Last night I journeyed up to the Pleasant Hill Red Cross center to donate platelets via a process called apheresis. I received a call from the Red Cross on Monday saying that I was a match for a little girl in the Oakand Children's Hospital. Of course I had to do it.
Apheresis is harder than giving whole blood (something else I try to do as often as I can). It takes about 2 hours or so. While it's not as draining as a regular donation (you get most of your blood back), I still find it very tiring. I get so cold sitting in the chair, even with the electric blankets and the hot water bottle in my hand. My arms hurt afterwards - I can barely bend them, they are so stiff. And the needle sites are sore for a long while.
But I know that my discomfort for a few days is NOTHING compared to what the poor folks who need this are going through. And so I'll do it again. For as long as I'm able to. It really is the least that I can do.
