Here's a brilliant idea

And brought to you by some Costa Rican government agency, no doubt. The latest is that when you go to get your driver's license, you now have to get blood typed there at the DMV. Anyone who thinks this is a good idea, please raise your hand.

Besides being a massive invasion of privacy, here are a few other reasons why I think this idea sucks.

1. Of all of the people who hold Costa Rican driver's licenses, what percentage of those do you think will be in a car accident? And of that percentage, how many do you think will be in a car accident serious enough to require a blood transfusion? I'm just guessing here, but I'd think a very miniscule percentage overall. Is it worth the expense for this very small percentage of people needing a blood transfusion after a car accident to make it worthwhile?
   
2. Don't most ambulances carry "universal donor" blood anyway? Wouldn't that just be easier?
3. If you were in a serious car accident, and, let's say you're a woman like me who carries her life in her purse, would you want the paramedics scrambling to try to find your license and then find your blood type, or would you rather they just take some blood there at the scene and type it and give you the transfusion? I mean, how long does it take? A minute? Two?
   
4. What if the DMV makes a mistake in your blood typing and you end up getting the wrong blood transfusion in the ambulance? (Ooh, I know the answer to this one! You die.)
   
5. What if you're in a car with several other people and in the confusion, you end up getting the wrong blood because you look a lot like your friend, who happened to have been sitting next to you? (See answer to #4.)
   
6. Wouldn't the paramedics have to type your blood anyway, just to be safe?

Honestly, who thought this was a good idea? I can't even imagine. It's so ridiculous. My driver's license doesn't expire until 2011, so either we'll be long gone from Costa Rica by then or they'll have changed this law.