Last Thursday I took the decision to go to the academic hospital of Uppsala and donate some blood. It wouldn't have been my first time to donate blood. In fact I have donated blood over 10 times in Greece and Italy. Therefore fully confident for the success of my attempt I checked where the blood donation department is and took my bicycle to get there.
However things were not that simple as I thought.
Arriving at the reception of the department I had the following conversation with the nurse who was sitting there. Please note the conversion was in english.
- Goodmorning, I would like to donate blood.
- Ok, then you have to fill these forms. Do you spreak Swedish?
- No, but someone could translate them for me
- Yes, this could be done in the future but you can't give blood.
- But I have donated many times!
- Sorry, it's the rule!
And that was the end of my attempt...
So what was the rule that I didn't comply to? The swedish healthcare system permits only to people who speak swedish to be potential candidates for blood donation. This is understandable as the forms which I had to fill regarded the safety of the blood and were in swedish. I also believe safety should be a top priority in this process.
However what is absurd is that in a country like Sweden, where the majority of the population speaks english well, it's not acceptable that someone can help you with the translation of certain forms! And this looks even more weird when the argument comes to blood donation... You want to do some good but you are not allowed because you don't speak the language and you are helpless in this dead end.
Therefore what is more useful for a society? Helping those who suffer or the blind compliance to the rules?
Anyway as Sweden has these rules I respect them. I will go back when I am able to speak swedish well enough, thus soon. Being human can be a challenge and I accept it!
By the way, I encourage my swedish and swedish-speaking international friends to donate blood without any hesitation. You should definitely enjoy this joy during your life! :)
However things were not that simple as I thought.
Arriving at the reception of the department I had the following conversation with the nurse who was sitting there. Please note the conversion was in english.
- Goodmorning, I would like to donate blood.
- Ok, then you have to fill these forms. Do you spreak Swedish?
- No, but someone could translate them for me
- Yes, this could be done in the future but you can't give blood.
- But I have donated many times!
- Sorry, it's the rule!
And that was the end of my attempt...
So what was the rule that I didn't comply to? The swedish healthcare system permits only to people who speak swedish to be potential candidates for blood donation. This is understandable as the forms which I had to fill regarded the safety of the blood and were in swedish. I also believe safety should be a top priority in this process.
However what is absurd is that in a country like Sweden, where the majority of the population speaks english well, it's not acceptable that someone can help you with the translation of certain forms! And this looks even more weird when the argument comes to blood donation... You want to do some good but you are not allowed because you don't speak the language and you are helpless in this dead end.
Therefore what is more useful for a society? Helping those who suffer or the blind compliance to the rules?
Anyway as Sweden has these rules I respect them. I will go back when I am able to speak swedish well enough, thus soon. Being human can be a challenge and I accept it!
By the way, I encourage my swedish and swedish-speaking international friends to donate blood without any hesitation. You should definitely enjoy this joy during your life! :)
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