This year’s cherry blossoms have been stubborn — they keep blooming. So it is around Palaceside Building. With the cherries along the Imperial Palace’s Hirakawa Moat still beautiful, a mobile blood drive by donation bus began on Thursday, April 13 in front of the west entrance＝(photo above). It runs two days, through Friday the 14th. If you are nearby, please take part.
Reception is 10:00–11:00 a.m. and 12:15–4:00 p.m. The draw itself takes about ten minutes, but with the doctor’s interview plan on 30–40 minutes from check-in to finish.
Please see the graph at the end showing how blood stocks change by season. This time of year, though not as much as winter, donations drop quite a bit. They plunge in early April, recover over Golden Week, then fall again. Company transfers, graduations, advancing to new schools — people are on the move, and “it is hard to get help from schools, firms and groups” (Tokyo Red Cross Blood Center).
Donors later receive by mail, free of charge, results for 15 tests including ALT (GPT), γ-GTP, cholesterol and glycoalbumin.
The Japanese Red Cross asks for at least four hours of sleep (fatigue from lack of sleep can cause a temporary drop in blood pressure after donation). Morning donors are asked to have breakfast (a light meal is fine).
People who have received a transfusion or organ transplant, who returned from overseas within four weeks, or who had dental treatment involving bleeding within three days cannot donate. Anyone who may have been exposed to HIV, or who wants a test for that purpose, must not donate.
Some people taking certain medicines cannot donate, but many medicines are compatible. For example: hay-fever medicines are generally acceptable the same day except those containing steroids; blood-pressure medicines are acceptable if there are no cardiac complications and pressure is controlled in the normal range; lipid-lowering drugs are acceptable the same day; gout medicines are acceptable if not taken that day.
Vitamin supplements (except during anemia treatment with vitamins), mineral supplements (except iron for anemia) and kampo medicines (except for liver disease, colds, asthma and similar) may also be taken the same day.
Previous donors are asked to bring a donor card or booklet; others, photo ID (a company badge is fine).
Please ask on the day about any other questions.
We earnestly hope as many people as possible will take part.
