Foxhound3857
Mischief Managed
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2010
Just five days ago I gave my first donation at a mobile drive for Lifestream, a not-for-profit Blood Bank formerly known as the Blood Center of San Bernadino and Riverside County. As a first-time donor, it was, as one might expect, an intimidating experience, and I had to brave a number of sights that I was not sure how my psyche would react to, such as the size of the needle, the sight of my blood leaving my body (and in such large quantities), and the weakness I was likely to experience afterwords.
But I really felt like helping my community and decided to give it a try, at least once.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the procedure and the experience was not anywhere near half as bad as I was expecting it be. I went in, they had me answer a screening questionairre, all easy but important questions, which only took a few minutes. Then they ran a few basic health tests on me, checking my pressure, my temperature and checking my iron levels to make sure I was safe to donate. This is done by pricking your finger and taking a drop of your blood, and then putting it in liquid to see what it does. If it sinks, it means your iron is good, if it floats it means your iron is low and it would be unsafe for you to donate.
I was cleared, and they got me in the chair. It took a few minutes to set up the equipment and go through the paperwork, labeling, etc. Then came the big moment. They marked what they thought was the optimal vein to use, swabbed and cleaned the needle site thoroughly, and then...
Yup. A very slight pinch and a second later the needle was in and I was giving, hardly felt a thing.
The procedure was somewhat lengthy at 31 minutes, as I was giving a Power Red donation, which meant that instead of giving whole blood which contained red cells, platelets and plasma, my blood was run through a machine that separated the red cells, and returned the platelets and plasma to me with a bit of saline. By doing this, I was able to give two units worth of red cells, which was what they needed most, without the woozy or weak feeling one would experience from a whole blood donation, according to them. The only side effect I remember was feeling slightly chilly after the first return cycle, and it was probably from the saline, but I like cold so it didn't bother me.
Anyway, I had to sit through several draw/return cycles, where the machine takes your blood, separates the red cells and banks them, and then returns the liquid portion of your blood, the platelets and plasma, through the same tube. It did this about four times, and then the machine beeped happily saying it was done. I had done it.
The phlebotomist attending me congratulated me, delicately removed the needle, bandaged me up (color of my choice, blue baby!), and I was excorted to the cantina area where I was given some healthy snacks, nuts, fruit juice, etc, and a free movie ticket to boot! Fifteen minutes later I was on my way home, feeling great about myself and what I just did.
Interestingly, I got the test results a few days ago on my donor portal, and I learned two things. One, I'm A+, second most common blood type, so while I'm compatable with a good chunk of the population for red cells, I've actually read that platelet donations are better for A+ donors, though I don't really understand why. The next time I go, if they ask me to give platelets instead of red cells, I'll be happy to do it, of course, but I hope they keep me on double reds just because the procedure is shorter and the wait between donations is longer, and they typically need more red cells than platelets or plasma anyway, so I hear.
The other thing I learned was that my cholesterol was an alarming 205, not dangerously high, but borderline, and enough to concern me. I'm less than four weeks away from turning thirty, and so I'm at a point where I have to start taking my health very seriously. I instituted immediate lifestyle changes the following day, including more water and way less soda (I've cut down from 5-6 a day to 2 a day, maximum), more cereal and oatmeal, with a hearty breakfast once a week, usually sunday, and altering my portion sizes. For dinner, I no longer eat chicken skin and I trim the fat off of whatever meat product I happen to be eating, less meat, more veggies. I'm hoping to see better numbers in four months when I go back for my second donation, so we'll see.
But yeah, it was an intimidating experience, as most things are for first-timers, but it wasn't bad at all. The needle is almost completely painless, I've had flu shots that hurt worse than that. Even the finger prick to check my iron stung more. The staff was incredibly kind, asking me every two minutes how I was doing, if I was okay, if I wanted a drink or a blanket or something, they were fantastic in every regard. I got some good snacks afterwords, a free movie ticket, and I felt great about myself and what I did afterwords, and I can't wait to go back.
To anyone who has ever thought about giving blood or is currently thinking about it but might be afraid for any reason, whether it be of needles, the sight of blood, being turned away or deferred, etc, do yourself a favor and give it a try. You have nothing to lose, and you'll feel incredible about yourself afterwords. And even if they turn you down, at least you tried.
Any other donors here? Feel free to share your experiences.
But I really felt like helping my community and decided to give it a try, at least once.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the procedure and the experience was not anywhere near half as bad as I was expecting it be. I went in, they had me answer a screening questionairre, all easy but important questions, which only took a few minutes. Then they ran a few basic health tests on me, checking my pressure, my temperature and checking my iron levels to make sure I was safe to donate. This is done by pricking your finger and taking a drop of your blood, and then putting it in liquid to see what it does. If it sinks, it means your iron is good, if it floats it means your iron is low and it would be unsafe for you to donate.
I was cleared, and they got me in the chair. It took a few minutes to set up the equipment and go through the paperwork, labeling, etc. Then came the big moment. They marked what they thought was the optimal vein to use, swabbed and cleaned the needle site thoroughly, and then...
Yup. A very slight pinch and a second later the needle was in and I was giving, hardly felt a thing.
The procedure was somewhat lengthy at 31 minutes, as I was giving a Power Red donation, which meant that instead of giving whole blood which contained red cells, platelets and plasma, my blood was run through a machine that separated the red cells, and returned the platelets and plasma to me with a bit of saline. By doing this, I was able to give two units worth of red cells, which was what they needed most, without the woozy or weak feeling one would experience from a whole blood donation, according to them. The only side effect I remember was feeling slightly chilly after the first return cycle, and it was probably from the saline, but I like cold so it didn't bother me.
Anyway, I had to sit through several draw/return cycles, where the machine takes your blood, separates the red cells and banks them, and then returns the liquid portion of your blood, the platelets and plasma, through the same tube. It did this about four times, and then the machine beeped happily saying it was done. I had done it.
The phlebotomist attending me congratulated me, delicately removed the needle, bandaged me up (color of my choice, blue baby!), and I was excorted to the cantina area where I was given some healthy snacks, nuts, fruit juice, etc, and a free movie ticket to boot! Fifteen minutes later I was on my way home, feeling great about myself and what I just did.
Interestingly, I got the test results a few days ago on my donor portal, and I learned two things. One, I'm A+, second most common blood type, so while I'm compatable with a good chunk of the population for red cells, I've actually read that platelet donations are better for A+ donors, though I don't really understand why. The next time I go, if they ask me to give platelets instead of red cells, I'll be happy to do it, of course, but I hope they keep me on double reds just because the procedure is shorter and the wait between donations is longer, and they typically need more red cells than platelets or plasma anyway, so I hear.
The other thing I learned was that my cholesterol was an alarming 205, not dangerously high, but borderline, and enough to concern me. I'm less than four weeks away from turning thirty, and so I'm at a point where I have to start taking my health very seriously. I instituted immediate lifestyle changes the following day, including more water and way less soda (I've cut down from 5-6 a day to 2 a day, maximum), more cereal and oatmeal, with a hearty breakfast once a week, usually sunday, and altering my portion sizes. For dinner, I no longer eat chicken skin and I trim the fat off of whatever meat product I happen to be eating, less meat, more veggies. I'm hoping to see better numbers in four months when I go back for my second donation, so we'll see.
But yeah, it was an intimidating experience, as most things are for first-timers, but it wasn't bad at all. The needle is almost completely painless, I've had flu shots that hurt worse than that. Even the finger prick to check my iron stung more. The staff was incredibly kind, asking me every two minutes how I was doing, if I was okay, if I wanted a drink or a blanket or something, they were fantastic in every regard. I got some good snacks afterwords, a free movie ticket, and I felt great about myself and what I did afterwords, and I can't wait to go back.
To anyone who has ever thought about giving blood or is currently thinking about it but might be afraid for any reason, whether it be of needles, the sight of blood, being turned away or deferred, etc, do yourself a favor and give it a try. You have nothing to lose, and you'll feel incredible about yourself afterwords. And even if they turn you down, at least you tried.
Any other donors here? Feel free to share your experiences.
