Years ago I was a “regular”with the Red Cross. The pheresis donation center was not far from ESRI and I managed to donate quite regularly. Pheresis takes out just some of the blood components and puts everything else “back.”That makes it really efficient for the Red Cross and not as challenging to the person donating. (I never got woozy afterward,unlike whole blood donation experiences.) The only downside? It take about 2 hours. The upside? They show you movies! I was most pleased when I got a call one afternoon –an emergency. They needed someone with B+ blood who had had chicken pox. I fit the bill and was able to be there in 20 minutes to meet the need. It felt really good to have what someone needed and to be able to share it.
In the recent past,I couldn’t donate due to a trip to South Africa. But,now I’m good to go. So,the day after Thanksgiving,when everyone else was shopping,I saw a sign for a drive in Porter Square. My donation put me back on the Red Cross radar and just two weeks after I was eligible to donate again (regular blood) I received a card about another drive in Cambridge and then a call about one in Somerville. They were both on the same day,but within walking distance of my house. Well done Red Cross! You make it easy to donate!