I have "baby blood". This means I am CMV negative; I have not been exposed to the cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV is a complex flu-like virus that most adults in the United States are exposed to at sometime in their lives. It is a double stranded DNA virus belonging to the herpes virus family.
As with other viruses, once you’ve had them, your body retains the antibodies. CMV can persist in infected donor white cells and is often transmitted by a blood transfusion, but rarely causes disease. However, in the case of low birth weight infants and adults with weakened immune systems, the consequences of such infection may be severe or even fatal. Because the immune systems in these patients are not fully developed or compromised, every precaution must be taken to avoid infection. Scientific studies have shown blood lacking this virus (CMV negative blood) is safer for pediatric patients and those with immune deficiencies.
My blood type is O positive, which is the most common blood type. Once I was informed of my status as a "baby donor", I made a person commitment to donate as often is possible. This means that I donate blood every eight weeks. In the past three years, I have donated over 2 gallons of blood at the Oakland Blood Donation Center.
Over that time, I have established relationships with the phlebotomists there. For almost two years, my favorite phlebotomist was a young woman named Carolina. We shared a birthday and a similar sense of humor. She was always gentle with me and understood my dislike for needles. (Yes, I know.) Now, my phlebotomist, is a young man named Able. We connected the first time he took my vitals and my history months ago. We are each delighted when we are paired up in the process.
This past Saturday, I had a scheduled appointment at 7:30 am and Able drew my folder. Since we see each other every two months, we catch up on each other's lives in the office while Able takes my medical history and records my temperature and blood pressure before we go into the lab area. Yesterday was no different. As we were talking about the state of the world, the state of our country, the state of our lives... Able was testing my hemoglobin. This involves a finger stick, where a drop of my blood is placed in a small machine to ensure I have enough iron-carrying red blood cells to safely donate blood. I choose to have the middle finger of my left hand used for the finger stick. Much to my dismay, the reading measured 11.8 gm/dl, it must be at least 12.5 gm/dl to donate.
I was very disappointed but I could understand the low reading. Only two days before I had completed the 5 Day Autumn Equinox Angelic Detox and Cleanse with Jennifer Russel and Daryl Glinn Tanner. This is the same cleanse I had participated in four years ago to the day and I wrote about in the blog post titled, The Beginning of the Beginning. While, I took in a lot of nutrients and faithfully drank the green drink twice a day, the hemoglobin measurement was low.
I decided in the moment, I was going to donate that day. I had an appointment. I was on time. I was there. I was ready. I asked Able if he would test my other hand. He joked and asked if he could "poke" me again. While he was preparing, I said out loud, "I have plenty of iron. I am thinking of metal. I will have enough hemoglobin today." Able did the finger stick on the middle finger of my right hand. (By the way, this is the most painful part of donating for me.) He put my blood sample in the machine and when he read the measurement, he was grinning. Same body, same blood, different finger, serious intention... 13.4 gm/dl.
I was a bit stunned and asked, "How does that happen?"
"Faith," replied the phlebotomist.
As with other viruses, once you’ve had them, your body retains the antibodies. CMV can persist in infected donor white cells and is often transmitted by a blood transfusion, but rarely causes disease. However, in the case of low birth weight infants and adults with weakened immune systems, the consequences of such infection may be severe or even fatal. Because the immune systems in these patients are not fully developed or compromised, every precaution must be taken to avoid infection. Scientific studies have shown blood lacking this virus (CMV negative blood) is safer for pediatric patients and those with immune deficiencies.
My blood type is O positive, which is the most common blood type. Once I was informed of my status as a "baby donor", I made a person commitment to donate as often is possible. This means that I donate blood every eight weeks. In the past three years, I have donated over 2 gallons of blood at the Oakland Blood Donation Center.
Over that time, I have established relationships with the phlebotomists there. For almost two years, my favorite phlebotomist was a young woman named Carolina. We shared a birthday and a similar sense of humor. She was always gentle with me and understood my dislike for needles. (Yes, I know.) Now, my phlebotomist, is a young man named Able. We connected the first time he took my vitals and my history months ago. We are each delighted when we are paired up in the process.
This past Saturday, I had a scheduled appointment at 7:30 am and Able drew my folder. Since we see each other every two months, we catch up on each other's lives in the office while Able takes my medical history and records my temperature and blood pressure before we go into the lab area. Yesterday was no different. As we were talking about the state of the world, the state of our country, the state of our lives... Able was testing my hemoglobin. This involves a finger stick, where a drop of my blood is placed in a small machine to ensure I have enough iron-carrying red blood cells to safely donate blood. I choose to have the middle finger of my left hand used for the finger stick. Much to my dismay, the reading measured 11.8 gm/dl, it must be at least 12.5 gm/dl to donate.
I was very disappointed but I could understand the low reading. Only two days before I had completed the 5 Day Autumn Equinox Angelic Detox and Cleanse with Jennifer Russel and Daryl Glinn Tanner. This is the same cleanse I had participated in four years ago to the day and I wrote about in the blog post titled, The Beginning of the Beginning. While, I took in a lot of nutrients and faithfully drank the green drink twice a day, the hemoglobin measurement was low.
I decided in the moment, I was going to donate that day. I had an appointment. I was on time. I was there. I was ready. I asked Able if he would test my other hand. He joked and asked if he could "poke" me again. While he was preparing, I said out loud, "I have plenty of iron. I am thinking of metal. I will have enough hemoglobin today." Able did the finger stick on the middle finger of my right hand. (By the way, this is the most painful part of donating for me.) He put my blood sample in the machine and when he read the measurement, he was grinning. Same body, same blood, different finger, serious intention... 13.4 gm/dl.
I was a bit stunned and asked, "How does that happen?"
"Faith," replied the phlebotomist.
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