Blood Drive sighting

[LibraryLady]

I used to give blood regularly but I've stopped. I have veins that look like easy targets from the outside but they're small and tend to roll away so it's not always easy to nail one. I have to be punctured three or four before they find a profitable place. I'm a Gallon donor but, once or twice I've had to give blood through the ankle instead of the wrist. I also bleed slowly so it's sometimes difficult to get a pint out of me. As I grow older it isn't worth the effort.

My first blood donation was a problem. It as a College Blood Drive and I was avid to do it. I was on the table for about half an hour before I started noticing that Classmates were coming in, donating and going out while I was still dutifully pumping away. Then a nurse came over, looked down and yelled, "OMG (eleventy)

"What? What's wrong?"

"Oh, I dropped my pin"

(Must control fist of death!) "

"I'm sorry dear but you've been on the table for half an hour and we've only gotten a quarter pint of blood from you. I'm taking out the needle because we need the table."

[Kiwi]

I have donated blood twice, I should get around to it again.

The only bad experiance I had was a male nurse came up to me and asked if there was anything he should know. I told him the only problems I have are with cold hands, my veins will shrink away and not come to the surface for love nor money for cold hands.
He touches me, and HOLY POTATOS HE IS ICE COLD!!!

I ask him to go warm up his hands, he refuses and tries to jab me. I told him "you get one chance to jab me with those cold hands, if you miss you have to warm them up".
He tries, he fails. I agree to just one more attempt all the while im practically shivering because this guys hands are so cold.

He says he will try again.... OH NO HE WONT! I know it wont work, Ive had so many blood tests over my life I have visible marks from them. I know exactly what my veins like and what they dont. I insist he warms up his hands... at which time the supervising nurse comes by and she listens, and agrees to try, both of them assuring me that warm or cold hands have nothing to do with how my veins will react. She touches me, and her hands are nice and warm. She taps my arm and BAM my veins pop to the surface.

They both hrmpf and look unhappy about it as I lay back and enjoy my victory.

[Golden Phoenix]

I want to donate but can't. Even with the band on, and some hand exercises t get the blood flowing you can't even see the blood vessels in my arm.

Sucks.

[PepperElf]

I take lots of comfort in my family network and don't worry much if anyone in my family needs a donation at any time.

normally however you don't directly donate to your relatives in a time of need. The red cross has to test the samples first as part of their screening process, so by the time your blood is ready for use... a family member would have received someone else's blood.

[goldaries13]

They do the Vampire Bus (aka Blood Drive) at my school every year in May.

They did at my high school, too, twice a year, October and March. and every time, they had to throw at least 70% of the blood away because of the presence of drugs, alcohol, or STDs. I wish I was kidding. One year (my junior year, spring semester), they ended up throwing all of it away.

[Kogarashi]

Speaking of blood types, I take lots of comfort in my family network and don't worry much if anyone in my family needs a donation at any time. Both of my parents are O-types, meaning all five of us daughters are also O-type (don't know the Rh factors of either of them or any of my sisters). I'm O+, and Hubby is O- (surprisingly, he doesn't get pestered to donate too much), meaning all of our kids are also going to end up O-type, unless we get some freaky mutation in there. I think most of Hubby's family is also O-type.

[PepperElf]

What really bothers me is that every time they do a blood drive, the people go out of their way to ask me to donate.

Now that pisses me the fuck off. No means no. You shouldn't have to explain why. <evil snarl face... can i bite them for you? please?>


Arm choice: right arm (dominant). Hell you can see the vein even without using the arm-band. And I used the left arm once - slow and painful.

Pain... well most time's it's tolerable... the pin prick to test for iron and the arm-stab... fleeting really.

But once... Oh once whatever hag was working on my arm refused to release the arm-band. I had to ask her repeatedly, and she'd only release it a little. Seriously I don't need that thing on my arm; minimal pressure gets you a pint within 5-6 minutes. I bruised horribly that time. <grr>


And now I'm reminded of when I was in VA Beach... If any of you are familiar with the area (and can - or want to - donate, go to Pembrook Mall. I think it's Monday & Wednesday (but check first). They have a permanent Red Cross donation station there.

yeah, when I was in home port sometimes I'd just drive by and think, "hey I'm outside the window, I can donate again!" and I'd swing by. =) much fun.

Though now that I'm in my hometown I might jsut make a practice of going to the local hospital. Back before I joined the Navy, Dad was taken in to the hospital here for internal bleeding - he's fine now, don't worry - but they gave him 3 units of blood. I decided to pay them back in donations.


My only final rant about this tho... wtf? I'm 1.5 inches too short to double-donate. how fucked up is that? *pout*

[Record Store Tough Guy]

^^They should have stopped pestering you at "blood borne illness.". You should mention it to your regional RC offices.

[Gerrinson]

I have never donated blood. Nor will I. Ever.

First - I hate needles.

Second - impalement wounds (nails, pins, needles, etc.) usually make me pass out. I know, I know, but I can cut myself to the bone (literally) and still walk to the ER (3 miles away) no problem. But if I prick my fingertip with a pin I drop. I'm like a pretty pretty princess. With facial hair. And hobbit feet. And back hair. Maybe I'm a not pretty princess...

Third - I have an incurable blood borne disease. It is communicable, can't be cured, and I'm sure as hell not passing it on if I can help it. Also, they would simply find it when they test my blood and toss the blood anyway.

What really bothers me is that every time they do a blood drive, the people go out of their way to ask me to donate. I don't know why. And they won't take 'No' for an answer. They won't take 'No, because I have a blood borne illness' for an answer either. They pester me to tell them the illness, because it probably doesn't matter. Actually, it does, trust me. They just keep pestering and won't stop (and have in fact followed me down the hall at both work and the mall) until I actually divulge the illness. At which point they respond 'Oh' then turn and walk away. No 'Sorry for stalking you like a particularly loud and obnoxious vampire' or 'Sorry for forcing you to divulge your personal medical history in a public place, hope you don't feel like a pariah now!' nope. No apologies. Ever.

At this point, even if I could give blood, I would not. Simply because of the way I've been treated by the staffers. Giving blood would just encourage the leeches to hound other people.

Bah. Sorry for the rant. Seems like all I have in me some days.

[Bradester]

I've never actually donated blood- I tried once when we had a drive going on at work, but was told I'd need a doctor's release due to a procedure I had done on my heart a few years ago.

But I've had blood drawn plenty of times, and because I have extremely deep veins, it can be a real treat. Being stuck several times in each arm by up to three medical workers, switching needle sizes, and the dreaded jiggling of the sharp object inside my forking arm. That's a sensation so weird that it goes beyond mere pain.

[LillFilly]

Agreed. With something as important as this when every pint counts, they should know EXACTLY what they're doing.

I had a tech that stuck me, it hurt like mad, but I made it through. However, they never checked on me, not once. They chit-chatted with another volunteer and were on their phone, and this happened to be one of the times I was actually feeling a little ill during the process. The tech never noticed when I passed-out

Luckily, there were other great techs, and that's when a new batch of pizza was delivered!

[Kogarashi]

My first time donating went just fine (and I found out I was O+, which was great to know when I had Daughter).

My second (and last, as of right now at least) didn't go so well. When I sat down in the chair, I told the guy which arm they used the last time that I donated and that it went well (plus it was my off-arm, so I would be less likely to bruise myself using it later). He said, "Mm'hmm," and promptly stuck my dominant arm instead.

So I sat there for a while waiting for the bag to fill. Just about the point when I was glancing over at the bag wondering why it was taking longer than the previous time, he came over, looked at the bag, then wiggled the needle around a bit. Ow! Then he wiggled it around some more. Then I got to wait a while longer, before he finally came over again and said that apparently the needle wasn't drawing anything anymore with the bag only 2/3 full, so they'd have to toss the bag.

I also nearly passed out while getting my snack afterward, which was unusual for me. Luckily my roommate was there, and once I was no longer woozy, she and I stopped by the campus supermarket on the way home and picked up a pair of steaks for dinner (yum, red meat!).

I've since had small amounts of blood drawn for prenatal tests, and the phlebotomists I've spoken to have agreed with me that my off-arm has easier-to-find blood vessels on it. Only one has stuck my dominant arm, and she didn't even give me a chance to ask her not to.

[McGoddess09]

O- here....I should donate soon.

So if I need blood, I know who to ask.

EQ, I have a similar story. They do the Vampire Bus (aka Blood Drive) at my school every year in May. My mom had signed the papers clearing me to donate (I was 16, so I had to get parental permission. Now I don't!).

Most of the kids donating were 16 and donating for the first time. We were getting sick or blacking out. The head nurse got pissy with all of us because we were getting sick.

[NateTheChops]

the last time I gave blood was over eight years ago. I was told the blood sample had to be discarded because of a chemical they found in it that could have been from A: Recent exercse, B: acetomenophin (sp?), or C: Liver problems. (I opted for B because I had been sick that week and I didn't think of it at the time)

So I wasn't allowed to donate blood after that. And although it's probably safe to give it a go now I really don't feel like bleeding into a bag for nothing, you know.

[One-Fang]

Try not to take that personally Sheldonrs, it's just statistical. (And the pros and cons of it being so belong in fracthing, not here, anyway).

Sucks that they had to ditch your bag, PepperElf. Last time I gave the guy hit a valve, he thinks. Massive, massive pain. Very bad pain. Not going down. Oh hold on, while he's doing the tubes it's going down a bit. By the time he'd finished with those it was down to only a 6/7 on the pain meter and dropping, so I decided not to get him to move the needle. Usually, after the first stab you don't even know it's there, this was a pain meter 1-2 the entire time. Not enough to bother moving it now that it was flowing, but just 'owie ow' the whole time. Sigh.