DENIED

Today I thought I would perform my citizenly duty and donate blood. I used to donate pretty regularly back in the day (remember that) and lately I have been thinking about it a lot. I figure if I ever need blood, I hope there are enough people out there that had the same thought I did. On my lunch break, I traveled down to the local blood center, filled out the paperwork (all 51 questions) and anxiously waited. The technician came into the room to look over the answers to my questions. I answered "no" to having HIV, syphilis, and Hepatitis, so I thought I would be good to go. Not so fast. To explain things, let's travel back in time. I was born on an Air Force base in Weisbaden, West Germany. My father was in the army and was stationed there. From 1979 to sometime in the early 1980's, we lived in Germany. From 1980-1996, if you lived on a military base in Germany and some other countries that I can't remember, you could have contracted Mad Cow Disease. I learned today that there is no test that can be performed on blood to determine if it is contaminated with Mad Cow Disease. The technician told me, "I'm 100% sure you don't have it, but unfortunately, until a test is developed, you will be unable to donate blood for the rest of your life." But I have donated blood in the past! Now that we are up with the times, more is known about other diseases that make it impossible to donate blood. So, I left without being stuck in the arm (which I'm okay with), but was sad that I wouldn't be able to help someone who needed it. Plus, being told that I can't do something only makes me want to do it more.

This is the second time Germany has screwed me over. The first would be when I tried to get a credit card in college, and I was DENIED because, according to Visa, I wasn't a citizen of the United States. Once my citizenship status changed, however, I would be encouraged to contact Visa to reapply.

The Jews have nothing on me.