I am scheduled to give blood tomorrow, how safe is this? I have given in the past and never had a problem, but I am giving at a new place (this was setup by my job). Is Heartland a good organiztion?
Well, assuming they use a clean needle, and don’t take too much, I personally can’t think of ANY danger that could come from blood donation.(Well, maybe a couple of nicks, if they miss the vein the first time with the needle, but that is minor.)
Don’t know about Heartland, my 4 gallons have gone to the red cross.
The thermoter is either disposable, or has a disposible cover, the lancet is new and disposed of afterward. The donation itself is done with a new needle (unwrapped in front of you), new tubing and collection bag. The arm is cleaned and swabbed in betadine before the stick .
While there is a chance that you could get infected, the chance is awfully near zero
Assuming that you’re relatively healthy, it’s very safe. Just make sure that you’ve eaten adequately and are well hydrated.
Personally, I do it for the free cookies and juice boxes.
I just gave with Heartland yesterday - and have probably 4 or 5 times in the past. They come to my work about twice a year as well. I have also given with LifeSource. They (Both Heartland and LifeSource) are very reputable. About the worst they would be likely to do is have trouble finding your vein, which would result in an unsightly bruise, but no permanent damage.
Of all the reasons that your skin might get broken, intentionally or otherwise, giving blood is probably the safest.
Slight Hijack: Most donation folks don’t let you do it more than like 6 x per year. Why not? If you’re well nourished?
Major Hijack: While watching myself bleed into the bag I once pondered, "What if the bag has a hole in it? How long would it take me to drain? has anyone ever snuffed it in this way? (Using a donor needle, I mean. I’m pretty sure people have bled to death in the past).
The worst problem I ever had was using my arm too much before the vein had a chance to heal. This led to an unsightly, but not dangerous, hematoma (bruise-looking thingy).
Your body will replinish the blood volume within 24 hours, but it takes awhile to replace all the red blood cells and other stuff in the blood. My local Red Cross requires 56 days between donations, and they don’t bend.
I suppose it’s possible if you’re a hemophiliac, but at the very worst, they would have discovered that when they pricked your finger for the initial test.
One of the major problems blood banks have is with people who actually can’t bleed enough to fill the bag. I once had an irritating hour-plus experience while technician after technician tried to get me to bleed more than the small dribble that had gone into the bag before my vein clamped shut.
Several times after giving blood I have felt sick and dizzy. I never actually passed out, but I felt like I was going to. The fourth time this happened, the blood technician told me to go away and never come back.
Why was this? Did they just not want to deal with me, or is there any actual risk? (I always felt fine the next day.) I would have thought with the shortage of blood these days they would want me even if I was a bit of a nuisance.
I have gave blood many times and gave 5 pints to be used on me during heart valve surgery… no problems.
My friend has donated blood 3 times. Each time her vain collapsed and she fainted. None of my other friends have ever had problems donateing blood though.