39 Gallons: Paying Bills in Blood

It’s 8:45 at night on a Tuesday, and Christie is about to stick me with the needle. I’m laying in a bed at the Biomat plasma donation center, waiting to trade 875 milliliters of the watery part of my blood for $50.

I like Christie. She always asks how my day has been. She remembers the book I was reading last week, and I can tell that she’s smiling behind her mask. These are all secondary reasons. The important thing about Christie is that she doesn’t have trouble finding the vein in my right arm.