Donatin' the Bloods

Today I stopped by Medic because I was pretty sure that I was able to donate again.  It turns out today is exactly two months since my last donation so I was able to give blood.  :) 

When I first started giving blood I used to freak out before going because I'm a chicken when it comes to needles.  I think donating is starting to desensitize me because I don't panic before they are about to stick me anymore.  I still don't like needles, but I'm not afraid of them.  Hooray for conquering fears!

Pumping out a pint

Awesome bright orange bandage!!

Every time I donate blood, punnett squares pop into my head.  I can't help it, I'm a nerd.  My blood type is A+ (either AA+ or AO+), so assuming that my parents are actually my parents that means they must be either A and A or A and O, and if they are A, they could either be AO or AA, since A masks the expression of O.  Also, one or both of them must have be positive for the Rh factor, since that is also the dominant allele in this situation, and I am +.  Furthermore, my siblings must be A or O, though they could be either + or - since - is recessive and either of my parents could be heterozygous (1 positive and 1 negative allele) for the Rh factor gene.  These results are not surprising since O+ is the most common blood type in the US, followed by A+.

Hopefully my blood will help someone in the future.   You never really know when you might find yourself in a situation where you need a transfusion, so it's cool that we can rely on the help of complete strangers for something so essential as blood.