Blogging: Is it the technological wave of the future to give people the reassuring sense of connectedness with the world, an avenue to say, "Hey, I'm here"? Or is it really a way to disconnect, to only reveal yourself in an unsubstantial way, to share what is only perceived as acceptable?

During my over half century life, I've never felt very connected, usually ignored or dismissed. But only rarely do I feel the need to connect. Maybe it's easier that way, maybe it keeps rejection at bay, Maybe its simply just what I've gotten used to.

I don't revel in isolation, more times than not, it's just a quiet place. A place to recharge, to recoup.

My life basically revolves around my work. An ever challenging, usually stressful, profession that has seemed to fulfill my need to say, "hey, I'm here. I'm a Blood Bank Specialist, that is my identity. Most people wouldn't even know what it is I do, most would think I simply draw blood, Vampire! They would also be very unaware of the education behind my profession. It's not a very high profile profession, even those in the medical community have only a slight clue.

A nurse once told me she knew what I did, I hand out blood so that she could give a life saving transfusion. I asked her, how do you know this blood is safe? How do you know what I "hand out" won't kill your patient? Her reply, "Because the blood is tested for HIV...." You're right, I said, it is tested for HIV, and HepatitisB &C, HTLV, syphilus, and West Nile virus. Diseases that statiscally could be transmitted via a blood transfusion, 1 out of 50,000 -1,000,000 times, depending on the disease. The most important test I perform is the blood type and a screen for red blood cell antibodies. That determines what type of blood may be transfused without harm. "Oh, I know all about blood types, she said, type A, B, O, and AB. AB is most rare and so its the most difficalt to find blood for." Yes, AB is most most rare, but the easiest to find compatible blood for transfusion. (If you are a fan of medical show TV, they are always wrong when it comes to blood transfusion!) I then asked if the nurse knew there are actually over 300 blood "types", we just really worry routinely about ABORh. I really lost her at that point and said, don't worry, I've only been schooled 8 years in the basics, and studied just 6 years in this speciality, you don't really have to know, I got your back and will make sure your chances of killing someone with a tranfusion are minimized. Obstenant of me, wasn't it....?

So, what will the theme of my blogSpot be? Enlightening the ignorant on the vertues and complicated science behind transfusion medicine? Maybe.