BLUE PLATELET SPECIAL

Greetings!

I hope you had a great week, and are enjoying the weekend.  Thus far, the Spring showers have been manageable.  We have some more rain through Tuesday, followed by moderate temps and clear skies.  Everything is so lush and green.

I donated platelets for the first time this past Thursday.  A couple of weeks ago, the Red Cross called asking me to consider it, and I said yes.  I’ve been a regular blood donor for many years, hiking up the hill to donate on Denison’s campus most of the time.  The platelet donation experience was more involved.

Firstly, I had to drive to Gahanna to donate.  Perhaps there are closer locations, but I went to Gahanna.  The procedure takes two hours, but in total I spent three hours at the donation site in Gahanna, which included the time require to check in, have my vitals taken, wait briefly for a donation bed to be ready, and wait a few minutes after the donation to ensure I was feeling capable of driving home.  Including the time it took to drive to/from the donation center, this was a four hour commitment, all-in. 

To the naked eye, the most obvious difference between donating platelets and a regular blood donation is the fact that they insert needles into both arms.  Blood is drawn out one, and flows into an apheresis machine, which spins the blood, separating it into various components (plasma, platelets, white blood cells and red blood cells).  The machine siphons off the platelets, then returns everything else to the donor via the second needle in their other arm.

The time commitment is probably the biggest difference when comparing platelet donation versus a basic blood donation.  One does have to sit still for two hours.  Fortunately they have TVs with Netflix, plus wireless headphones.  I queued up a movie and was able to enjoy myself while the blood separator machine worked its magic.  There is a small amount of anticoagulant fluid that donors receive when the machines return the non-platelet blood units.  This fluid sometimes causes a tingling sensation - I experienced this, but it was very mild.  I’ve since learned that taking a Tums in advance helps minimize this effect (the calcium in Tums what does this trick).

Platelets are often used to assist cancer patients.  Given that I lost both of my parents to cancer, it makes me feel good to think that my donation may be helping someone who is battling the disease.  Donating blood is such a simple gesture.  Nothing sexy about it - just straightforward, sit down and let the nurses do their thing.  Getting into a regular cadence of donation really adds up over the years.  Please consider donating if you are healthy and able.  It's an easy thing to not do.  Nobody will notice your absence from the blood drive.  But in my experience, choosing to do it is truly gratifying.

Sunday Supper
This week’s Sunday Supper suggestions all come from Serious Eats, a site that I truly love and respect.  Their recipes often require a little more time and effort, but always deliver great outcomes.  Here are four great Spring ideas, all of which could work together if you want to make a big multi-course Sunday meal.  Let’s start with a cocktail - this Mezcal Negroni w/ Grapefruit looks delicious.  For first course, this Spring Vegetable and Arugula Salad w/ Labne looks wonderful.  For pasta course this Creamy Orecchiette w/ Spring Onions, Fennel and Bacon would be amazing.  Lastly, this Peruvian-style Grilled Chicken w/ Green Sauce is a wonderful protein option. Mix or match them as you see fit.  You can’t go wrong.

Sunday Music
The Spring rains remind me of the wonderful tune from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Aguas de Marco (Waters of March).  “Of the waters of March / It’s the promise of life / In your heart, in your heart”. This duet by Andrea and Angel is a wonderful rendition.  Jobim’s Desafinado was the composer’s beautiful response to his critics, who did not initially appreciated his harmonic ideas.  The lyric “Those who sing out of tune also have a heart” really resonates with me.  This performance of the song by Paola Hermosin has English subtitles which which is helpful in appreciating Jobim’s beautiful lyrics.  If you not seen this before, this performance of Jobim’s One Note Samba by Dean Martin and Caterina Valente is so fun.  Lastly, I share this performance by Pat Metheny of Jobim’s Insensatez (How Insensitive), a rendition which honors Jobim while letting Metheny’s unique sound shine through.  Enjoy!

Have a great week ahead!  Offer support to others.  Make good use of this day.  And let me know how I can help.