Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Red Cross is stalking me

I am ashamed to admit that I never gave blood until a few years ago.  One of my schools had a memorial blood drive for a deceased staff member and after years of fearing I'd pass out, throw up, or flip out, I finally decided to see if my blood was fit for donation.  I was happy to know that not only could I donate blood, but I had a type that was in demand. 

Little did I realize that once I made the donor list, I'd be called as soon as my minimum number of days were up.

And called.

And called.

And called.

When I realized that the "unknown" on my phone was almost always the Red Cross, I began to ignore the call which only made them worse.  They almost never left a message until they got desperate.  Then I'd get a recorded plea.  If that didn't work, I'd start getting things in the mail.

Eventually, I expected to see the Bloodmobile slowly drive back and forth in front of my apartment- only to take off with squealing wheels when I stepped outside. 

I finally answered when they called this time to tell them that I am sick and I'm currently unable to donate blood right this minute.  I also told them to please stop calling me constantly or I would stop donating.  The caller swore up and down that no one had called since November and that several calls could possibly come in that were marked as "unknown." 

I beg to differ.

I like giving blood.  I like knowing I help someone and I plan on giving again.  However, I just don't want to be hounded every 60 days as if I've defaulted on my car payments.

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