Welcome to this free English lesson based on the short story Blood Transfusion.
In this suspenseful tale, a mysterious man arrives at a private hospital before dawn, claiming that he urgently needs a blood transfusion. As doctors and nurses struggle to understand his strange condition, they uncover clues that suggest he is hiding a terrifying secret.
This lesson is ideal for English learners and teachers and includes the story in sections, reading comprehension questions, vocabulary activities, discussion questions, role play, creative writing tasks, and answer keys. It is designed to improve reading, speaking, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills while keeping students engaged with an unforgettable story.
Do you enjoy stories about vampires? Why or why not?
What do you already know about vampires from books, films or TV shows?
If vampires really existed, do you think they could live secretly among ordinary people? Why?
Imagine a vampire walked into a hospital asking for help. How do you think the doctors and nurses would react?
If you discovered that someone you knew was a vampire, what would you do?
Story for Listening
Use the audio track below to listen to the story. Now you can practice listening too!
Blood Transfusion
The private hospital was unusually quiet in the hour before dawn.
At half past four in the morning, the automatic doors slid open and a tall man stepped inside. He wore a long black coat despite the mild weather, and although he appeared to be no older than forty, his face was ghostly pale.
He approached the reception desk with slow, careful steps.
“I need to see a doctor,” he said.
The receptionist looked up from her computer.
“What seems to be the problem, sir?”
“I’m anaemic.”
“You look very unwell. Can I take your name?”
“Ethan Vale.”
She typed quickly before picking up the telephone.
“A nurse will be with you in a moment.”
Within minutes, Nurse Emily Carter appeared. She smiled warmly and guided Ethan into a small examination room.
“Please take a seat, Mr Vale.”
As Ethan lowered himself onto the bed, Emily wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm.
“You’re freezing,” Emily said.
“I’m always cold,” Ethan replied.
She checked his pulse and frowned.
“It’s unusually weak.”
“I know.”
“How long have you felt like this?”
“A few days.”
“Have you lost blood recently?”
“No.”
“Have you been eating properly?”
Ethan hesitated.
“Not really.”
Emily made a note on her chart.
“I’m going to ask the doctor to see you. We’ll probably need to run some blood tests.”
At the mention of blood, Ethan looked sharply towards the corridor.
Beyond it lay the pathology laboratory and the hospital’s refrigerated blood storage.
Emily noticed his expression.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“No,” Ethan replied quietly. “I just hope you can help me.”
A few moments later, she leaned closer with a small penlight.
“I’m going to check your eyes.”
As she did, the silver cross hanging around her neck slipped free from beneath her uniform.
For the briefest instant, Ethan stiffened.
His eyes fixed on the cross.
Then he deliberately looked away.
Emily noticed but said nothing.
She switched off the penlight.
“Everything seems normal.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“Does it?”
Dr Miller arrived shortly afterwards.
He was an experienced physician with calm manners and decades of practice behind him.
“I’m Dr Miller,” he said, shaking Ethan’s hand. “Nurse Carter tells me you believe you’re severely anaemic.”
“I don’t believe it,” Ethan answered. “I know it.”
“Well, let’s find out.”
Blood samples were taken.
The nurses returned again and again.
More blood.
More questions.
More forms.
Hours passed.
The laboratory requested repeat samples because the first results made little sense. A radiographer performed X-rays. Another doctor recommended additional scans. Ethan answered every question patiently while the clock on the wall continued its slow march towards morning.
By half past five he looked dramatically worse.
His lips had lost all colour.
Tiny beads of sweat stood on his forehead.
His hands trembled slightly whenever he thought no one was watching.
Emily entered carrying another clipboard.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “The laboratory wants one final sample.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“You’re running out of time.”
“I know it’s frustrating,” Emily replied.
“No,” Ethan whispered. “You don’t.”
The latest test results only deepened the mystery.
His blood behaved unlike anything the technicians had ever examined.
His body temperature remained impossibly low.
His bones were extraordinarily dense.
Nothing fit.
Dr Miller closed the examination room door behind him.
“Mr Vale,” he said, “I’m going to ask you a direct question.”
Ethan nodded.
“Do you have some extremely rare inherited disease?”
“You could describe it that way.”
“What disease?”
“One that your medical books have never documented.”
Dr Miller folded his arms.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only one I can give.”
“So tell me this instead. Why did you come to a hospital?”
Ethan looked at him steadily.
“Because I needed blood.”
“You believe a transfusion will cure you?”
“It won’t cure me.”
“But it will help?”
“It will save my life.”
Dr Miller sighed.
“We cannot administer blood products without a clear diagnosis or medical necessity.”
“There is medical necessity.”
“You have not demonstrated it.”
“I have lived with it for a very long time.”
Emily entered quietly.
“Doctor, should I open the blinds? We could use some natural light in here.”
Before anyone could answer, she crossed the room and pulled the cord.
The blinds lifted.
Thin bands of pale morning sunlight streamed through the window.
Ethan cried out and threw his arm across his face.
Smoke curled faintly from the skin on the back of his hand where the light had touched it.
Emily gasped.
Dr Miller stared in disbelief.
Ethan spoke through clenched teeth.
“Close them.”
Emily hurried to lower the blinds again.
The room fell back into shadow.
For several long seconds, nobody spoke.
Finally Dr Miller broke the silence.
“What are you?”
Ethan looked exhausted.
“A patient.”
“That is not what I meant.”
“I know.”
Emily took an uncertain step backwards.
The silver cross slipped from beneath her collar once more.
Ethan noticed it immediately.
His jaw tightened.
But he made no move towards her.
Instead, he spoke quietly.
“I came here because I did not want to hurt anyone.”
Dr Miller’s voice remained firm.
“If this is some kind of elaborate trick—”
“It isn’t.”
“We can’t simply give you blood because you demand it.”
“I asked.”
“And the answer is no.”
Ethan lowered his head.
For a moment he seemed defeated.
Then he stood.
The weakness vanished from his posture.
He crossed the room so quickly that neither doctor nor nurse saw him move.
One moment he was beside the examination bed.
The next he was blocking the door.
Emily’s breath caught in her throat.
Dr Miller instinctively reached towards the emergency alarm.
Without taking his eyes off the doctor, Ethan rested one hand on the nearby stainless-steel trolley.
The metal bent beneath his fingers as though it were made of soft clay.
Neither hospital worker spoke.
Ethan’s expression was not angry.
It was desperate.
“I have followed your rules,” he said softly. “I registered at reception. I answered your questions. I gave you samples. I waited while your machines examined me.”
His voice became almost pleading.
“I came here because I did not want to hurt anyone.”
Outside the window, daylight continued to strengthen.
Even through the closed blinds, thin lines of brightness crept around the edges.
Small burns had begun to appear on Ethan’s exposed skin.
He looked at Emily.
Then at Dr Miller.
Finally, very slowly, he opened his mouth.
Just enough.
Emily saw two unnaturally long canine teeth.
Dr Miller saw them too.
Neither could speak.
Ethan’s eyes settled on the refrigerated blood bank beyond the corridor.
“There is enough blood in this building to save me,” he said quietly.
Dr Miller swallowed.
“I can’t authorise that.”
Ethan turned back towards him.
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
“You either give me a blood transfusion,” he said, “or I get it from you.”
His gaze shifted briefly to Emily before returning to the doctor.
“Your choice.”
Reading Comprehension Questions
Where does the story take place?
What time does the story take place?
What is the name of the main character?
What medical problem does he say he has?
What is the name of the nurse who comes to help Ethan?
What does she notice about his temperature?
Is Ethan’s pulse normal?
What questions does the nurse ask Ethan about his health?
What does she say will happen next?
What does Ethan do when the nurse talks about blood tests?
What does the nurse use to check Ethan’s eyes?
What item slips from beneath her uniform?
How does Ethan react?
What is the doctor’s name?
Is Dr Miller an experienced doctor?
What different tests do the doctors and nurses perform on Ethan?
How does Ethan appear by half past five?
Why is Ethan becoming increasingly worried?
What do the tests reveal about Ethan?
What does Dr Miller ask Ethan about his disease?
How does Ethan describe his disease?
Is this helpful to the doctor?
What does Ethan say he needs?
Why does Dr Miller refuse to give Ethan a blood transfusion?
What does the nurse do when she reenters the room?
What happens to Ethan after she does this?
How do the doctor and nurse respond to this?
What instruction does Ethan give the nurse?
What does the doctor ask Ethan?
How does Ethan respond?
Why does Ethan say he came to the hospital?
What does Dr Miller suggest Ethan might be doing?
What does the doctor say about giving blood to Ethan?
Why are Dr Miller and Emily surprised by how Ethan moves to the door?
What does the doctor try to do next?
What does Ethan do to the trolley?
How does Ethan’s voice change in this part of the story?
What is happening outside?
What happens to Ethan’s skin?
What do Emily and Dr Miller notice about Ethan’s teeth?
Where is Ethan’s focus at this part of the story?
What is Ethan demanding at this point in the story?
Does the doctor grant this?
What dilemma does Ethan give Doctor Miller and Emily?
Essential Vocabulary
private hospital | before dawn | automatic doors |
ghostly pale | reception desk | anaemic |
examination room | blood pressure cuff | pulse |
blood tests | pathology laboratory | refrigerated blood storage |
penlight | silver cross | stiffened |
physician | blood samples | X-rays |
scans | laboratory | dramatically worse |
trembled | body temperature | extraordinarily dense |
inherited disease | transfusion | medical necessity |
natural light | blinds | streamed |
smoke curled | disbelief | clenched teeth |
shadow | elaborate trick | emergency alarm |
stainless-steel trolley | desperate | daylight |
exposed skin | canine teeth | blood bank |
Vocabulary Practice Exercise
Follow the steps below to help you learn and remember new words and phrases more effectively:
1. Write each new word or phrase in your vocabulary notebook.
2. Look up the meaning of each word in your dictionary. Write a clear and simple definition next to the word.
3. Create your own sentence using the word or phrase correctly. Try to make the sentence meaningful and connected to your own life or experiences.
Examples
Physician – a medical doctor who is trained to diagnose and treat illnesses.
Example sentence: The physician examined the patient carefully before recommending further tests.
Ghostly pale – extremely pale in appearance, often making someone look frightened, ill or unnatural.
Example sentence: After staying awake all night, Jake looked ghostly pale when he arrived at work.
Why do this?
Doing this regularly will help you improve all areas of your English—reading, writing, speaking and listening. By writing definitions and creating your own example sentences, you actively use the language, making it easier to remember and use confidently in the future.
Discussion Questions
What did you think of Ethan when he first arrived at the hospital?
At what point did you begin to suspect that Ethan was hiding something unusual?
Why do you think Ethan chose to go to a hospital instead of finding blood somewhere else?
Do you think Nurse Emily treated Ethan fairly? Why or why not?
How would you describe Dr Miller’s attitude towards Ethan?
If you were Dr Miller, would you have agreed to give Ethan a blood transfusion? Explain your answer.
Do you think Ethan is a good person, a bad person, or something in between? Why?
Was Ethan justified in threatening the doctor and nurse at the end of the story?
How do you think the story ends after Ethan says, “Your choice”?
If you were Emily, how would you react after seeing Ethan’s unusual teeth and strength?
Why do you think Ethan never directly explains what he really is?
Which scene in the story did you find the most suspenseful or memorable?
If supernatural creatures really existed, should hospitals be required to treat them?
Should doctors always help a patient, even if they are frightened by them?
Is it ever acceptable to threaten someone if your own life is in danger?
If Ethan had calmly explained everything at the beginning, do you think the doctors would have believed him?
What clues in the story suggest that Ethan is not an ordinary human being?
Why do you think stories about mysterious creatures and vampires remain popular today?
Which do you think is stronger in this story: fear, sympathy, or curiosity? Explain your answer.
If you could change one part of the ending, what would you change and why?
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