Blood Donation - Charity for Cheap

            Whether in Japan or the United States, I’m easily distracted and a little lazy sometimes. It was the week before last that I went to the Red Cross to donate blood, and I’ve been meaning to write about it since.

            I decided to give blood because I really wanted to contribute in some way to the disaster relief effort, and although I make a decent salary as a JET, I can’t spare much money. Getting ourselves set up in Chicago later this year is going to be seriously expensive, especially if we have trouble finding good jobs right away. Blood donations are transported all over Japan quickly according to need, and it’s something I can spare pretty easily.

            I’ve heard that a lot of foreigners are turned away from blood banks, not only because of Japan’s outrageously extensive list of restrictions on blood donation, but because the Red Cross workers feel that they can’t properly communicate with the foreign donors. I’m learning Japanese, I really am. I study. My Japanese is still really pitiful though, so I asked my neighbor Diane to come with me to the Red Cross. She’s Canadian, but she speaks Japanese pretty well after living here and studying the language for four years. Communication, even with Diane’s help, was pretty awkward. It took us a good long time to fill out the required forms, which of course were entirely in Japanese.

            Eventually, someone a doctor who spoke a little English produced an English translation of the forms. That really sped up the process. What was taking forever—the nurses slowly describing each section of the form to Diane in Japanese, Diane looking up the words on her phone, then telling me, and finally trying to provide an answer to the nurses in Japanese—suddenly took very little time. Do you have such-and-such disease? Nope. Did you get a tattoo or piercing recently? Nope. So on and so forth. Of course, the English version of the form, helpful as it was, was riddled with Engrish. I couldn’t help but giggle at some of the sections. Check out these gems:

Remove the dental calculus. I didn't even take calculus! How'd that get in there?

We know what you did, male donors.

            Diane didn’t make it through the restrictions on blood donation. She disclosed that she had received a blood transfusion from her mother something like 25 years ago which disqualified her. Seriously! Morgan is anemic, so she couldn’t donate either. They let Diane come back with me though, and follow me through the rest of the process as a translator.

            The lady who checked me out next did not seem friendly. I don’t know if it was because I’m a foreigner, she was having a bad day, or maybe she’s just a jerk. She checked my blood pressure in the same way it’s done in the States. I guess it was fine, because I was moved along into the next room.

            This next lady was really friendly, and asked me where I was from. I know enough Japanese to make small talk, so we exchanged some pleasantries. She talked to Diane quite a bit, and was surprised to find out that she isn’t Japanese. Because she’s Asian, a lot of people just assume she’s Japanese with a speech impediment or something.

            As we were chatting, the nurse took a small sample of blood from my arm and tested it to determine my blood type. I was really excited about this part because blood type is a major thing in Japan. I’ve been asked on a few occasions by friends and acquaintances for my blood type. They use blood type here almost like we use astrology signs at home, but maybe a little more often. I don’t think I actually know any Americans who seriously read horoscopes and believe in it.

            Turns out I’m O-type. Says so on my Facebook now even! Unfortunately, most of you reading this wouldn’t be able to see that information. Only Facebook Japan and Facebook Korea display users’ blood types. You can read more about the significance of blood types in Japanese culture on Wikipedia.

            The actual process of giving blood, once I made it through all the bureaucracy and medical checks, was quite pleasant, especially compared to blood donation in the United States. I was shown to a reclining chair/bed which actually had a flat screen television attached, as well as a tray for my drink, which I received for free. I was given the remote control for the TV, and a nurse laid a blanket over me. She was fairly gentle with the needle, but it may have been one of the biggest needles I’ve seen. It did hurt, of course, but not badly. Once it was in I hardly felt it at all and was able to forget about it and watch anime while gossiping with Diane about other JETs and Japanese teachers of English.

            After she collected my blood, the nurse was really concerned about how I was feeling. I really did feel just the slightest bit lightheaded, but I assured her that I was fine. I didn’t want to freak her out and end up confined to a bed or something. Diane and I went back out to the waiting room where she and Morgan got me another drink and a nice selection of free snacks.

            A nurse came and gave each of us, a super kawaii folder featuring Hello Kitty and Kenketsu-chan as well as some other blood donation swag. Kenketsu-chan is the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s official blood donation mascot, by the way. If nothing else, it was worth it just for the folder.

Front - Hello Kitty is cosplaying Kenketsu-chan.

Back - A Kenketsu-chan for every prefecture! Ours is an okonomiyaki chef!