If your fascination with vampires inspires a trip to the Red Cross to donate blood, are you just a fang away from becoming a vampire?  

Carrie and I have always been drawn to any and all vampire movies and TV shows.  The darker and more conflicted the vampires are, the better.  Vampires attempting to be human or humane; vampires fighting against their instincts and bloodlust are often the most intriguing.

We apparently are not alone in our fascination, as this list shows there have been quite a few to entertain us:

Movies

The “Blade” series – We even watched Blade III!

"Van Helsing" – Who new they had Spandex in the 1700’s?

The “Underworld” series – Vampires and Werewolves dating each other.

“John Carpenter’s Vampires” -Blood on a budget

All of Bela Legosi’s Dracula movies- "The" Count Dracula.

“From Dusk Till Dawn” – Tarantino; what more needs be said.

“Lost Boys” – A great soundtrack.

“Interview With a Vampire” – Tom Cruise with long hair wearing lace does not make an intimidating vampire.

“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” – Keanu Reeves completely sucks the power out of Gary Oldmans’ great portrayal.

“Shadow of the Vampire” – A creepy recreation of the first Vampire movie.

“Ultraviolet” – One of our favorite actresses Milla Jovavich.

“30 Days of Night”- Vampires pick a place where the sun never rises as their vacation spot.

TV

"Buffy and Angel" – The gold standard of TV Vampires

"Moonlight" – Cancelled

"True Blood" – Everyone’s favorite collage of monsters and demons in which the Vampires appear the most normal.

"Being Human" – A BBC import with a Vampire, a werewolf and a ghost set up housekeeping together.

We tried the new network show "Vampire Diaries" but it sucked, and not in a good vampire-at-the-neck way.

Vampire Night

We TiVo “True Blood” and “Being Human” and make a night of watching our bloodlust-intensive favorites.  On Vampire Night we make sure there are no distractions.  Drinks and snacks are queued up to minimize interruptions.  To help set the mood and maximize the spookiness, we don’t start watching until the sun has gone down and we turn off all the lights in the house.  

Blood Red Cross

This morning as Carrie was scheduling the recording of this week’s episodes, we were discussing our favorite characters and plot developments from the shows.  Enthused by our bloody conversation she suggested “Let’s go give blood!”

So off we went to our local Red Cross center.

Carrie and I have long been in the habit of donating blood to the Red Cross a couple of times a year.  Me not so much for a while as my foreign travels had disqualified me as a donor.  But Carrie has remained consistent in spite of her distaste for needles being poked into her skin.  (And speaking of overcoming needle phobia, she also set a multi-year attendance record with her allergy doctor by never missing an appointment for her shots which started out years ago at twice a week and only recently slowed to monthly.)

Carrie has been so committed to blood donation that she even attempted platelet donation or apheresis.  Donating blood takes maybe 30 minutes.  Donating platelets can take more than two hours.  That is a long time for someone who hates needles and who fainted the first time she gave blood. (More on that later.)

Being a good soldier, Carrie volunteered to donate platelets and had psyched herself up to spending the time and tolerating the discomfort.  Unfortunately, in attempting to start the process, which involves first removing blood from the victim/volunteer, removing the valuable parts, and then pumping the blood back in, Carrie’s vein collapsed!

They gave up.  But Carrie didn’t.  After letting her arms heal, she set an appointment for a second try.  It went just as bad this time when they were unable to successfully insert the needle into a vein in spite of repeated nerve-wracking attempts in both arms.    The Red Cross people were very caring and apologetic and commended Carrie’s courage. They even gave her an Apheresis t-shirt for her trouble.

The first time Carrie donated blood was in one of those mobile RV-looking donation centers that was in the parking lot at work.  The HR team, who were looking for additional volunteers to replace the no-shows and those who had chickened out, asked Carrie if she’d donate.  “It’s my first time and I am terrified of needles, but I’ll try it.” Carrie said. 

She survived the needle insertion and the blood draining with no problem.  Carrie was back at work, back at her desk when co-worker Candice stopped by to ask how it went.  Candice, also a blood-donor neophyte was on her way to the RV and was looking for reassurance.

Carrie got up, and facing Candice over the cubicle wall let her know that it was no big deal and that she felt fine. Candice thanked her and turned away as she headed to the Blood Mobile.  The timing was good for the “reassure Candice” part for as soon as Candice’s back was turned Carrie fainted and fortunately fell back into her chair. A couple of fellow-employees rushed to Carrie’s aid, but she was already coming round. “Lucky Candice didn’t see Carrie faint” were their comments.  

The second time Carrie donated blood, and the first time we donated together was when she went with me on one of my regular visits.  Due to her fear of needles and her experience the first time we knew that donating blood was going to be a challenge for her.  When it was our turn to get stuck, we made certain we were seated side by side so I could provide some comfort and support.  Carrie tolerated the insertion of the needle bravely and the next 15 minutes while the blood was drawn were routine.

Red blood cells carry oxygen.  Losing a pint of blood means you aren’t processing as much oxygen as usual to your brain.  It isn’t uncommon for someone who has just given blood to feel faint.  That is the primary reason the Red Cross makes you sit around and eat snacks and drink juice after blood-letting.  If you are going to faint, they want you to do it there, not as you are driving home.

Once the blood collection bags were detached and the Band Aids were applied, the nurse and I asked Carrie if she was alright.  As she got up from the chair she smilingly reassured us that she was “fine”. However, her eyelids fluttered and she headed straight for the floor.

The nurse and I each grabbed an arm in time to keep her from hitting the floor.  We eased her onto the cot that is kept just for such an occasion.  Carrie was out only briefly and almost immediately was able to sit up and join me in cookies and juice.  After about 20 minutes of “recovery” we were on our way home.

Women’s brains are more active and require a consistent supply of oxygen; which is why they faint when giving blood.  Men on the other hand……

Okay, I just made that up, but in our case it may actually be true.

But on today’s trip, there was no drama.  We saved that for Vampire Night!