Blood

I got a call from the NY blood donation people yesterday, asking me if I was willing to make another donation. So, I went in this afternoon. Given my recent high-altitude trip, I figured that some blood-testing-tech guy, some days off in the future, would get a kick out of my red blood cell count, which has probably started returning to normal by now, but I didn't expect any other related consequences.

So, the guy proceeds to take my blood pressure. He pauses. He does it again. He takes off the stethoscope and looks up at me:

"Do you exercise a lot?"

It's funny you should ask, I was thinking.

"Actually, I spent the month of May mountain climbing in Alaska."

He runs off to get another Blood Taker. She takes my blood pressure and confirms his result. He then explains to me:

"You're healthy as a horse, but you just can't donate blood. Doing so lowers your blood pressure, and yours is already below our minimum."

So, he sends me away and suggests that I try again next week.

Normally my blood pressure is 120/60 and it was 102/40 today. Interesting.