Giving blood in Japan is very easy. Since the country is not yet self-sufficient in its national blood supply, and therefore has to resort to costly imports from other countries to meet the demand of hospitals and clinics, there is a government campaign going on to encourage domestic blood donations. Red Cross centers are conveniently located all over the country in shopping centers and in or near train stations. As a person makes a donation he or she sits in a reclining chair and has an individual TV and VCR with a variety of videos to watch. Another nice touch is that within a few days after a donation the Red Cross sends, at no charge, the results of a number of health checks they do on your blood.

Having received so much friendship and support from the people of Japan, I am always happy when I can give something back to this country. Giving a part of myself, which I know could go towards saving someone's life, carries with it a really good feeling.

Today (May 10th), I gave a kind of blood donation called pheresis, in which they take out just the platelets (one of the many elements which make up blood), and leave the rest of a the blood untouched. Although a platelet donation takes about an hour (as opposed to 25 minutes when you donate whole blood), platelets are replaced by the body so quickly that within 24 hours the body has returned to its pre-donation state. As a result one is able to donate again after just 2 weeks rather than the standard 8 weeks required after whole blood donations.

In Japan I've given blood a total of seven times, and being used to the whole procedure, had unwittingly let myself become complacent and was taking the whole "needle-in-the-arm" part for granted. During the middle of the donation, I lifted up my needle arm ever so slightly to readjust the position of my elbow. A little bit after that, a nurse on a routine check, noticed that the little plastic sack which was supposed to be filling up with my platelets had stopped getting bigger. She looked over at me and asked if I was feeling ok. Her question made me realized that my arm did feel a little strange, a bit tight and constricted. The next thing I knew, another nurse had come over and the two of them were taking the needle out of my arm and asking me repeatedly how I was feeling. It was on the third time that I was asked that I began to feel rather uncomfortable. First my head felt light. I started to get dizzy and had this impression that the air between the nurses and I was suddenly getting heavier.

Quickly the nurses tilted back my chair. I started to break into this cold sweat. Then a wave of nausea passed over me. I was at a loss for what to do. I closed my eyes and started to pray. I tried to remind myself that there were many people all around the world who were experiencing much worse ordeals than I was going through. It was pretty hard to make any concentrated thoughts though when I was feeling so strange. So, I ended up just singing to myself some familiar hymns that had come to mind. It was surprisingly comforting to do this.

After a minute or two, I began to feel better. And now, five hours later, I feel nearly 100%. What did this experience teach me? Apart from realizing that it's best to sit very still when there is something sticking in my arm, I also learned that are some things in life which I should try never to "get too used to." May God's peace be with you, my friends. See you next month. Daniel Heller (P.S. I hope to get back into the blood center soon. I'll let you know next month how I make out.)