Cash Flow

“Bloody vampires, that’s what they are. How’s a man supposed to live on what they pay?” The raggedy old man staggered off down the street. Lilith sighed after him, then turned back toward the entrance to the blood donation center. She had recently lost her job at a rural mall shop and needed to earn extra money to buy food. The government assistance programs had ceased decades ago. The poor usually ended up living on the street, although they had taken to sheltering in abandoned shopping malls in recent years. The blood donation center was within walking distance of the downtown mall that Lilith had ended up living in after losing her apartment. Ironically, she had taken up residence in a space once occupied by her former employer.

Lilith pulled open the door to the blood donation center and went to sign in at the Intake desk. Because it was her first time there, she had to fill out some forms. The intake forms were pretty basic – medical history, emergency contact list, and permission to draw blood. When she had finished filling out the forms, the Intake specialist collected a small blood sample from her fingertip. She shuddered when the lance bit and held her breath while the glass capillary filled with her blood. “Please have a seat while we type your blood and check for factors.”

Lilith went back to the waiting area and picked up a well-worn magazine. The shiny pages had somehow managed to survive the decade or so since its publication. There were ads in the magazine for products that no longer existed, ads for stores and restaurants that had long since gone out of business, and ads for products that most people simply couldn’t afford to buy. She came across an ad from her former employer and in a fit of pique, she tore out the page and shredded it. She shoved the bits of paper back into the magazine and shoved it to the bottom of the pile.

Lilith looked around the room. A few more people had come in and the line of donors ahead of her had shortened. She watched the phlebotomists as they came out with donors, escorting them to the Check-out to receive their payment. The phlebotomists were unusually pale and thin while their patients seemed rosy and robust by comparison. Lilith was not exactly the picture of health having spent more time inside working long hours trying to earn enough money to live on. She wondered how much training was involved to learn to draw blood.

“Miss Wild?” a young woman’s voice interrupted Lilith’s reverie. She looked up at the skinny blond phlebotomist and nodded. “The hematologist would like to speak with you. Could you follow me, please?” Lilith picked up her coat and handbag from the seat next to her and followed the young woman through a maze of hallways to a small conference room. “Please wait here for the hematologist.”

Lilith hated waiting. And her stomach was starting to growl. She wanted to donate, get paid, and eat something. Instead, she was sitting in a small room at a small table waiting for someone – the hematologist. Did they only have one? Did the hematologist have a name? She glanced around the room for some clues, but the room was relatively bare except for the table, four chairs and the overhead pendant light.

A rack of pamphlets touting the benefits of blood donation, discussing the various types of blood, and informing about several blood related diseases hung on the wall opposite the door. Lilith grabbed one on blood-borne pathogens and began reading about the means of transmission. A knock on the door interrupted her reading half way through the pamphlet. The door opened and a woman walked in, introducing herself as Doctor Mariruth Quinn, the hematologist.

Doctor Quinn sat across the table from Lilith and smiled. “I took the liberty of ordering lunch for the two of us. A nurse will be delivering it shortly. We have much to talk about. It seems that you have a very rare blood type – or rather, your blood has some very rare properties.

Lilith sat back in her chair. She had been expecting bad news. Before Doctor Quinn could discuss the matter further, a nurse arrived with a tray. Lilith watched as Mariruth poured out the contents of a large thermos into one of the two large stemware glasses before offering it to her. “Here, take it. It’s fresh and a rare type, guaranteed to be alcohol free.” Lilith smiled as she accepted the glass.