# I pit people who don't donate blood! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 20, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496 "2006-06-20T23:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/161 "2006-06-22T15:15:59Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] Strike one. I didn’t say I was in favour of the policy. I said your hissy-fit response was inappropriate. We can argue the “political prejudice that has no valid scientific backing” if you like - my understanding is that MWHSWM _are_ a statistically higher-risk group and that, not political prejudice, dictates the policy. [/quote] And this is why I have mixed feelings. People talk about how they’re not skanks, and how they practice safe sex - and a lot of us do; odds of me catching HIV are probably way lower than the general population, given that I don’t have all that much sex and practice safer sex when I do. But even so, on an aggregate basis, MSMs _are_ more likely to have HIV than straight men. Asking for a more detailed sexual history might frighten off donors, or it might encourage more people to lie. It’s impossible for me to guess, but it’s possible that trying for a more “rational” approach might hurt either the safety of the blood supply or the quantity of donations. And it’s important to remember than even NAT testing isn’t perfect; my understanding is that people _still_ occasionally get infected with HIV from the blood supply. _If_ the questions they ask are able to remove a substantial number of HIV positive people from the blood donation pool proportional to the number of clean donations they’re using, then it may be a rational step. On the other hand, I don’t have the numbers, and a lot of these things are _seriously_ hard to quantify. And homophobia is still rampant in this society; it’s a tad foolish (or perhaps it’s the sign of an ideologue) to imagine that it couldn’t possibly have been part of the motivation for the decision. Judging by the FDA committee’s vote, it’s hardly an issue that’s crystal clear. It may well be, statistically speaking, a perfectly rational decision. Or it may not be. I don’t have enough information to evaluate it, and the FDA has something of a history of late of acting on a political basis rather than a scientific one. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/162 "2006-06-22T15:35:27Z")
The bloodmobile was at my workplace YESTERDAY… and I didn’t donate. They were giving away tee-shirts…and I didn’t donate Our company had a drawing for gift-cards to some places that I shop…and I didn’t donate. We found out three weeks ago that the bloodmobile would be here… and I didn’t donate. Yep… I donated some _FIVE_ weeks ago and thus I was ineligible. But when I asked if I could be included in the draw, I was told “no… because you’re not donating here.” Well, that’s a fine how-do-you-do (from our HR department… not the bloodbank) for a LOYAL donor… who goes every two months (or thereabouts) to donate. I did point out to them that the last time I donated blood, it was the 144th time I’d done so. That’s right … [brag] **GRIZZ HAS DONATED EIGHTEEN GALLONS!!** [/brag] ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/163 "2006-06-22T16:13:28Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Personally, I decline to participate or cooperate with **bigoted, homophobic organizations**. And I encourage my friends to do so, too. [/quote] As other people have said, the FDA makes those rules, not the blood banks. That’s why it is universal across the US. > [@](#): > > P.S. I have another question about these blood donor groups, and their financing. > > The blood is donated for free, the bloodmobile was donated by a local business, even the cookies they give out are given to them at a reduced price. Yet at the other end, when a sick patient receives that pint of blood, they are charged hundreds of dollars (in addition to the charge for administering the blood). _Where does all that money go?_ > **Somehow, I just have the feeling that along the way, the blood that was freely donated is lining someones pockets.** bolding mine As **What Exit?** said: > [@](#): > > Could the money go to pay highly trained specialized nurses, to maintain the buses and building and keep everything clean and refrigerated? > I do not think the blood banks are lining their pockets, the hospital might be padding the bills\* to some degree, but to accuse the blood centers of what you are accusing them of seems unfounded and detrimental to a continuing blood supply. Also, testing and storing and transporting the blood, and the salaries of those who do those tasks. I work for a not-for-profit blood bank- I assume that all blood banks operate that way, and wouldn’t work for one (or donate to) one that didn’t. [QUOTE=Nanoda] Perhaps it’s a bit GQ, but can the needle go _anywhere_ else but on the inside of your arm? I think part of my problem is that I’d prefer to get a needle… yeah, just about anywhere else, really. I can see some nice veins on the backs of my hand - why not them? [/QUOTE] I was told it was because it was an especially honkin’ needle, but someone else may have a better answer. [QUOTE=Askia] Funny this comes up – I’m short on cash and I wanted to borrow a trick from my ex-roommate Ves who used to sell blood plasma a few times a month. I can’t seem to find any information on blood banks in the Atlanta area that buy plasma and platelets. Sorry, I’m not in this for the dry cookies and too small t-shirt, thanks. That’s weird because I distinctly remember seeing one in midtown ages ago but I don’t think it’s there anymore. [/QUOTE] That kind of donation doesn’t go for patient use, if you care. It is used for research or cosmetics. Paid for blood or blood products cannot be used for patient transfusion. [QUOTE=hajario] I was wondering about this too. I wonder what percentage of the blood that they get is actually used. [/QUOTE] 97% of the blood we collect is used. [QUOTE=Finagle] s’truth? I’ve been on the ALT exclustion list for the past 15 years or so. Was up to 3 gallons before that. [/QUOTE] Should be true, double-check it’s true with your local blood bank. I work with a caring group of phlebotomists, most trained by the blood bank I work for, that go out and draw donors daily, and do a better job than a lot of RN’s that come in and see us. We get complimented often by medical workers that we draw, because drawing blood is what we do. We have to be accurate! We is good people, so come give blood in Colorado! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/164 "2006-06-22T16:16:31Z")
Barely Relevant Information: If you sometimes donate, but can’t make it every eight weeks, see if your center will do [Alyx](http://www.bloodnj.org/alyx_intro.htm) donations (aside - Wikipedia has an entry for Alyx, the character in _Half Life_, but not Alyx the blood centrifuge thingy). They take a pint of fluid, like always, but double the amount of red blood cells they take - making your donation almost as useful as two donations. It’s just one stick, and takes maybe 5 minutes longer than a whole blood donation. It’s not some two-hour, two-arm thing like platelet donation or anything. You can only do it once every sixteen weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/165 "2006-06-22T16:44:11Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] In '90 I’d contracted malaria so couldn’t donate until five years later. [/QUOTE] Really? IIRC, I was told that I could not donate blood within 10 years of taking anti-malarials (chloroquine etc.) never mind contracting the disease. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/166 "2006-06-22T17:11:07Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] Count me in as extremely needle-phobic. In all the many times I’ve donated I’ve never once seen the needle in my arm, I’d probably hurl. But the gals at the local blood bank are pretty slick at slipping the needle in painlessly, so I do it. Always bruise, but that’s no problem. [/QUOTE] You call yourself extremely needle-phobic, and you can write that paragraph? _shudders_ [QUOTE=Millit the Frail] I’m working up to it. I’m incredibly needle-phobic. I donated blood once six years ago, and the needle-phobia arose sometime since then. I’ve put off important medical tests and was almost not been able to work in two different hospitals because I panicked when faced with a TB test. … So I’m working up to donating blood. I’ll need to have a very patient and skilled nurse…or else I’ll be getting up out of that chair and having a go at it some other time. [/QUOTE] Now, THAT’S needle-phobic! I haven’t been stuck with a needle in the past twenty years without having several nights filled with nightmares beforehand and becoming violently ill afterward. I’ve delayed a career change due to the necessity to get an injection; I’ve seriously considered not travelng to foreign countries due to the need to get an injection. I’ve got a strong stomach regarding other matters, but when folks start swapping needle-stories, I leave the room, literally. I know that there are some people out there who are made mildly queasy by the needlestick: for them, giving blood isn’t a big deal, whereas for me, it’s damn near inconceivable. If there’s something I can do instead, I’ll do that; if they can punch me in the nose and collect the blood, that’s fine by me. I haven’t heard of any cases in the US where someone died in the past 20 years due to a shortage of blood, so claims that I need to give to prevent the shortage are specious. We all do our part to keep society running. This is one part that I cannot psychologically do. I reject your criticism. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/167 "2006-06-22T17:43:53Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I get the general idea behind this, but I wonder if that policy’s a bit overboard. There’s ways to anonymously prevent them from using your blood for anything. [/QUOTE] I agree. It is way overboard. But that’s what I was saying - the blood gathering groups I know of are extremely paranoid. I’ve known blood drives to be cancelled for less. I guess it depends on the group. As for plasma, that’s a different story, because it gets processed into other blood products. The processing would destroy anything dangerous, so they don’t need to worry so much about keeping their supply clean. > [@](#): > > Nonsense. The Federal Fucking Government gives you 4 hours of Admin leave for giving blood. Thus, you are just plain wrong. I never said it didn’t happen, just that I was mildly surprised to hear it, because in my mind it would fall into the category of compensation. Obviously, at least some groups involved in making the decision disagree with me. I have no problem with that, as I expect they know more about it than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/168 "2006-06-22T17:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Really? IIRC, I was told that I could not donate blood within 10 years of taking anti-malarials (chloroquine etc.) never mind contracting the disease. [/QUOTE] I was told - five years for blood at all, then after five years, you tell them and they take all but the red blood cells. Now when you go on their website they break it down by individual medicine. I didn’t read it too closely, as I don’t have to worry either way (it’s been 15 years). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/169 "2006-06-22T17:56:18Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] I haven’t heard of any cases in the US where someone died in the past 20 years due to a shortage of blood, so claims that I need to give to prevent the shortage are specious. [/QUOTE] There’s [this case](http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0606210194jun21,1,4693197.story?page=2&coll=chi-news-hed) which I just read about this week (see second page): > [@](#): > > And he seemed so close: In January 2005, the transplant center at Mt. Sinai called to say a liver was available, so the family piled into a minivan and drove three hours to the hospital amid a blizzard. > > Then the doctors canceled the operation. The blood bank could not supply enough transfusions for his blood type, which contained a rare antibody. Yes, part of this man’s problem was that he was in a tough situation for getting a liver, but clearly if there had been enough of that type of rare blood, he would have had his transplant in time. The way you get rare blood types is by getting sheer numbers of people in so you can find enough special donors. Severe blood shortages are not uncommon - I found [one reference](http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/releases/2005/2005-07-11_low_blood_supply.htm) from last year to having to ration out blood between hospitals, having only one day’s projected supply of blood available (which would create tremendous problems if there was some horrible accident/disaster), having to postpone non-emergency transfusions and non-emergency surgeries, and so forth. It’s not death but I’d classify that as more than a nuisance. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine even suggested that we might need to [import blood from abroad to meet our needs](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990211073902.htm). I’m sorry you’re phobic and defensive, but that’s no reason to brush off the need for donors. Blood is a very time-sensitive item (5 days for platelets, 42 for red blood cells), and the need is constant. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/170 "2006-06-22T18:11:15Z")
I have A-, is that rare? Should I try someone besides the ARC and see if they’ll take my blood? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/171 "2006-06-22T20:23:39Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] I’m sorry you’re phobic and defensive, but that’s no reason to brush off the need for donors. Blood is a very time-sensitive item (5 days for platelets, 42 for red blood cells), and the need is constant. [/QUOTE] It’s interesting to know that there are shortages occasionally. Nonetheless, I’m not going to give blood, and I’m going to reject criticism of me for that decision; if you see that as defensive, have fun. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/172 "2006-06-22T20:34:29Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] It’s interesting to know that there are shortages occasionally. Nonetheless, I’m not going to give blood, and I’m going to reject criticism of me for that decision; if you see that as defensive, have fun. Daniel [/QUOTE] Given what you’ve said about your reaction to needles, I don’t think anyone can really blame you. Not something I particularly understand, but I don’t think “lie back and think of England” is really sufficient in your case . . . ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/173 "2006-06-22T22:10:28Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] And this is why I have mixed feelings. People talk about how they’re not skanks, and how they practice safe sex - and a lot of us do; odds of me catching HIV are probably way lower than the general population, given that I don’t have all that much sex and practice safer sex when I do. But even so, on an aggregate basis, MSMs _are_ more likely to have HIV than straight men. Asking for a more detailed sexual history might frighten off donors, or it might encourage more people to lie. It’s impossible for me to guess, but it’s possible that trying for a more “rational” approach might hurt either the safety of the blood supply or the quantity of donations. And it’s important to remember than even NAT testing isn’t perfect; my understanding is that people _still_ occasionally get infected with HIV from the blood supply. _If_ the questions they ask are able to remove a substantial number of HIV positive people from the blood donation pool proportional to the number of clean donations they’re using, then it may be a rational step. On the other hand, I don’t have the numbers, and a lot of these things are _seriously_ hard to quantify. And homophobia is still rampant in this society; it’s a tad foolish (or perhaps it’s the sign of an ideologue) to imagine that it couldn’t possibly have been part of the motivation for the decision. Judging by the FDA committee’s vote, it’s hardly an issue that’s crystal clear. It may well be, statistically speaking, a perfectly rational decision. Or it may not be. I don’t have enough information to evaluate it, and the FDA has something of a history of late of acting on a political basis rather than a scientific one. [/QUOTE] Frankly, I sympathise. I know of another gay donor who only wishes he _could_ hand over his liquid-gold O negative. But as I say, the US would rate me a thorough-going Typhoid Mary just for being English - I don’t think they make any exceptions for vegans; I could be wrong - but the last thing I’d do would be to go around encouraging people to boycott them. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I have A-, is that rare? Should I try someone besides the ARC and see if they’ll take my blood? All Rh- stuff is rare-ish; you’re talking a few percent of the population. (I once had an A- girlfriend so we’d have been useless to each other; I’d’ve abhorred her A antigens and she’d’ve been sickened by my Rhesus factor.) If someone’ll take it, go for it. It’s not a lifesaver the way O- is but it could eke out the precious O- a bit further. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/174 "2006-06-22T22:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=GrizzRich] The bloodmobile was at my workplace YESTERDAY… and I didn’t donate. They were giving away tee-shirts…and I didn’t donate Our company had a drawing for gift-cards to some places that I shop…and I didn’t donate. We found out three weeks ago that the bloodmobile would be here… and I didn’t donate. Yep… I donated some _FIVE_ weeks ago and thus I was ineligible. But when I asked if I could be included in the draw, I was told “no… because you’re not donating here.” Well, that’s a fine how-do-you-do (from our HR department… not the bloodbank) for a LOYAL donor… who goes every two months (or thereabouts) to donate. I did point out to them that the last time I donated blood, it was the 144th time I’d done so. That’s right … [brag] **GRIZZ HAS DONATED EIGHTEEN GALLONS!!** [/brag] [/QUOTE] 144 times? That’s gross. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/175 "2006-06-23T01:25:50Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] 144 times? That’s gross. 😃 [/QUOTE] Oof. I’ve been wounded by a pun. ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/176 "2006-06-23T02:24:16Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] 144 times? That’s gross. 😃 [/QUOTE] Wow, that was bad, really really bad! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/177 "2006-06-23T17:32:04Z")
I’ve been turned down too many times for high blood pressure. That never made sense to me. If the pressure’s too high, let some out. Then I was banned from the center for clogging up the apherisis centrifuge with cholesterol. Boy, were they pissed. I quit trying. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/178 "2006-06-23T21:01:00Z")
It also turns out that the difference between fresh blood and “old blood” (31-42 days after donation, 42 days is the max life for red blood cells) [can mean life or death for some heart patients](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_35213.html). I’ll also add here that I don’t begrudge anyone who’s phobic or otherwise ineligible - between problems just finding a vein in me to get a regular smallish needle in for a blood draw (never mind a large one for donation), medication conflicts, and frequent colds, I certainly can’t defend myself. I’m just saying that yes, we really do need lots of blood donations. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/179 "2006-09-15T07:23:04Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] I hereby pit all the fucking selfish assholes at my office who are too lazy, too wussy or too apathetic to spend half an hour doing something that has the very real possibility of **saving a life**. [/QUOTE] You sure have a way with words! Of course it’s the wrong way. I’m not going to stand on tiptoe waiting for your crude diatribe to be published on a Red Cross poster or as copy in a magazine ad, let alone as spoken commentary on a TV spot. In 1970, L. A. Police Chief Tom Reddin spoke on local radio, in an editorial, deploring skid row drunks who sell their blood for something to drink–and God-knows-what is in their blood (in terms of diseases, etc.) Many years ago, San Francisco columnist Herb Caen told about a cabbie whose passenger tried to stiff him for the fare. When the cab reached the destination, the cabbie said, “That’ll be four dollars, buddy.” “Oh, no, it won’t,” said the passenger. “I don’t have any money and you know, you can’t get blood out of a turnip.” The cabbie snapped, “Well, you ain’t no turnip, and your blood is worth four dollars a pint.” So saying, the cabbie got a hammerlock on the deadbeat and hustled him into a local Red Cross center, and waited while they extracted the pint; then the cabbie collected. I told this to a doctor I know; she deplored such chutzpah on the part of the cabbie–as if that stunt would get a Los Angeles-area cabbie arrested. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496/180 "2006-09-15T10:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=dougie\_monty] You sure have a way with words! Of course it’s the wrong way. I’m not going to stand on tiptoe waiting for your crude diatribe to be published on a Red Cross poster or as copy in a magazine ad, let alone as spoken commentary on a TV spot. In 1970, L. A. Police Chief Tom Reddin spoke on local radio, in an editorial, deploring skid row drunks who sell their blood for something to drink–and God-knows-what is in their blood (in terms of diseases, etc.) Many years ago, San Francisco columnist Herb Caen told about a cabbie whose passenger tried to stiff him for the fare. When the cab reached the destination, the cabbie said, “That’ll be four dollars, buddy.” “Oh, no, it won’t,” said the passenger. “I don’t have any money and you know, you can’t get blood out of a turnip.” The cabbie snapped, “Well, you ain’t no turnip, and your blood is worth four dollars a pint.” So saying, the cabbie got a hammerlock on the deadbeat and hustled him into a local Red Cross center, and waited while they extracted the pint; then the cabbie collected. I told this to a doctor I know; she deplored such chutzpah on the part of the cabbie–as if that stunt would get a Los Angeles-area cabbie arrested. [/QUOTE] You resurrected a zombie thread just for that likely story? :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-dont-donate-blood/361496.md?page=10)