Today at school, our National Honor Society (which I’m a part of) sponsored a Red Cross blood drive. I was one of the people that made sure the donors got something to eat and drink afterward, and to make sure none of them started to look like they were going to faint. This seems like a great idea, but it turns out that while signing people up in the days before, most of the donors were not told that they needed to eat before coming, and this had disastrous effects. I realize that there’s always the problem of people fainting from giving blood, but I can’t imagine that it normally happens to as many people as it did today. There were pale and/or greenish-tinted people everywhere.
One kid really scared me. He hadn’t eaten anything because he was unaware that he was supposed to. While his blood was being drawn, I was fanning him a bit, with a piece of cardboard, as that was one of the things that we were supposed to be doing. It was very lucky that I was right there, because none of the medical personel were looking when his eyes suddenly rolled back in his head, his arm (the one with the needle in it) jerked up and his elbow bent (pushing the needle way into his skin), his head went of the recliner chair to the side, and he was twitching. I immediately alerted one of the nurses, who called for help, and I went to hold his head (it looked like it was about to fall) and found that his neck was rigid.
He recovered somewhat almost immediately, then was yelled at by the nurse for “wasting her time and wasting his life” by donating without eating, despite the fact that no one had made him aware that he was supposed to. I fanned him for awhile, and attempted to engage him in conversation so that I could tell that he was OK, and he was, but the encounter really startled me.
So please, please, please, if any of you ever give blood, make sure that you eat beforehand. It is very important.
What age kids are these? Not that it matters, even when you’re young, you should be eating before giving blood.
My MIL donated blood the other day, and passed out while she was driving home. :eek: She knocked over a couple of signs and a mailbox or two, but LUCKILY she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t run into anybody else.
Here in NY State, it’s one of the questions on the questionnaire you fill out… the same one that asks all the other quality-control questions. When my high school did blood drives, they even had an announcement made that anyone who had signed up and not eaten could go see the nurse in the morning to get something to eat. Granted, it was probably nothing substantial, but still.
I just started giving blood a few months ago, I think I’ve given three or four times now. Two times ago I heard the guy in the next chair talking about driving to Houston after this. He had worked the third shift, just had lunch. And completely lost it. His eyes rolled up in his head three times. The nurses were right on top of it all. The one lady told him you do that again and they’re calling him an ambulance and he’s going to hospital. And the nurse who was actually takin ghis blood kept repeating, “I told him not to donate. I told him not to donate.” Apparently there are specific criteria under which they can decline your donation, and he didn’t meet them. So it’s not just eating, there’s other criteria like not having been awake for 20+ hours when you (attempt to) donate.
I’ve never had a problem. I just don’t look at the needle or the blood. Ever.
Every time that I’ve given blood or plasma, I’ve been asked about the last time I had a meal. If I hadn’t eaten in the last few hours, I wasn’t allowed to donate. I thought that this was standard in all blood donation centers, as I’ve gone to several of them in different states and they all used basically the same checklist.
The first time I donated blood, I got to watch one of the math teachers pass out and projectile vomit all over herself. Happened right as I was sitting down to get poked, too. The nurse looked at me for a second and asked if I wanted to continue. I told her to go for it, ah the invincibility of youth. The line of people waiting was considerably shorter when I was back in the hall.
I’ve given a couple other times. I’ve never passed out, though one time I did feel a little light-headed for a few seconds. I do it all for the generic sodie-pop and stale cookie.
I’ve donated blood numerous times in several states, but can’t remember ever being asked if I’d eaten something. In fact, we recently had a blood drive in our building at work, and I went just before lunchtime, not having had a chance to have breakfast that day, and felt just fine the whole time.
I’ve been donating off and on for about fifteen years, and I don’t recall ever being asked about my last meal either. It’s not even on the extensive history questionnaire thingy.
Iron level check, sure, and cookies and juice post donation to help the blood sugar along, but seriously no one’s ever asked me about my last meal.
I learned a valuable lesson the first few times I donated blood:If you have a choice, never choose your technician based in how sexy she looks in her uniform.
Pick the square-jawed old hag who doesn’t look like she’d flinch at the sight of a 128-car pile-up. The sweet young thing with the curvy outline will invariably turn out to be the new kid who makes eighteen attempts at piercing your vein to no effect (apart from the pain, of course). “Oops!” Sounds cute just once under these circumstances, if at all. When she finally pierces your vein, there will be a skin plug in the needle, so she’ll have to start over. She won’t be able to find the vein again and will have to try your other arm, where she will eventually, after much trial-and-error, find the vein. The veteran can find the vein in one swift, accurate jab, even when blindfolded and juggling 12 syringes with her free hand. That’s been my experience anyway.
A friend of mine who’s a lawyer, donated after skipping breakfast and lunch. Not only did he pass out, he also peed. He had to go to court wearing a labcoat, because there wasn’t time to go home and change.
That’s one of the many reasons I never EVER plan on giving blood. It’s not that I’m greedy and insensitive, it’s just that I’m barely 20 pounds over the giving weight limit despite being 19, and I am deathly afraid of having a needle in me. I can just barely tolerate it when I’m getting a shot, but to have it sitting in me and VACCUUMING something out of my body? I’m getting nauseous even considering it. I just pray to whatever god that may exist that I can go my whole life without ever needing a bloodtest.
Heh. The one and only time I’ve donated blood (at the age of 17 and weighing 112 pounds), I did eat before and ended up puking once and passing out twice. Meanwhile, everyone else at the blood drive cheerily gave away all their blood and wandered off happily.
It also makes me insanely happy that I can’t give blood (10 pounds under the weight limit, at 19). I can’t stand needles either, and if I was able to give blood, I know I’d feel guilty not donating. I can deal with needles when I have to have them, but I still hate the things.
