Waiting Game Is Over

I did not share this with many people before this point, but now that it seems everything is resolved, I feel I can.

In December I donated blood for the daughter of a lady who attends our church. I found out the day I came back from Christmas vacation (Januray 7th) that one of our blood donations was destroyed. At that time we didn't know whose it was. The next day I called around, talked to the mother, then got more persistent with the blood donation clinic. They finally admitted it was me and that I had flagged one of their virus tests. It is a rare virus that lies dormant in the blood, then can produce leukemia in years to come. I was rather overwhelmed with the news, despite the fact they told me their confirmatory test came back negative.

I decided to get checked by my family doctor to confirm the results one way or the other. He wasn't very supportive, but ran the test anyway. The following week the result came back indeterminant - not positive, not negative. He referred me to a hematologist who I saw nearly two weeks ago. This dr. tested me again for the virus, but also tested me for auto-immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. These diseases are known to cause false-positives for this particular virus. The days I had to wait for these results were at times difficult, filled with a lot of emotion. Last week I found out all my test results were normal, with the exception of the virus test, which had not yet been completed.

Yesterday I got the final news that I am negative for the virus. I am very relieved, as expected. One of my main concerns was that if I was positive, the boys could possibly be positive as well, depending on when I had contracted it.

It is still a mystery why I flagged the screening test. I was sad to find out my blood was never used for its intended purpose and I doubt I will donate again. If I flag the same test twice (even if the confirmatory is negative) I can never donate blood again. I don't want to risk being eliminated as a donor if one of my children ever needs blood.

So I guess donating blood is one fear I will never have to face again!