secondary testing, check

So today was the big day. Well, not the big day, but the first mini-big day. I went in for the secondary blood work for the bone marrow donation registry.

The experience did not start out well. Getting out of our driveway and to the base was difficult. Our village's fasching parade was today and every stinkin' street out of our neighborhood was blocked off. Except, of course, for the one that takes you on such a round-a-bout route that the drive takes 45 minutes. (When there is no traffic it takes less than 10 minutes to get from our driveway to the clinic.) Good thing I left early!

But once I arrived, things went smoothly. The lab had my boxes and knew right where to get them. That was a relief since Mr. C had told me that the boxes sometimes get misplaced. There was absolutely no line to speak of, which was great since I had all four kids with me. I got to walk right back to the chair and have a seat. To top it off, I only had to get stuck twice. That is great for me; I have terribly uncooperative veins.

For those curious about the process, there's not much to report. The technician drew six vials of blood and packed them up into a box. The end. I know, right? I thought there would be some cool way of transporting them back to the states. Like, I don't know, dry ice or something. I'm a little bummed. Oh well.

I did ask the technician how many of these they do. He said that they get quite a few of the boxes in but that not many people come in to get their blood drawn. How strange is that? They give you every opportunity to say no when you are on the phone with them. I have to admit, it makes me think. I wonder what the rates are for individuals declining to participate. If there are three of us who were a match, what are the chances that all three of us will submit to the second round of testing? And of that group, who is likely to bow out at the last minute? How scary must it be to be on the other side of this situation?

I hope that I have the resolve to stick it out. Right now I can't imagine saying no if they tell me that I'm the best match. How do you really know, though?