back to the office. Parked my car and made my way to the nearest private clinic. I saw the doctor who also soothed my already jittery state of mind by mentioning that there have been cases of false-positives being recorded by the National Blood Bank as well. She went a step further by saying that the National Blood Bank wouldn't want to lose a regular donor like me. =) 

More blood was drawn. I was starting to feel a little faint by now. I kid you not. It was after the blood was drawn that I was notified that the lab work needed a couple of days to be completed and that the test results would only be available 4 days later. Great! Number of sleepless nights cut down from 10 to 4. Total cost of peace of mind? RM415.

I left the clinic with a much lighter wallet and my head held between my legs. I was scared.

Various scenes started playing through my mind. What if I tested positive for any of the diseases? How is that going to affect my significant other, my family, my close friends. Will they have to be tested as well? I really didn't want all that trouble for them.

:(

Fast forward four days till today. D-day. First thing I did when I got into the office was to call the clinic to enquire if my results had come back from the lab. the nurse took my number down and told me that she will call me back as soon as the results were in. I had to go for an outside lunch appointment , got back and called the clinic again. I stole a glance at my watch when I did and the watch had just struck 2. Negative said the nurse, results aren't in yet.

As the heavens started to open up at 4, I mad a last ditch effort to call the clinic again. After all, they close at 6PM. The results were in! I tally-hooed to the clinic ASAP to collect my results.

All the results came back negative, which basically means that I was in the clear! *phew*

I called the significant other to let her know of the good news. We both breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Let this be a lesson to all blood donors. If you receive a letter from the blood bank, don't panic. The letter doesn't necessarily mean you are infected. It is very important that you see them for additional testing. Since blood collection agencies may use a variety of different screening tests for diseases. a more thorough and specific test will need to be carried out to see if you are actually infected.

This scare taught me to cherish my loved ones and family members more. Thanks for comforting me and being there when I needed you *hugs*