Blood Sucking Technician

We have had quite a few experiences with the medical facilities here in Sudan; it's been a year since Ehsan was admitted to hospital (...in an unblogged part of our story!), and we've paid a few visits to Dr Amanda Tadross, our paed, who has a clinic next door to the US Embassy in Khartoum.

What everyone experiences (most, if not, all the time) is that if you are sick and walk into a medical establishment in the city, the very first thing they will subject you to is a blood test. They love to look for 'parasites'; namely for Malaria and other mosquito borne diseases, in addition to the regular bacterial and viral infections. A Tip : I do not like me or members of my family to be pricked, so we do our best _not_ to get tested!

Well, the technician at Dr Amanda's clinic still uses his tried and tested (!) method of blood extraction. He uses a special glass and plastic tool (straw?) to _suck_ the blood. No disposable syringes here, friends - just a prick on a finger, a squeeze and controlled sucking (child crying optional). You can see the tech-dude with the apparatus in his mouth, in the pic above.

You can simulate this at home; use a straw to suck some juice then place your tongue over the straw opening (the juice will be suspended in the straw by the vacuum), then move the straw into another glass, move your tongue away, and let gravity take its course. Finally, celebrate how cool that would have been with OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOOD...

But don't fret as the hospitals I have been to uses disposable syringes - but then there's the problem of finding a vein - I'll leave that story for another day!