I used to be a phlebotomist. Advanced Phlebotomist technically. This title came as an addendum to my primary one- Clinical Laboratory Technician. I don’t do it anymore- I can’t. But I still remember a lot about blood. I didn’t draw blood usually- but I was trained to do complex draws if necessary: Arterial draws (neck), Scalp and feet draws (usually babies) etc.

What I did was process blood. And it’s big business mang. It really is. I remember some guy in lab school dropping and breaking a vial of fibrinogen glue during a rotation through the Blood Bank. He almost got kicked from the school- that vial was smaller than a pinky finger nail but cost $1500. It is used to ‘sew up’ organs that can’t be stitched. It takes A LOT of whole blood to make fibrinogen. Blood is indeed BIG BUSINESS.

I say all that to say this- After I left the Navy I was extremely suicidal. I couldn’t function. I couldn’t work anymore. All my training in blood became useless. And then the unthinkable happened. I got so poor that I had to sell my blood. It was humiliating. I knew more than the person running the fucking Plasma center. I watched as they butchered my arms. I watched and knew they had infiltrated my veins. I knew the draw was contaminated and suddenly I realized- “I’m letting them hurt me for money”. The blood was unusable. I felt like a prostitute... The tech eventually caught on and was like “Whoops super sorry dude.”

As I walked away with 30 bucks to buy milk and bread I reflected... God told Jews not to eat anything with blood because the LIFE is in the blood. I was selling my life and getting robbed. I haven’t done this in a long time... but every time I think about it I feel something like a cross between fear and rage. I hate this world. And it’s thieves of blood.

@Voat. I’m comment limited or else I would respond to each of you in kind. I’m a lot better than I used to be (this story happened 10 years ago- I just can’t forget it). Also, I know who I am writing to here. I wouldn’t have shared this anywhere else. And yeah, I’m depressed (aren’t we all?) but I find my SS Camaro and 94% pure THC rosin to help tremendously.

@Voat. You guys make me laugh sometimes. I expected you to be like “man up pussy!” and you seem genuinely concerned. I will clarify because a few people asked about the Weed (concentrates actually) I do use it for pain- I broke my back really bad- as well as wrist, neck, fingers... well, you get the point. It incidentally helps (somewhat) with depression (as well as inflammation- I lost 40lbs since I started medical marijuana). I’m back to my military weight which is cool.

@Straight_up_Prick I know what Plasmapheresis is. They infiltrated my vein, filled up the incoming reservoir and kept (destroyed) the whole blood because it had already begun to coagulate- likely contaminated with my interstitial fluid. It was a chick who did the draw. I told her I was a CLT thinking she would know what it meant- she didn’t... and well, you read the post.

@Voat - last edit. A few people are asking about donating blood. Here’s my take. If you have a very rare blood type (Bombay) I would recommend targeted donations (for yourself and others). Problem is, most people don’t know they are Bombay until they are falsely typed/matched as O neg. They often don’t survive the revelation. If you need surgery you will give blood (but not too much and you would be shocked at how much blood a person can go through- a kid with hemophilia went thru a million dollars worth of blood products after his idiot family bought him a PUPPY that nipped him). As far as donating for money- if you are young and strong (and willing ) do it twice a year. I will say this, as a former lab tech I can tell you- donating blood is likely the single best way to actually help a Marine, soldier, Sailor, airman, Coastie etc. Warriors need blood.