Let me suuuuck your blooood

Today a group of us girls from work decided to give blood. This was not my idea - I fully got roped into it against my will. I was maybe just a little nervous. But I figured it was a good way to start off 2009, by conquering a fear (at least that's what I told myself so I wouldn't back out at the last second).

Seven of us showed up to the clinic this morning and after going through a quick iron check, waiting, extensive health and sex questions, more waiting, I was finally seated on the donor chairs. Four out of seven of us were deemed unqualified to give blood (because of travel or health conditions), so it was up to me and two other girls.

The nurse had to check which arm had bigger veins to draw from, and they decided that both were tiny but the left was slightly better. So I was seated in the chair, my heart pounding, looking away at the blank walls (why did they not have pictures or something to distract you?!) while the nurse swabbed my arm with iodine and then jammed me with a needle.

Okay, it wasn't that bad. It only hurt a tiny bit. That is, until it still hurt when it shouldn't, which meant the needle wasn't in the right position, which lead to another nurse coming over and both of them jamming it around to make it fit better. Meanwhile, they had given me a glove filled with warm water to squeeze to help the blood come out of my arm better. Because my veins were so small, this was supposed to help, though they told me it would still take about 15 mins for me to fill the bag (average is 8-10 mins).

I don't know if it was because the needle wasn't really in the right spot, or because my vein was so tiny, but my blood flow was just a trickle and then it stopped altogether. So with both nurses still on me, still fiddling with the needle, they decided I wasn't fit to give blood. I won't lie that I was a little relieved. One of the other two girls felt faint after giving half a bag and had to stop giving blood, have a blanket put over her, be given juice and a sugar pill and cookies. So only one of the seven of us gave a full bag of blood!! Insane! I wonder if the odds for the general population are so bad...

A good experience, but I'm not sure I'll be giving blood again... I think my body wants to hold onto it!!

Labels: random, work

posted by Maresa @ 7:42 PM