Many aspects of modern medicine are nothing short of astonishing. If you need proof of how spectacular medical science is, look no further than the Covid vaccines, which are safe, effective and have enabled a lucky portion of the world to resume some part of its normal, pre-Covid lives. (Sort of, for now, anyway.)
But modern medical breakthroughs come with a price – literally and figuratively. Literally in that some of this stuff costs a fortune. Anyone who has sought treatment recently for anything more serious than a hangnail knows well how fast costs add up.
There are, however, other costs to our medical breakthroughs that are less obvious. I experienced one of them this week.
Some backstory: In the early days of the pandemic, I kept thinking “What can I do, besides staying home, masking and re-bingeing The Sopranos?” Around July 2020, I read in my local newspaper that blood supplies were dangerously low (a chronic problem even when there isn’t a pandemic) and I thought “Well, I can do THAT.”
Previously, I was a sporadic blood donator at best. But since September 2020, I was going every two months, like clockwork. It felt like something, albeit relatively small. It was the least I could do. Donating blood is pretty straightforward, easy and mostly painless. (Getting the Covid and flu vaccines hurt more.)
And until this week, I did it willingly.
But no more. Between my last blood donation a couple of months ago and this week, I had to see a doctor about yet another health indignity that accompanies men of a certain age (and – spoiler alert – I am a man of that age). As a result of this condition, I was put on a prescription for the rest of my life.
Every time you donate blood, you are prescreened with a questionnaire that includes asking about any drugs on the Red Cross’s “Medication Deferral List.” These are medications that for one reason or another cannot be in your blood because they can cause a recipient of that blood problems, ranging from clotting issues, to nervous system damage, to birth defects.
My new medication was on the list and so I can no longer donate blood.
The “Medication Deferral List” is long and seems like it gets longer every year. It includes medications that didn’t even exist a few short years ago. While medical science continues to enhance and extend our lives, it also comes with unintended consequences. And there no doubt are many, many consequences that extend far beyond the prohibition to donate blood.
So, eat right, exercise and take your medicines. And if none of those medications are prohibited by the Red Cross for blood donations, consider donating a pint or two at your next local blood drive. (Actually, they only take a pint at a time…) It will fill in where I no longer can, it is absolutely something you CAN do, and it will literally save a life.