Originally Posted by Litespud

Back when I lived in Dublin, I used to donate at Pelican House, the National Blood Transfusion Board headquarters (we had a national blood transfusion service, not affiliated with the Red Cross). At the end of the big ward was a cafe where, after you had donated your unit of blood, you could sit down for tea and cookies or, if you preferred, a pint (Guinness being full of iron, supposedly). There would be a nurse in full uniform pulling pints, which was a sight in itself. I used to go every three months with a good friend (motorcyclist - we were both pretty sure he'd need the blood some day). Usually we'd manage to cajole the nurse into giving us a second pint, after which we'd likely write off the day and head to the pub for the afternoon/evening. Back then, if you made a minimum number of donations, you'd get a certificate and a gold lapel pin, presented by the President of the country. My old man, who was a life-long donor, has a pic on the wall of him receiving his cert and pin from Mary Robinson, the President at the time. Don't know if they still do that - don't know if they still give you beer (I suspect not).
Anyway, after I moved to the US, it turns out that my blood can no longer be used because of the risk of Mad Cow - overblown, IMO - I haven't moo'd at the moon in years....