Celebrating Twenty with a Pint

No it isn't what you think. :)

Today is my 20th anniversary at Microsoft. 

Wow. 

20 years of doing anything is pretty amazing and 20 of this definitely counts as amazing, to me anyway.  It's been a lot of fun.

I got to celebrate in a very special way.  You see, I have Hereditary Hemochromatosis -- an Iron Overload condition -- and I've been having therapy for it for many years.  It's really very pleasant therapy, I go to the blood center every few weeks and they take a pint of blood, it keeps the iron under control.  I even get cookies and juice!

Until today they had to throw that blood away because I was a therapeutic donor.  Today was special. Many years ago studies had shown that the blood of hemochromatic donors was safe to use and the FDA recently approved my local blood center to join others in accepting donations from people with my condition.

So, although they've been taking my blood for 15 years (sometimes as often as once per week!) today was the first time I *gave* blood that could be used by others.

I thought it was a great way to celebrate, I hope lots of you join me.