Remember a few weeks ago when I posted an article about my blood donation?
A couple weeks later, I got a notice in my mailbox that my postman had tried to drop off a certified letter from the blood bank, but I wasn’t there to receive it (I was working). That made me a little bit nervous. Why would the blood bank need to send me something so securely and confidentially? Maybe they found HIV in my blood, ha ha. No, that couldn’t be it, ha ha ha.
So the next day I swung by the post office and picked up the letter. Darn, it was a thick envelope, as it would be if it included brochures and stuff about how to deal with my recent HIV contraction, ha ha ha. I opened it up and read through the letter. Ah, thank God, they didn’t find HIV in my blood. Phew.
No, they found hepatitis C.
Yeah, and the rest of the envelope was sure enough filled with brochures and stuff about what hep C is and how to deal with it and stuff. Well, they found hep C in their first test, but then tested it again and couldn’t find it the second time, so they think that the first test was a false positive… but here’s a bunch of information about it and maybe you should see a real doctor about this, and also, sorry, but you’re off the donor list for six months even if you don’t have it.
Ha.
Now, you may find this hard to believe, but I don’t exactly live the hardcore life. I don’t shoot meth and I don’t patronize prostitutes. If I really did have the hep, I probably would have got it by giving blood… But, I mean, the letter was kinda clear that I probably didn’t have it, but it was still hella scary, ya know?
So I called the clinic and made an appointment to get blood drawn and tested. I got the phone call with the results today. Would this story end up being a comedy or a tragedy? Was I positive or negative for hepatitis C?
(suspenseful pause)
Well, I was negative, of course. I probably really had nothing to fear all along, but of course it’s good to get a definitive answer to the question, and not have the nagging feeling that maybe, maybe, it was the second test the blood bank did which was actually wrong. So for that it was worth the cost and trouble (especially if my insurance ends up covering the former - jury’s still out on that).
More long tech-related postings coming… eventually, I promise. Until then (and well after), keep giving blood for as long as your local bank lets you…
