Today I went out of the house to donate some blood. Obviously, I kept my distance from other people since the next wave is approaching and I wore my mask because… at this point it feels weird to not wear it when I’m outside. Either way, blood donation. I wanted to talk about this as it’s kinda important to me. Hence, I figured I should mention as well how my donation today went, what you need to be aware of, and why donation is so important.
For starters, my blood type is “0 positive” which is somewhat rare (not as rare as “0 negative” but still rarer than others over here). As someone with a “0” blood type, I can donate blood to anyone but I can only receive blood from 0+ or 0-, which is a bit dangerous in a way. After all, if I were to get into an accident, I’d need that specific blood type for a transfusion… but as it turns out there aren’t too many people that donate blood over here in the summer, which is why some blood donation services give you incentives to donate blood… like money. Either way, I probably won’t get into any accidents any time soon but it may still save someone’s life, which is why I donate blood. Also, blood regenerates quickly, so it’s not like it’s gone forever.
But yeah, donating blood is important and I try to do it whenever I can. The most important thing for that, however, is that you drink enough water (I tend to drink at least 2-3 litres of water beforehand) and that you’ve eaten properly previously. Also, your iron levels shouldn’t be too low, which is why I eat spinach or salads or fish more often when the next possible appointment is approaching. Over here in Germany, you fill out a questionnaire about you where you essentially tell the doctors and helpers if you had sex with a bisexual or homosexual man before or if you got a tattoo and stuff before. That sorta thing. Also, drugs, frequent unprotected sex with strangers, vaccines, medication, certain diseases, and other information go in there. You’ll have to weigh at least 50kg for example as well or else they won’t let you donate. The precautions they take in case of people having HIV is kinda bullshit for a plethora of reasons but in the end, it depends on your state and country and you may still be able to donate… but it depends and hopefully some of the laws get refreshed eventually.
Either way, I went to donate some blood today and despite me drinking a lot of water, it took a bit longer and I got a bit dizzy. When that happens, you need to tell the people that work there that you’re dizzy. Everyone rushed towards me, took care of me and measured my blood pressure a bunch of times until I felt better. I hated that extra attention but it can’t be helped. It would be better than collapsing, so let people take care of you.
Once that was over, I received a snack and some money as well as some Coca Cola for the blood sugar and stuff. I went and grabbed some fast food because why not… and on the way back something strange happened… I think I got cursed by an old witch on the bus. So, on the bus, I was talking to Ms Magi who was also on her way home, and this old lady sat down on the seats in front of us, which is fine… I mean there were plenty of other seats free but whatever. So, we were talking and she suddenly started shouting at us to be quiet. So, I told her “okay, have a nice day” and just talked normally. I mean, there were plenty of other loud people on the bus on top of the sounds of the rain and the bus and everything, so I didn’t understand why she started to shout at us in specific but we didn’t do anything wrong and it’s not like we were shouting. Either way, once we got out of the bus it started raining cats and dogs (not literally) and I got absolutely drenched. You know when you dislike someone and hope their sleeves get wet? Well, my shorts and shirt were super wet! I didn’t have any sleeves but if I had worn a shirt with sleeves, they would have been drenched, too! Hence, the only conclusion I have here is: Don’t talk back to old ladies in public transport or else you’ll get cursed. So, naturally, I’ll bring out the incense tomorrow before I leave for my second shot.
And honestly, it may sound stupid but life’s been better ever since I’ve started using incense here and there. It may very much just be superstition and everything but hey, what works just works, right? This year around I didn’t use incense on New Year’s and guess what: Depression! Anxiety! Procrastination! Hence, I’ll bring it out again.
I’m not sure if it actually helps btw but I like the smell and it calms me and I’d like to think that it works, just like how I’d like to think that prayers are being heard and that my family and friends are being protected by some all-mighty God/Goddess/Divinity NB Pal. I mean, it’d be great if it was true, so hey, why not?
As for the blood donation, I feel a bit lighter right now but usually, it actually helps me in a way. I have this chronic headache that the doctor just has no explanation for. It hurts and hurts and eventually you get used to it until it hurts less and picks up the pace afterwards again. It’s horrible. And donating blood seems to help me a bit? Like, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the removal of the old blood and the regeneration of new blood or something. In medieval ages that used to be an actual method of curing patients, so… why not? It helps me a little bit, I think, or it’s just another coincidence but I’d like to think that it actually helps me.
Either way, that was a bit of a post on curses, blood donation and superstition. Please consider donating blood if you’re able to! May help people in the future. Also, respect your elders’ wishes and stop talking when they shout at you in public transport… or feel the wrath of the old gods or something.
Cheers!
This post was first published on Indiecator by Dan Indiecator aka MagiWasTaken. If you like what you see here and want to see more, you can check me out on Twitch and YouTube as well. If you find this post on a website other than Indiecator.org, please write an e-mail to me. Thank you!
Indiecator 
Leave a Reply