Blood donation goes high tech

[jethrien]

The blood drive people have new apparatus. Instead of just clipping your bag to the railing, they put it in this little cradle that has tiny robotic arms that tips it back and forth (I guess to keep the blood flowing?) And when it gets heavy enough, the robot thing cheerfully starts cheeping until an attendant comes over and clamps the tube. It's actually ridiculously cute. (The mental image is probably cuter than the actual device. It mostly looks like a robotic swing with a digital display set. But now I'm picturing Pintsize from Questionable Content, rocking the blood cradle back and forth. Wait, no, Pintsize wouldn't be cute, he'd be creepy. Maybe the iPod robot instead. Or Marigold's chibi bot.)

Something must have happened, though - they were far more obsessive about reading you all the directions afterwards and walking you to the table and inspecting your bandage than ever before.

Comments

[firynze.livejournal.com]

...I would NOT want robots involved in taking my blood. Meep.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I love robots. I majored in mechanical engineering. I built a robot that attacked the TA once. (We didn't like him. It wasn't on purpose, but I can't say I was sad.) I've got a friend who builds robot bees.

[firynze.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I love robots, too. I built a robotic moth when I was 10, and I date a man whose BFA, of all things, involved building robots and siccing them on gallery visitors.

I just worry about letting robots near my blood. They might get IDEAS. ;-)