First Donation

We drove along, trying to find the hospital. I had the directions printed out, but somehow we had missed a turn. I had asked my friend R for a ride, since I was going to do this for the first time. So there we were - two adults in front, and two nervous 9 year olds in the backseat: Kamala and Sri.

Kamala is not at all ready for this.

"Amma, do you really really want to do this?"

There is a note of worry in her voice.

"Yes, child."
"But why?"
"Its my way of remembering your grandfather. Some strangers helped him when he was ill, and thanks to their help, I could spend more time with him. I'd like to give someone else that chance."

She is still worried.
"But I don't want you to die...", she wails.

I laugh.

"I'm not going to die, child. I'll be ok."

We reach the leading cancer hospital in the city and park. We take the elevator to the skybridge, to the main cancer clinic. The place is cheerful, the corridors spotless. The whole atmosphere is very calming......looks like a lot of care has gone into maintaining the area. I feel oddly touched at the caring and concern for even the smallest of details.

We go down an escalator and reach the place. A nurse comes to me.

"Can I help you?"
"Yes - I want to donate blood."

She hands me some forms, and takes my id. R settles down on one of the couches, flanked on either side by Kamala and Sri. They are both talking non-stop, and giggling nervously.

I can see other donors in the room, on reclining chairs, tubes carrying blood from their arms. The bank takes two kinds of donations: whole blood, and platelets. Whole blood can be donated every 56 days, I'm told - the process takes around 30 minutes total: 15 minutes to fill out forms, and 15 for the donation. You just give blood, wait for a bit and then leave.

As for platelets, they can be donated twice a week. Platelet donation is a longer process. I watch one of those donors with fascination; right before their eyes, blood was being separated into plasma, corpuscles, and platelets. Only the platelets are taken and the rest is pumped back into the body.
*-*-*

The nurse comes back and takes my forms. I'm taken to another room for some tests. My blood pressure and temperature are taken, and a tiny blood sample is taken from one of my fingers to analyze the iron content. Everything is found satisfactory, and I am asked to proceed.

I return to the donor room, and Kamala immediately notices the band-aid. She comes running to me.

"Look, Sri! She has a band-aid on her finger....they have already taken some blood. Aughh, some of it is oozing!" (to me) "Are you ok?"

I reassure her that I feel fine. Sri comes over to me.
"Are you scared?"
"No."
"You're not scared?"
"Not really."

Sri's already big eyes are huge now - almost round.
"How come?"

I take a deep breath, and answer as honestly as I can:
"Everytime I feel scared, I think of my father with an I.V in his arm for 2 months....I tell myself if he can do it for 2 months, I can do it for 15 minutes."

Sri takes some time to digest this.
"Are you nervous?", she persists.
"A little", I relent.

I reassure them both I'm going to be ok, and its just a small donation.

"Remember the lady who just left? She gave blood, and was fine", I tell them.

In a little while, the donor chair closest to the waiting area becomes vacant, and I am asked to occupy it. The nurse sets up the equipment, and as she swabs my arm, both girls duck behind R, trembling visibly.

I turn my face away as the nurse finds my vein. A brief pinch, and I can feel the blood flowing out. I turn and watch as the transporting tubes turn purple. It wasn't painful, just a tad uncomfortable at the start. Not bad.

Kamala and Sri come over to watch. I smile at them and try to keep the conversation light.

"Can I donate blood too?", asks Kamala.
"Sure - when you are 18"
"How come kids can't donate?"
"Because - kids don't have much blood. Their bodies need to grow!"

Kamala ponders this.

"Can I give 1 milliliter?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they can't use 1 milliliter!"
"Um...if a lot of kids give 1 milliliter, that will be a lot of blood, right?"

I hug her with my free arm.

"Sure, but still they can't!"
"Why not?"
"Kamala, do you think nurses are going to chase 300 kids, and take 1 milliliter each? Its easier to just get from an adult!"

She sees my point now. She goes to R and sits down, still concerned. The nurse gives Kamala and Sri a bag of cookies each. Kamala comes over and feeds me one. Then Sri and Kamala start giggling again, talking nineteen to the dozen.

"They're cute!", the nurse says.

That they were. I had come here in all seriousness, and they had unwittingly lightened up the whole atmosphere. I watch the overhead TV for a while. I feel a slight chill now, and tell myself to stay awake, stay conscious. I had passed out during a blood test many years ago, and wasn't about to repeat that embarrassing scene.

I remember my father in the hospital last year, telling us that all will be well. Appa had always been an energetic person. Before the cancer struck, we had rarely seen him sick. He was always out and about, working, organizing, helping someone with this, doing that for someone else - full of energy. Friends, relatives - sometimes even casual acquaintances felt they could count on him in times of need. Anytime he heard that someone he knew was in hospital, the first thing he did was draw money. He would visit the patient, take the spouse/son aside, and ask if they needed money for the treatment. There would be times when money was tight, when drought dried up any business prospects. He would still offer what he had - at one time it was borrowed money. Any protests would be silenced with:

"Emergencies happen- you never know when. That could have been me."

*-*-*
The nurse informs me that I am about halfway done. Sri comes over, and walks to the where the blood collection pouch is, at the base of the reclining chair.

"Wow - that's a lot of blood", she declares.

Kamala comes over, peeks at the bottle, shudders, and walks off.

"How come you're giving blood?", Sri says. "You need your blood!".

The nurse explains that I'm not going to be giving all my blood, just sharing some of it, to help someone who badly needs it.

Kamala comes back to peer at my arm.

"Your arm is still the same thickness - thank God!", she says, in all seriousness.

Poor Kamala must've imagined my arm to be some kind of balloon that deflated as the blood flowed out. I see her explaining to R that she thought my arm would become "this thin".

A little later, the nurse informs me that they have collected enough blood. The nurse gently withdraws the needle, places a wad of gauze, and tightly bandages my elbow.

"Can I sign your cast?", asks Kamala.
"This is not a cast", I inform her with a smile. "But sure, you can both sign it!"

I lie down for a few minutes longer, drink some juice, and get up slowly...very slowly, as instructed. I'm sent home with a souvenir T-shirt that read "XYZ Cancer Hospital - Blood Donor". I feel like I've won some trophy.
*-*-*

"Can I use the bathroom?", asks Sri with a pleading look. "I need to go bad - real bad!"
"Me too!"

The poor kids must've been worried. They had insisted on coming, so we had brought them along. With their antics and questions, I had forgotten we were in a hospital, a cancer hospital at that. The whole thing seemed unreal....funny even.

We race to find a restroom. As I wait for Kamala and Sri, a middle-aged, slightly overweight woman emerges from one of the stalls. She notices my arm, smiles sympathetically.

"Are you here for your chemo too?", she asks.
"No", I say automatically, "I just gave blood."
"Oh. That's nice!"

That's when it hits me. She could have been me and I could have been her. Emergencies happen - you never know when.

As we leave the parking lot, I read one of the hospital's signs.

XYZ Cancer hospital....making cancer history!

I wish them success.
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Postscript: Blood donation was easier than I thought. The only side-effect was feeling a little lightheaded if I moved too fast - especially vertical movements like standing, sitting down, and climbing stairs. Even that passed in a day. Eating iron-rich foods helps in recovering quickly.