I have now donated blood 19 times in my life. I think that’s pretty good, especially considering the half-dozen or so times I tried to, but for various reasons got deferred. I know there are some people who can’t give because of medical reasons or other restrictions, one person who refuses to give because of the (potentially) silly restrictions that Canadian Blood Services has put in place, and a few more who are wimps, plain and simple (you know who you are).

Funny anecdote: I had no trouble with my donation today (they used the left arm though, that’s unusual), but beforehand I was sitting next to a “new donor”. So I says, I does, in an attempt to comfort, “I’ve never had any troubles before, and this is my 19th time.” Poor girl goes after me, and they can’t get the needle into her vein. They instead nicked it, and she needed an ice pack and some (slightly more serious than normal) pressure. I will never talk to anyone else again.