Since when did I start blogging under another name?

Oh Wait!  Sorry Adventure Dude - this sounded like me!

OK, you want the straight poop, the whole poop and nothing but the poop?

I am O- as well.  And like you, I have a phobia - not an aversion as some would say - but a phobia about needles.  Knives?  Hell they dont matter.  I bleed on schedule and often as I dont seem to be able to not be a klutz (I dont like the blood, but I deal with it).  But Needles?  Why would someone slicing my arm not concern me as much as being stuck by a needle?

And I am not talking just the blood needles.  I am talking about any needle!  I could never do the job that Parated does.  I could never stick a needle into another person.  I am a failed doctor.

But I give blood.  Almost 150 pints in my life so far.  They dont know how much I hate it, but like you, I am the universal donor, and there are people out there literally dying for what I have plenty of.

To my delight, I am a fast bleeder.  I can unusually dump a pint in 5 minutes from stick to removal.  But still that stick.  For those who do not suffer from phobias, there is no way to describe the fear.  For those who have phobias, there is no need.

I say to you, if you can do it, do it.  When they go to stick me, I start going over the battery and statistics of my favorite team and their last game - or in the off season, their last World Series win.  Why?  It takes a lot of mental activity to remember who was up, on base, and who got the hits, so I cannot think of anything else.  And baseball, the game of stats, is the game I think of.  Once the needle is in, and I get the 4 or 5 questions of "are you ok", I can talk to the blood people.  But I cannot even watch them stick another!

But for all that, half an hour after grinding my teeth and donating, I am out of there.  And I feel a lot better.  Both for having it over and past (they dont let a day go by after the 56 before they are calling me), and knowing that somewhere, someone's loved one will be around another day because of my gift.

Selfless?  Hell no!  That last feeling is the greatest feeling you can ever have.

best of luck with your decision.  There are far too few of us that can.  And far too many of us that need.

Without knowing exactly what your religious beliefs are, it is hard to say. I think the fact that you are asking the question at all, though, shows you have doubts. I think in terms of fear of needles, knowing you from your writing, you could overcome your fear in the interest of helping people. Asking you to betray your religious beliefs is something different, though, and I wouldn't want to cause you pain in that regard.

It is hard, but in terms of my beliefs I don't think any religion is right 100% of the time. We have a tradition in the Christian heritage of discounting the 'worldly' body, but we also have Jesus as an example. He fed people when they were hungry, and asked that we comfort the sick. Not to be overly trite, but In the most broad sense, I think you could say he donated blood as well.

I think preserving the lives of innocent people lends them the to reflect on themselves spiritually. Giving of one's self is the ultimate charity, especially in the face of your fear. None of that is more important than your religious convictions, though, because in the end you have to live with your decisions. Were I to make the decision, I would try to err on the side of compassion. I would have to wonder how I would feel if my child needed blood that wasn't there.

That's a low blow, and I probably shouldn't have said it. If you truly believe that you can cause others harm by the act of giving blood, then you'll be holding to "do unto others" if you choose not to as well. I would respect your decisions either way.