I'm going to do it!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I’ve been trying to work myself up to giving blood for a while now (since I turned 17) - it’s a terrifying concept to me, but something I feel I’m morally obligated to do. School started two weeks ago, and that suddenly became my excuse to forget about it.

But as I was eating dinner tonight, my father had the news on (special coverage because of the hurricane). And there was a clip, maybe ten seconds, about how the blood supplies are dangerously low in the region, and planes carrying blood from elsewhere can’t land, because hurricanes don’t get along so well with airplanes.

So: I made a decision, called a friend (who has donated before), and will be going to the local Red Cross donation center tomorrow, after school, to donate.

I’m feeling about the same way right now as I did the night before the first time I went away to summer camp: part of me is ready to meet the challenge, but the other part is absolutely terrified, wondering why on earth I’m going to do this to myself, looking desperately for a way to get me out of it.

Ideally, in under twenty-four hours, I will officially be a blood donor. In the meantime, I’m going to attempt to study for my math exam tomorrow and feel very very scared. [insert ‘biting my nails’ smiley here]

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Congratulations!!!

You have made an excellent decision. Giving blood is a truly noble act, especially since you don’t get paid for it. It is also much a cleaner way to balance your humours than leeches :wink: . I have donated a dozen times or more (I’m not fanatical about it, but I always sign up for the blood drives) and I’ve never really had a bad experience. The worst part of the whole thing is the interminable questionnaire you have to fill out ahead of time (HIV and mad cow disease screening). Some of the things which can disqualify you are (and this is no means exhaustive); low/high blood pressure, travelled to Britain in the previous year, unprotected sex with an intravenous drug user, being an intravenous drug user, unprotected sex with a bi or homosexual partner, tattoo or piercing within previous six months, hemophilia, low blood iron content, and about eleventy-six other things. But if you survive the screening process, the actual giving of blood is quick and relatively painless (in my experience). One tip, if you are nervous about needles, don’t watch while they make the stick. If you relax your arm muscles, the needle is very nearly painless ( a good pinch hurts more). Also, be sure you’ve had something to eat in the previous 4 hours, and haven’t had aspirin the previous 24 hours.
Whew! That’s a lot! I don’t want to make you more nervous. These people do this every single day, thay’ve got it down to an artform, and unless the donation center is crowded, you’ll be in and out in about 45 minutes or less.
Good luck, and thanks from everyone, because sooner or later, everyone needs some extra blood.

3

Good for you!

Remember - NOTHING is EVER as bad as you think it’ll be.
I’ve done it dozens of times. Just relax and it’ll be a breeze.

4

Update: I no longer am going to do it - I did it.

In a way, I feel really good about it. Everyone at the center was extremely nice and supportive, and answered all my questions honestly. I nearly wussed out right before they pricked me to check my iron level, but didn’t. They said my iron was a little bit low (which is a chronic problem for me), but I was good to go. Didn’t take long to find a vein, and I filled up the bag pretty quickly.

Afterwards, though, I guess I stood up a little quickly, and didn’t quite pass out, but came very close (sort of tottered on the brink of ‘unconscious’ and ‘conscious’ for a second), so they had me lie back down for a little bit, then try again. Managed a bit better this time, though the whole not-feeling-good was making me really stressed. They fed me some cookies and juice, then started to feel pretty naseous. The guy (tech? Nurse?) and a friend (who also donated, filled a bag in about ten seconds, and felt fine, lucky bastard) both were acting really concerned (which made me more nervous). I and friend went right outside so I could get some air, and I proceeded to puke all over the parking lot.

This apparently, when coupled with feeling extremely light-headed, was a Bad Thing, so they made me go back inside and sit down (I refused to lie down, no idea why) for a while, and try and drink some soda. I drank some, stomach stayed calm, but when I went to stand up again, I did black out for a second (luckily there were two people right there to keep me from cracking my skull.) The tech asked me about what I’d eaten that day, which I had a hard time remembering, but told him it was what I normally eat. Apparently, I should have eaten more.

Anyway, friend and I sat there for about forever, then they finally judged me “not going to die”, and we went home. I crawled into bed and slept until about 10, at which point I ate some plain pasta and drank a bottle of water. Feeling a little better now, and I apparently should feel fine in about 24 hours.

I shoud have asked there, but didn’t think to - what happens to a partially-filled bag of blood? Was all that for nothing?

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First of all, you should be very proud of yourself for donating.

It is one of the best things that a person can do.

When you donate a pint of blood, you help/save/make a difference in 3 peoples lives.

As for what happened afterwards, I think it was due to a combination of not eating enough beforehand and probably being very nervous and anxious and even maybe a little scared.

Which is nothing to be embarrased or ashamed or to get mad at yourself over.

What happened to you is a semi-regular occurence, especially for 1st time donors. I remember when I was in high school and the Red Cross would come the goal would be to see how long you could get out of class.

If you aren’t feeling better tomorrow, it would be a good idea to swing by the ER at your l;ocal hospital.

As for your question about the 1/2 full bag of blood, unless it tests positive for HIV/hepatitis/etc, it will definitely be used.

Again, you should be very proud of yourself.

With your donation, you helped 3 people.

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If it’s any consolation, I have donated almost 3 gallons, and this most recent time, I had my very first tunnel vision/blacking out experience. In retrospect, I had skimped on lunch and had had an overall bad day at work, so I was taking in extra stress and not enough energy., but even seasoned veterans (I watch them put the needle in and everything!) have this problem, especially if stressed. Congratulations and welcome to the club.

7

If you give them your blood they’re going to clone you. They’re going to clone you and you won’t be able to stop them. That’s why I donate regularly, but I’m careful to swap the bag for a bag of ketchup right after. My only concern is that somewhere a ketchup monster is being preserved in a underground laboratory. That’s why for years I have been preparing for the time when the monster comes to me to thank me for giving him life, and then I will conquer the planet.

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I feel queezy just reading this thread. Congrats on giving blood. I know it’s something I should do, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Not only do I dislike needles, but my friend’s vain collapsed both times she donated blood and passed out. If I ever needed blood myself, then I guess afterwards I’d feel obliged to give some back.

9

I would give blood, but because of a heart murmur, I was told I can’t.

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You go, NinjaChick! I wish I could give blood. They have a rule where if you are refused three times, you can’t ever give again…

Once I had a cold and told them I had taken some cold medicine… strike one

Once I was running a machine and had an allergic reaction to the coolant - arms looked like poison ivy… strike two

Once my blood pressure was too low! “I think you need your blood today more than we do…” Sa-wing and a miss! Strike three! Game over! Thanks for coming out folks. G’night. :frowning:

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13

Congratulations, NinjaChick, you’ve done a mitzvah.

Do you feel that you’d be willing to do it again?

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It’s not just nerves or lack of food that makes some people feel ill after giving blood. I also always felt faint and nauseated after giving whole blood, so started giving plasma (where they give you your red blood cells back, along with solution to make up the difference) and I feel fine afterwards.

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Surprisingly, I do. Now that I no longer feel as if I’m about to die, I feel really good about it. It’s something I wanted to do but was afraid of: my conviction that this was something I was morally obligated to do won over my fear, and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Hopefully, next time I won’t react as badly.