Bloody Business

As I remember the Old Testament, ancient Jeeves believed that our soul is in our blood. According to that, today I sold a peace of my soul for a little money, but let me tell you more, in case you like to do so too :)

At 11:30 PM I arrived to the State Blood-donor Center in Riga, Selpils st. 6. I was given a questionnaire asking my name, address, if I'm feeling good, if I'm taking any drugs, if I had hepatitis, HIV or syphilis viruses etc. Then, I went a lab where a lady tested my blood turning speed, blood group and resus-factor. Then, I went to another lady, that asked me some questions and checked my blood-pressure.

When all the checks and tests were done (it didn't take more than 30 min.), I went to submit my documents for the registration and got a breakfast ticket. For this ticket I got a cup of warm tea and 4 pieces of cookies "Selga". I finished the tea and went to the blood taking procedure.

The whole procedure takes about 20 min. The blood is taken from the elbow vein - about 485 g. both for storage and for additional tests. I heard that after it you feel weak for a number of days. Not at all. It is not allowed to do any heavy activities the same day, but the next day is O.K. The only thing was that I felt dizzy during the procedure, because I'm sensitive to the changes of blood-pressure.

After everything was over, I've got 3 lats (4.5 euros) for a dinner and 1 lat (1.5 euros) as a transport compensation. In addition, I've got a blood-donor certificate and I will get informed about all test results on my blood samples. Not to forget, if I were working in Latvia, I could have had 2 days of vacation. Happy end! :)