It's not supposed to be this difficult

I got into a fight this week with the American Red Cross. Ok- that's not completely accurate... but, it wasn't a fun conversation. Why you ask? Well, I've been trying to arrange for a private donation for Shawna's surgery (she'll need at least one unit of blood for the heart/lung machine). Sounds simple right? I can donate a pint of blood. No problem! I've been a blood donor since I was 17 (... little known fact: I lied about my birthday at the High School blood drive so that I would be "18" and eligible to donate. It got me out of history class.) ANYWAY- I'm not a match for Shawna. I'm A+ and she is O+. So, my blood wasn't gonna work. Dan, of course, didn't know his blood type. So, we spent a week to type him. As it turns out, he IS the correct type. Great! Problem solved!! Except....

We ran into a bit of a communication problem. The American Red Cross absolutely insisted that our blood donation needed to occur at least one week prior to surgery... meaning that Dan would have to donate on Monday or Tuesday of this past week. The cardiology clinic told me to have blood taken 4 days prior to surgery... meaning today/Friday. Hmm... it's important to add that Dan was in Memphis until Thursday of this week. So, there was NO WAY for him to donate his precious pint of gold on Monday or Tuesday. But, Friday would be just fine.

For the life of me, I couldn't understand why we were receiving conflicting information. I kept arguing with "Fran" (not her real name) at the Red Cross. And, darn it.. she kept arguing back. She finally told me that 'it just wasn't going to work.' And, I promptly informed her that I had a "back-up" donor that would be available on Tuesday. As it turns out, my mom is O+. Fran tells me that Mom will need an appointment and she won't make an appointment without all the paperwork from the clinic. I assure her that I will GET the paperwork from the clinic.

I call the clinic to request the paperwork. The clinic tells me AGAIN that this blood donation shouldn't occur until Friday , not Tuesday. I explain to the clinic that "Fran" is about as flexible as a block of steel. Fran ain't budging. They fax over the paperwork. And, then... Fran calls me. Mom can't donate on Tuesday. The heart/lung machine needs "fresh blood", no older than 4 days. So, Fran sets up an appointment with my mom for today, Friday. She was much nicer to me on the phone at this point. Apparently, someone at the clinic called the hospital board about her "customer service". Opps. Sorry about that Fran. But, she really wasn't all that nice or helpful.

The irony of the story? I spent all day Monday and half the day on Tuesday trying to arrange this... lots of phone calls and a wee bit of unnecessary stress. Today, my mom went for her blood donation .... and her iron levels were too low. The Red Cross refused to take her blood. Sigh. It's just not supposed to be this difficult...