…and I got a huge t-shirt to prove it! I’ve been donating for years, and it’s always been a good experience for me. Any other blood donors out there, with interesting stories to tell?
Today the three nurses were taking bets on how much each of us weighed, and doing a pretty good job of it! I had a good nurse who found the vein right away and did a painless job of the donation. Taking the band-aid off hurt more than the needle, actually! :eek:
The Red Cross came to my high school once or twice a year. I donated senior year (finally old enough).
Ummm…well. The nurse or whatever that poked me…she sucked. She didn’t tape the needle down right away when she put it in, so it moved around a bit. Didn’t hurt, but it left me with what I called my “junkie bruise.” I had a nice dark bruise that spread stealthily down my arm. I looked like a damned heroin addic that blew a few hits. And it stayed for awhile.
Other than that, it was fine.
And it was fun seeing my friend (who is now at West Point) get all queasy and stuff when she was giving blood. I did help her out, calm her down, but she’s supposed to be the tough one!
And I didn’t get a tshirt. 
People always give blood during Homecoming (you give “for” a Greek house) and they get tshirts, but I’m always sick then.
I’m a really hard stick and during pheresis lately I’ve infiltrated on return and had to stop. I’ve also had the tubing inside explode and the machine just stop working while I was on it. I’m taking a break right now but plan to go back.
You just reminded me that I could donate again on March 16. Thanks!
I’m not allowed to give blood because I’m dirty, I mean gay. A woman can have unprotected sex with a different man every night for years and they’ll take her blood, but a man who’s had sex with another man one time in the last 28 years is deferred forever.
There’s talk again about relaxing the restrictions on gay donors but I’m not holding my breath.
I gave on March 6th. Here’s a tip. To make your veins easier to find, get properly hydrated first. I slug down a quart of water before I go, and the vessels are plump.
I don’t know what any of that meant, but it sounds scary! :eek:
I used to give blood all the time, before I was on half a dozen prescription meds.
Hey, I give blood tomorrow! Yeah,taking off the band-aid is the worst part, althought the fingerprick iron test is no joke either. No problems finding veins here… I’m one of those guys with big gross stickout veins from the gym.
Just leave me enough to get home!!
I’m super-squeamish, but I tried to donate for a while anyways. I always felt like I required more ‘supervision’ than ‘regular’ people, and the last time it was going so slowly that they stopped it before it was full and called it a ‘deferred vein donation’ or something like that.
They later tightened the requirements regarding visiting the U.K. (mad cow disease, ya know), and since I was there for more than 4 cumulative months (all my relatives are there), it’s no longer an option anymore, so I don’t have to worry either way. 
Yeah. I’m not even very gay but I’ve participated in enough debauchery to exclude me from giving blood.
Bloodsuckers, the lot of 'em, I tell ya.
I give blood once or twice a year for a long time now. I have passed out a few times over the years but the only memorable time I gave blood was on 9/11.
… Once I knew my wife was safe at home with the kids, I stopped to give blood at the Central Jersey Blood Bank office in Howell. I was the first one there and the Nurses had not made it yet. Within the hour before they showed up there were over 60 people waiting patiently. A bunch of us chipped in and got 6 dozens bagels and when the Bagel place asked what it was for and we explained they threw in a bunch of Cream Cheeses and Butters.
We could actually see the smoke from the far off site of the Towers. It was heartbreaking. But it was great to see so many people all turn out to do the only thing we could. I think we all shared a sense of helplessness and thought that there would be a need for blood donations.
Jim {Damn, I actually go got choked up writing that up.}
My husband and myself are both regular blood donors. (Every 8 weeks.) And we’ve even got my oldest son coming along to donate every now and then.
I was supposed to give last week, but I’m training for another 10K and decided I’d better wait until after the 10K, because my training will just go to hell.
We try to go and get started at the same time so we can ‘race.’ It’s almost always a tie, we each take about 5 minutes to fill our bags.
That happened to a guy I donated with in january…and it was his first time! That clot (if that’s what it was, we were never sure?) hung around for two weeks before fading. Needless to say, he didn’t join me this time around.
I highly doubt a woman who’s been having unprotected sex for any length of time with various men would test negative for STD’s, which is one of the things they screen for. I do, however, see your point about not being able to donate if you’ve ever had sex with another man. I hope they implement new guidelines soon.
That was a pretty amazing thing to think of, especially so early. I don’t know if donating blood would have been my first thought, but I’m glad it was yours (and the other 60 people).
Um, a thing or two I’ve learned over the years…
When you’re on the couch, it’s not really cool to close your eyes, even to just rest them for a minute. See, the nurses can’t tell whether you’re dozing or passed out. I tried it just once, and the panic in the nurse’s voice when she asked me if I was okay was enough to give me the hint, “PLEASE don’t do this.”
Donating blood is great …it’s a feeling that I have possibly done some serious good for someone… I like that feeling.
I’m due for my next donation next week. I go every 12 weeks.
They don’t use band-aids here. They have this ace bandage like strip that sticks to itself that they wrap around your arm. And on holidays you can get different colors like red or green around Christmas.
I’d still give but have been banned for about 9 years due to anemia and a bad reaction. Ah well, my Mom still gives.
I should really go again soon. I just was so wiped out after the last donation! I didn’t faint or anything, and I had eaten well before and I ate well afterwards, but I felt slow and woozy for a day or two after the donation. So I’m a little scared and I don’t want to go for a donation just before an exam or anything important.
Ugh I totally forgot about that. That was the worst part. Hurt a hell of a lot more than the bigass needle into the arm! :eek:
I don’t know if this was supposed to happen, but along with my junkie bruise I had a raised site at the insertion, hard and round, like someone stuck a BB under there. Stayed for a month or two but didn’t look gross (minus the fact that it was an unnatural bump). Happen to anyone else?