Shame on Me

 When I saw an ad in the paper for donating plasma this week, I thought I would give it a shot. It was a chance to give back and the $70 for two donations in a seven-day period didn't hurt either. 
  Having been kicked out of the Red Cross apheresis (platelets) program for having lived in Germany in the '80s, I knew there was a chance I wouldn't be allowed to donate, but the lady on the phone at the center said to come in and fill out out the paperwork and it shouldn't be a problem.
 The issue with living in Germany in the '80s deals with tainted meat and the chance of being a Mad Cow disease carrier.
 I tried donating at NIH on a trip home last year as it seemed like they were allowing everyone to donate. Alas, when we got there and started going through the paperwork, I was turned aside.   
 I got to the plasma center at 10 a.m. when it opened, and by the amount of people waiting to get in, it became quite apparent what a big business it is. It also shows how many people are unemployed and doing what they can to scrape by.
 Anyway, the employees there should work for the military, TSA, or any other three-letter agency. There's a rigorous screening process which involves a whole lot of hurry up and wait, but that's mostly for new donors, like me.
 First I had my veins checked (as all donors, new and old do) to see if they were viable, then it was 45 minutes of waiting to begin a physical. The finger prick for a protein check was fine and my blood pressure was good, but my temperature was 96.8 degrees, below their acceptable standards.
 I had 25 minutes to wait to see if my temperature would rise, but it actually went down and so it was another 25 minutes to wait.
 In the meantime, I knew there was a urinalysis waiting as part of the next step, so even though I was more than ready, I had to put it on hold.
 Finally my temperature was acceptable and I was allowed to be drug tested. What a relief! Of course that meant more of cooling my heels (maybe that's why my temperature was down) while the specimen was being processed. Of course I passed and on to the medical questions portion of the day.
 I've sat through the questions plenty of times as they're pretty standard in the donating field, and only had a little bit of apprehension about the Germany question.
 Unfortunately I had the wrong answer for the medical screener, and after four hours, I was officially disqualified. It's too bad, I was about to make that another part-time job.
 Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
 Moo.