Donating blood

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve decided to donate blood, for the first time ever. I’ve had blood tests, but I’ve never, ever even come close to donating. Last year, a few people from the office went to a clinic on September 12, but I had stayed home that day. But in any event, I’ve just never done it.

So I made an appointment recently through the Red Cross’s site. Yes, an actual appointment! Through the site, you can pick the clinic that’s most convenient to you, as well as a good time to go. So I’ve done all of that.

There’s even a section on the site about what to expect. But over the weekend, they called my work phone to confirm the appointment, and on the message the person said something like “double up on fluids and eat one hour before the appointment.”

I hadn’t seen anything about this on the site or in the confirmation email I received.

So for those of you who’ve done this, how should I prepare for donating?

2

You fill the bag quicker if you’ve had plenty of water.

Be prepared to answer a number of questions about where you’ve been, who you’ve slept with, what you’ve had pierced and what medical procedures you’ve had done/ drugs you’ve taken.

And don’t worry - the little prick on the finger hurts much more than the taking of the blood.

Even if you feel fine, sit down for a while when you’ve finished. They’ll give you a cuppa.

3

Ah, that’s why they mentioned the fluids. That’s cool. I can drink lotsa water.

When I made the appointment I forgot I also had physical therapy later in the evening, but as long as I’m out of there by 5pm (!), I’m fine. The appointment’s for 3:45.

4

Good for you, dantheman.

I’m still not able to, due to travel last January (maybe February…I’m pretty sure it was February). I know they want my blood type, but I also know they won’t take it yet.

5

I don’t even know my blood type. How’s that for sad?

Well, if they can’t use it, they can’t use it. It’s ok. I’ll make more.

Incidentally, on the Red Cross’s site there’s also a link for donating tissue. Wow. Tissue! Can you believe it? Maybe I can pysch myself up to donating tissue, too.

6

I have donated blood twice a year in the last decade. :stuck_out_tongue:

7

I’ll second that - Ow! The donation itself doesn’t hurt at all. If it does hurt after the initial stick, let them know right away, because the needle might not be where it should be.

Good for you, dantheman. Try to have a good meal before you donate. And definitely drink lots of water.

I’ve been a regular donor on-and-off for over 15 years - I started in college. I couldn’t donate for quite a while due to various meds I was taking, and I’ve also had a couple of bouts with mild anemia. The anemia was almost gone at my last blood test, so I should be able to donate again soon. They like me - I’m a good bleeder and I’m O+; not as good as universal donor O-, but still in pretty high demand.

8

If you become a repeat donor, and you should. Make sure to switch arms. You don’t want all the scars on one arm. It hurts less that way.

9

I’m gonna eat around 2:30 or so (I usually eat later, if you can believe it).

I’m actually not worried about any pain. And if someone can use it, that’s even better. :slight_smile:

10

Drink lots of fluids (juice is even better than water, IME), and they’ll try to force-feed you more when you’re done donating. Personally, I’ve always gotten a little woozy afterwards, so plan on being a little out of it for your physical therapy session if htey have you doing strenuous stuff. And eat something with lots of protein/iron beforehand!

Good luck!

11

Now I feel guilty. I haven’t donated in a little while and I’m due. Hmm, maybe I’ll make it Civic Duty Day tomorrow and give blood after I vote.

All in all giving blood is a sweet deal. It takes about an hour overall. You can usually get a halfway decent conversation going with other donors there, you get free food and drink afterwards and it’s not unusual for coupons for 5% off at T.G.I.Fridays or some such to be offered, which means you can drink on the cheap come the weekend. Then there’s that sense of doing a little something to help someone you don’t even know that’s kind of nice. Plus if you’re really lucky the lady taking your blood could be cute.

I really don’t see a downside to donating.

12

Wouldn’t it fantastic if the lady taking my blood was a cutie, and then I went to phys. therapy, where the therapist is a cutie? Why, I might overdose on cutuosity.

13

The physical therapy appointment may be a problem. You often have to wait a little while for them to take your medical information, iron level, etc., and then set you up, especially, if lots of other people are donating at the same time. And you definitely shouldn’t just bounce up and walk out once you’re finished. Most people take at least 10 minutes sitting around the little table drinking orange juice and eating cookies and feeling a little woozy before they’re ready to leave. Slower people like me may need to sit for 20 minutes or so. Can you move either appointment a little to allow yourself more time?

14

If I need to, I’ll move the PT one. That won’t be a problem. If I’m going to be leaving the blood donation late, I’ll call the PT and ask them if it’s okay for me to be late, or even cancel. I’m supposed to go three times a week, so cancelling isn’t a terrible idea (they’re only open three days a week, too).

So if I need to, I can postpone or cancel the therapy.

But if it does take an hour or so, I’ll have ample time. I was including traffic in my estimation; leaving at 5 would still give me 90 minutes.

15

Take something to read.

Sometimes the other donors & volunteers are really interesting people and you have a lovely conversation while donating and during juice and cookie time. Sometimes, they’re less so, and a book is a wonderful thing.

16

Regular donor checking in- I last donated a week ago, and I’m a sneeze away from the three-gallon mark. (Sneezing out that last pint of blood would be disturbing, though.)

If this is your first donation, I’d recommend budgeting a little more than an hour for this. They’ll first hand you some material to read before you donate - one about AIDS, another about NAT testing of the blood. (I think- they haven’t changed in years, at least in my area, so I just give them a cursory skim to make sure there’s no “we own your soul” clause in there now.)

After that, a nurse will take you to a private area. Previously (and possibly still in your area), you would fill out a little questionnaire yourself answering yes/no questions on your sexual history, where you’ve traveled, certain medical procedures, et cetera. In the North Central region, though, they’ve moved that onto laptops, which requires the nurse to read the questions to you individually. (No more circling ‘yes’ for “Do you feel well today?” and ‘no’ for everything else and being done in a moment. Of course, I always checked to see if they slipped in a question of “Do you mind if we own your soul?”)

They’ll double-check your social security number, name, and birthdate. They’ll prick your finger for a drop of blood to measure the iron content. (Personal record: 46%. That was one hell of a prime rib I ate the night before…) They’ll measure your pulse and blood pressure and temperature, and look at the insides of each of your arms to see if you’re an IV drug user.

Once they’ve done all that, then it’s off to the gurney. The nurse there will triple-check your name, social security number, and birthdate, and will take a look at your arms to see which one they prefer. (Trob, I’ve donated from my right arm nearly every time, and there’s no visible scar there at all. Am I just lucky, or does the scar start appearing after 30 or so donations?)

The nurse will put a cuff over your arm and have you squeeze a small plastic tube, and then mark two points on your arm with a marker. The cuff’s pressure will be released, and the nurse will swab the spot with a brownish goo. I can only assume it’s an iodine solution or so.

You’ll feel a short pinch when the needle goes in, and they’ll tape it down to your arm. They’ll ask you to squeeze the little plastic tube every ten seconds or so, or roll it around in your hand, just to make sure the blood keeps flowing. After about five minutes (another personal record: three minutes, fifty-one seconds) the bag will be filled. The nurse will pull the needle out, put a small gauze bandage on the elbow, and have you hold your arm up in the air for a minute, applying pressure.

Then you sit down, eat cookies, drink orange juice, and feel like a good person. And don’t forget to make an appointment to donate in 56 days.

They’ll also discourage you from strenuous physical activity or alcoholic beverages for the rest of the day, so I don’t know how that’ll impact your physical therapy. On the other hand, you become a cheap drunk for a day.

(And yes, I keep track of my times when donating. See, you’re just sitting there for a while, so it’s more fun to see how many times you can bounce a ball in an hour, and then try to break that record. Er, I mean, … uh, yeah, you know.)

17

Some people suffer side effects such as light headedness or nausea – though this is rare. In my experience, those side effects are from being a touch dehydrated before donating. I think that’s another reason for giving you juice and a cookie – to keep you around long enough to see if you’lre gonna faint.

In my home town, they have the Bloodmobile – a passenger van that will pick you up and drop you off in case you’re prone to getting oogy and can’t (or shouldn’t drive).

And Ino’s right. One half-pint of beer after I’ve donated and I’m snoozing peacefully under the table.

18

Oh, right, I understood the concept behind it - you’re a pint low of blood, after all. What I meant to say (admittedly unclearly, now that I reread my post) is that they may or may not recommend you skip physical therapy that night, based on how active you’re going to be.

(and it’s an L, not an I! Lno!)

19

Like lno, I’m between two and three gallons donated so far. I’ve also gotten several people to become donors as well, including my wife, who is O+(a good type to have because it can be given to any Rh+ person). I don’t have noticable scars, a couple places that might count as divets, but not scars. I switch arms though. I have noticed that it’s sometimes harder for them to find the vein in the left arm, which I used for the majority of my early donations. I’ve run the gamut from averting my eyes and retreating into songs in my head(during my first donations mostly) to actually watching the needle go in and blood start flowing. Kind of hard to sit still for it, and it still gives me the willies when I think about it, but I was curious. After I satisfied my curiosity I didn’t do that again. Still was a good thing to do once.

One thing no one has mentioned yet, the spam and phone calls! Man being a regular donor can be a PITA! Once they have your name and number, they call, and call, and call. Make you feel like slime if you can’t make it that weekend because the blood bank, in my area at least, isn’t above using guilt to get you to come in. I once got a story about a little girl who was in a car accident and then the operator offered to make an appointment for me. Man, wanting to vege or go out on the weekend makes you feel like scum when you’re on the phone with them. :frowning:

Enjoy,
Steven
Who was actually going to donate this past weekend along with his wife, but the trip got canceled for reasons he won’t go into here.

20

The Red Cross comes to my workplace every 60 days or so. Out of roughly 750 people on our campus maybe 50 donate. I realize that many people can’t give blood for one reason or another but I think 50 out of 750 is pretty pathetic. Especially when you get out of actually working for an hour or so and don’t have to drive anywhere to do it.

Anyway…good luck with your first time.