Let's talk about blood...

Hi everyone! This is not the baby post, that will be later on tonight. I actually am doing this post to talk about the donations. The blood bank informed us that we were out of blood. We were shocked since like over 100 people donated. Then we spoke to a nurse, who got us the scoop. We actually learned a lot about the blood last week, and I thought I would share the info.
Let's begin our lesson...

What is blood?
Blood is that red stuff (actually, I believe it's blue, it turns red when it hits oxygen, I think I learned that in nursing school, take that Bill Nye the science guy) that flows through your veins. If you don't know about, your probably not a human, and should speak to someone.

What type are you?
This is interesting. We always thought that you had to be one of the types that your parents are. This is untrue. How do we know this? We know this because the nurse told us the boys were A Negative, and we both looked at each other and did the "What you talkin bout Willis?" face to each other. I am O-negative, and Craig is A Positive. The  boys are A Negative. I can donate, he can't. 

Who can donate?
Anyone can donate, but only O-negative and A Negative can go to the boys.

What is CMV?
I have no idea. No, No , I do now.  CMV is a virus that many adults carry. It's not harmful to you, but it can harm a baby, and potentially be fatal. All the donations get tested for the CMV virus. If the blood has it, they can't use it. Therefore, some people that donated are a match, but they couldn't use the blood because it was CMV positive. Therefore, we could have 50 people donate, and there could 20 people that match, but only 5-10 could be CMV negative. Sucks right. Don't fret, your blood doesn't get wasted, it saves an adult, just not the babies.
CMV Virus      This is a wiki definition. It may not be 100% correct, but you get the point.

How long is it good for?
Here is a kick in the baby balls. We were told in the beginning that blood was good for 21-30 days. This is a true story. However, blood being donated to babies, can't be over 10 days old. We were told in the beginning that the blood banks would take whats called a Pedi-Pack. It is like a 50 ml bag. This way, whoever donates, doesn't have to wait that long to donate again. The blood banks are taking a pint instead. Again, don't fret, they split it into 4, so it can go to both babies, or whoever needs it. However, because it is a pint, you have to wait longer to donate. I believe two to three months. Ugghh.

Moral of the story
Blood is tricky to get! If you have donated, you are a rock star! If you know someone who wants to, or, if you want to, awesome! We will take what we can get.  At least know we know why we ran out at the bank so quickly. If you need more info, there is a blood link on the homepage. If you are donating and need info on the boys just drop us a line, and we will get you what you need.

Love to all!
Em