>> Have you ever donated blood in the U.S.? <<

I am also a gallon donor and my sister-in-law worked for the Red Cross
blood bank program for a few years.

>> I have donated just under 3 gallons and I have never been asked about this stuff. <<

We had some problems in the US with contaminated blood supplies,
mostly Hepatitis strains. But HIV/AIDS got the public attention.

>> There are a few yes / no questions about certain countries and certain time periods. There is also a yes / no question about whether I have ever exchanged sex for money. On that there is not a request for a list of transactions and/or acts/positions, either. Just a check box. <<

If you get a clean bill of health, can you then give blood again? In
Los Angeles and San Francisco a few years ago, the HIV/AIDS testing
services did give you a dated card as proof. This was important
because the Gay community was trying to collect blood from healthy for
the infected members. This was the "take-home exam with essay
questions and bonus points: for donations.

>> But Joe, different states have different organizations that collect blood .. some multiple. So, I could have donated to some blood donor trailer in Arkansas yesterday, and for some reason want to donate again today in Boston. <<

In the US, the Red Cross is the major one. But I agree that the US
has horrible problems with decentralized medical care (hence HIPAA and
other data and database standards), decentralized school standards,
weird liquor and sex laws, etc.

>> What you are expecting is like going to the equivalent of the DMV in Tehran or Beirut or Cairo and expecting them to be able to print you up a new Rhode Island driver's license. <<

Can I get an International driver's license in Tehran or Beirut or
Cairo? Today, my driving records are checked when I go to change to a
new state -- complete with traffic tickets and possible arrest!

>> They do ask that... "what countries have you visited in the past 36 months?" is the one in my state. But they also want to know about your presence in certain countries in certain periods of time, e.g. Congo between 1978 and 1982, etc. Now do you really think they are going to leave an open-ended essay question, require a certified copy of your travel itinerary, etc.? <<

No, you will get a drop-down list with the (ever changing) quarantine
areas for the appropriate time period. Quick, easy and no more
trouble than any other website form we have come to know and love. It
takes longer to type in your name and address. But say I get thru the
screening and I am contaminated; where is the mechanism to flag me as,
say, a Hep-C carrier when they screen my blood? We need that history
table so I can be barred for life.

>> Does the concept of only needing a yes/no answer really escape you this much? You are a clever person, and I have to assume this is all for show. <<

"Yes/No" is an *answer* to a question. Databases (should) record
simple facts from which *questions* are constructed. Do you see that
concept? A data model is a stylized version of a world and we keep, in
the words of Sgt. Joe Friday, "Just the facts, madam."