Edward J. Pluchar - The Blogsplitter

I feel compelled to describe my most recent blood donation to the American Red Cross, a double red donation.

When most people talk about donating blood, they’re talking about giving one unit of “whole” blood - the nurse literally withdraws a pint of blood as it courses through the veins.

Without sounding like I think I know what I’m talking about, I’ll say that whole blood, as far as the Red Cross is concerned, is made up of red blood cells, platelets, and plasma.  They can only safely withdraw one pint because of the body’s need for blood to carry nutrients throughout the body, help maintain body temperature, and so on…

But what I didn’t know, until yesterday, is that somebody takes all of that whole blood and separates it later, in a centrifuge machine, after the blood has been collected and transported (presumably to a lab).  From there, the various components of whole blood can be used in various ways - information on this is readily available.

What the Red Cross can do (and as far as I know, has been able to do for a number of years) is separate one’s whole blood into parts on site, then return the donor’s plasma mixed with saline back into the bloodstream through the same needle.  Thus, behold:  Twice as many red blood cells can be donated at one sitting and, accord to the Red Cross, the procedure is generally more pleasant for the donor than when giving whole blood.

The main reason for this is that the volume of blood circulating in the donor’s body, by the end of the procedure, is roughly equivalent to the volume before the procedure.  The saline provides hydration, which reduces the need to consume liquids afterwards - in fact, when giving whole blood the donor must stay on site for 10-15 minutes after the blood is drawn, while a double red donor may leave immediately after.

What I found compelling to describe is the sensation of the saline and plasma being returned into the body.  Since, in the centrifuge machine, the liquids assimilate themselves to room temperature, they enter the body with a cooling sensation, which immediately felt in the arm.

If you would, clench your jaws, feeling your molars lock in place together.  Still clenched, pick out with your mind the muscles that have become hard with the contraction.  Ok, release.  After a few moments of feeling the chill in my arm, I suddenly felt a chill come over those muscles, and then throughout most of my mouth.  I asked the nurse about this, and she said it was normal - some people feel it all the way from head to toe.  Shortly after she said this, I felt the saline trickle into my neck, and shivered.

As I was leaving, I could taste the saline - not only did I know it was saline for the obvious reason, but because the taste matched the smell.  It’s just what you’d expect.

If you don’t give blood, and you’re eligible to do so, you should.  Whether you currently give blood or not, you should consider a double red donation.  The Red Cross personnel said clearly that it was more beneficial than whole blood donations, since the red cells are usually the critical component in blood transfusions.  More information here.

And, if you are already giving blood and considering the double red donation, also consider that it’ll probably save you time, in the long run - double red donations are usually made by appointment, and while the procedure takes a little longer than a whole blood donation, you give in one sitting what a whole blood donor gives in two sittings.

Here are some links to a series of gag magazine covers the Onion has done.  I still think the headlines consistently outshine the articles, so this suits me very well.  Thanks for the tip, Fish!

On God.

On Bob.

On somersaulting.

On parenting.

On Will Farrell.

On acting.

The End.

PS - Don’t miss the bottom line on some of those covers.

“God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.“

The housing funding agency in West Virginia is making money more readily available for homebuyers.  To promote this change, Sue wanted to come up with a name for the not-so-new homebuying program at SARA.

So Michelle came up with “Project American Dream,” or PAD.  Of course it had to be an acronym, or you wouldn’t know we are a nonprofit and tied to the government.

Well it’s been a few weeks since Michelle came up with the name, which led me to ask:  “So, when do we launch PAD?”

I wish I could say I intended the pun, but I didn’t.  I even emphasized “launch” without intending the pun, and only picked up on it when Michelle said, “Oh, good one!”

Then she told me about a conversation she had with her son, Nick.  They were talking about the technological advances in cell phones, with touch screens and what not.

Nick, she said, wondered whether cell phones in the future could project holograms above the screen, so you could move your hand around and play games by interacting with the holograms.

Michelle replied, “What game would you play?  Pokemon?”

Here’s a sign Marcy and I have seen many times now on our commute back to West Virginia from Chicago.

Along I64 in Kentucky

I can’t help smiling at this. If you need any help understanding why, imagine you see hands pressed together and held up overhead like fins, zig-zagging through 6 foot tall grass.  Those are the Sharkey Farmers, humming the theme music to “Jaws.”

On the way to Chicago last week, Marcy drove first because I was up most of the previous night.

As I slept in the passenger seat, I would occasionally and suddenly open just one eye when some stimulus prompted me to.  This usually happened whenever Marcy was hitting the brakes, but also once when I became conscious of Celine Dion, still singing.  I opened my eye just to see which track the CD was on - it was Track 9.  I smiled, because this meant I had effectively slept through 5 songs.

When we took a break at a rest stop, I staggered out of the car, still drowsy.  The urinals in the men’s room were straight ahead from the entrance, and the rest of the bathroom bent around to the right.  I took the first urinal.

There are noises all around a busy restroom, and suddenly I heard the door opening behind me.  This is where my behavior becomes inexcusable.

I fully twisted my torso around, maintaining the critical position but still awkwardly reaching back with my eyes to see who was coming in.  The newcomer noticed me, and when he did I nodded, then returned to my normal position.

No man.

All wrong.

You don’t greet people coming into the men’s room, much less while conducting business.  And what’s with the human pretzel act?

I think other men around the world must have felt a chill at that precise moment, so I apologize.

This is an idea I like.

Check out www.prosper.com, or www.lendingclub.com.

Basically, it works like this:  You sign up.  You can be either a borrower or a lender.  When you’re a borrower, you give critical information to determine your credit-worthiness.  If you qualify, you set certain terms of the loan you’d like to receive (interest rate, loan amount).  At Lending Club, all loans are set for three years.

For borrowers, then, maybe you can get a loan the bank won’t make - to consolidate debt, or to start a small business.  The rate might be a little higher than the bank (though not by too much) and it’s generally less than credit cards or some other financial instruments.

As a lender, you can browse borrowers’ vital information to determine which loans you think would make good investments.  If you like the borrower’s qualifications and you like the terms of the loan, you then decide how much you want to invest - a minimum of $25 at Lending Club.

The loans at LC are unsecured, of course, though legally binding - if a borrower defaults, the bad loan goes on his/her credit history.  So there’s risk for the lender.  On the other hand, you can make a much better return on your investment, if it does pay back, than from almost any other source.

A guy interviewed for the story by NPR said 90% of his borrowers were paying him back on time.

So, I signed up, because I heard they were offering $25 sign up bonuses.  It turned out to be true, so I “ordered” a share in a loan to a guy trying to consolidate his debt.  If the total amount of his loan is accepted by the various investors, then I should start seeing monthly payments soon.

Maybe something like $.52/mo…hehe.

Alas, I’ll report back on how the trial goes.  If anyone reading this post decides to give it a try, let me know - I can get a bonus for referring you, and also for anyone you refer.  We can arrange a split in the bonus money.  (Extra info: If someone refers you, YOU also get a bonus - $50.  So I’m not splitting my $25 with you.)

Edit/Update (3.11.09):  Borrowers do not set the interest rate on Lending Club - a formula does.

On the note I invested $25 in, my montly payment starting 4.9.09 will be $.82.  If payments are made on-time (not early), I will come out with $29.52!  If we’re still friends, maybe I’ll invite you to the party I’ll be throwing with that extra $4.52.