Remember: things always change. I used to have a true or false question along the lines of:
True or False: The Irish blood transfusion service gives you a free pint of Guinness every time you give blood.
Answer: True
I was about to include this in a recent quiz when I thought I'd better
check it out as the question had been hanging around in the database for a while.So I dropped a quick line to giveblood.ie and they got back in touch to tell us that indeed the practice has ceased as of January 2010.
Sadly this seems to have come about thanks to the notion that alcohol is not actually good for you.
"Diageo notified the IBTS that from November 2009, they would no longer supply Guinness to the IBTS. This decision was made by Diageo in line with their own marketing code, which states that they no longer promote alcohol as a medicine, nor imply that alcohol has the ability to prevent, treat or cure any human disease or condition.
Following this decision, the IBTS has decided not to purchase Guinness for clinics for two reasons, first because this would be a cost that is not justifiable and secondly because blood alcohol limits are due to be reduced further by the Government in the new year. This was an arrangement that was in place for many years and was kindly supported by Diageo, but we believe it is no longer appropriate for the IBTS to supply alcohol at blood donation clinics.
This is sad news, both for givers of blood/lovers of Guinness, and for poor quizmasters who may be caught out by the ever-changing nature of facts!