Questions about giving blood.

hmm..I must be an example of no sense no feeling. I've given and received blood with absolutely no problems. I have a picture of myself giving blood reading a MAD magazine while the guy beside me was going into panic convulsions while they tried to get the needle in his arm.

Before some surgery I gave 3 pints of blood in 2 months for my own use if necessary. Never used it so some other shmuck got my blood.

What's the big deal about needles anyways?
 
Vitnir said:
Well they say the veins are bad up front
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Yeah, that's experience. If they do bust it, well, they had already told you it was difficult :D

I know a guy who needs to have frequent medical exams and he only trusts a specific nurse to take blood from him. Everyone else will keep tormenting him for a long time before they manage to get a single ml.
 
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I was once the very first actual live donor for one nurse. She was far more nervous than I was....she butchered my left arm and never did find the vein. Kept trying, though, I'll give her that. And of course, one cannot remove the needle and start over, so it was a lot of vein-fishing in the dark. I offered to let her try again on the right arm. Bad move. She pretty much did the same thing there for a few minutes, and eventually called over an experienced nurse, who found the vein in a few seconds. It wasn't until considerably later, when I had bruises covering both arms, that I really resented her lack of ability.

Still, somebody had to be first, so it might as well have been me.
 
I can't help with the blood pressure question, but I know I can't donate any more since my family lived in Western Europe during the 1980s. Apparently the Red Cross thinks I might have latent BSE.
 
The regs and limits get stricter and more odd with every year.
In Britain, you can't give blood if you have been in the USA or Canada recently. Can't recall why, but it's something with a short incubation time. Ebola , maybe.

I'm at 50 -something pints. Would have been more but for all the restrictions due to the wierd places I get to.
Kazakhstan? Where's that?

I've seen folk with low bp , or rapid clotting who had to give up- they start ok, then just dry up. Probably a very healthy adaptation. Don't force it, Upchurch, it's the thought that counts. Carry a donor card.
You could always be a sperm donor. Far more fun, but you don't get a biscuit afterwards.
 
Soapy Sam said:
The regs and limits get stricter and more odd with every year.
In Britain, you can't give blood if you have been in the USA or Canada recently. Can't recall why, but it's something with a short incubation time. Ebola , maybe.
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Conversely, in the US, you can't give if you've been in the UK in the past year. Now I'm really curious.

I've given as often as I can, and I've only had problems a few times. Those times I did have problems, though, were only mildly bad -- feeling dizzy and sick, nothing major like shock. Good for you for doing your best, Upchurch.
 
I used to have trouble donating blood when I first started out. Eventually, I realized that I was breathing too much after getting up from the stretcher so I started to breathe very slowly for the first few minutes. After that, I sit and eat cookies and drink juice and everything is fine. Try the slow-breathing trick and see if that works for you. I also realized that I can't stand the sight of my own blood. Once, the nurse left me alone too long and the bag got really full, like it was going to explode! It made me feel a little sick, so now I ask them to take the bag away so I can't see it. Every little bit helps.
 
Soapy Sam said:
The regs and limits get stricter and more odd with every year.
In Britain, you can't give blood if you have been in the USA or Canada recently. Can't recall why, but it's something with a short incubation time. Ebola , maybe.
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Because of West Nile Virus I believe.
 
Mercutio said:
I do this one. "Double reds" they call it--taking out 2 units of red cells. Basically, they take a pint, centrifuge it, pump the plasma and some saline back into you, take another pint, do the same. It can give you a very weird feeling as the plasma goes back in. I would not recommend it for someone who is uncomfortable with donating blood, for any reason. Especially Pyrrho. And it takes roughly twice as long to do.
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I finally tried the "Double Reds" proceedure last night. "Very weird feeling" doesn't even come close to decscribing it, but I will never go back to giving it the old way again.

There was only one needle stick, which I was very pleasently surprised to find out. I did start to slip into shock almost immediately, but after the first time they pumped it back into me, I was fine.

The weird feeling is very hard to describe. For me, it was like laying on top of a very quiet washing machine. First my arm and then my whole trunk would vibrate slightly. They put an anti-coagulant in the blood for storage and some of that gets back to you. That makes your lips, tongue and gums feel tingley, like they are asleep, but without the numbness.

The strangest part, by far, was the cold. Normally, when you get cold, you feel it in your extremities first. It isn't until it gets down into the main part of your body that you start shivering. The stuff they pump back into you is about room temperature (20-30 degrees cooler than body temp) and goes almost straight into your body core. So, I started shivering after a few minutes, but every other temperature indication I had told me that I was comfortable. My legs and non-donating arm was warm and comfey. It took me a good 20 minutes for my chest and back to stop shivering, even though I felt fine otherwise.

I can't tell you how strange it is have an involuntary "must get warm" impulse when, if anything, I was a little hot.
 
Okay, just about passed out after reading that, Upchurch. Yeegh. Way cool that it helped with the shock reaction, though.

But I was posting to ask an actual question about needles. Sorry if it's a small derail but I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the rest of the thread and it seemed like a lot of you had good advice regarding the blood pressure stuff and you've all been stuck many times for donations, so maybe you'll have other answers around needles, as well.

Other than drinking lots of water beforehand and trying to keep your muscles relaxed during the procedure, is there any way to mitigate the pain of needle sticks, as for blood tests and dental work and such? What about IVs?
 
I'm an O positive 5+ gallon donor. I'm in pretty good shape and also have relatively low blood pressure. I used to be an avid long distance runner. I also have good veins that are easy to stick. I have never felt faint after donating. I even ride my Harley to and from donation drives. I do fill the bag pretty quickly. If I am getting stuck at the same time as someone near me, I usually ask if they want to race.

Upchurch, there's some good advice here. Just get in shape, eat a good meal and drink plenty of water or juice ahead of time. Also, ask the nurse to bring you a drink of juice before you get up. That gives your body a little adjustment time and replenishes fluids. Thanks for donating and for starting this thread.

/for the 50th time, No. I have not had sex with another male since 1977. I have not taken money or drugs in exchange for sex. I have not given anyone money or drugs in exchange for sex. I have not had sex with anyone who has taken money or drugs in exchange for sex.
 
I've given blood for a while, but the last time I gave, I passed out afterwards (in the street, that was fun). When I had a little think about what I'd done differently that time, I realised I hadn't eaten anything that day. Go figure.

Sadly, I haven't been back since, because the fainting episode has put me off. I really must sort that out, there's no excuse.
 
My blood was drawn a few days ago. He used a very tiny needle and managed not to move it around once inserted, so it didn't hurt much at all. Pulling the needle out always hurts more than putting it in.
 
I am so proud of you, Uppie!

Sounds like you get a worse reaction than I do, but not terrible. And (or so they tell me) what you give is much more valuable... (I do know my sister used double-reds when she had a pancreas operation, so thanks on a very personal level). They told me that a TUMS would help, and gave me one during the "refill" stage, when they pump the plasma back into the arm... It seemed to; I have not looked into the literature to see whether it is a placebo or a real effect. Either is good enough for me in this situation. They tried that twice...and last time, they also slowed down the second half of the donation. That really made a difference.

So, try telling them to slow down the process a bit; some of it, at least, is a function of the speed they set on the machine. It is in both your best interests to get it done as quickly as possible while making it pleasant enough that you choose to do this again.

But in case you missed it...

Yay Uppie!!!
 
tkingdoll said:
I've given blood for a while, but the last time I gave, I passed out afterwards (in the street, that was fun). When I had a little think about what I'd done differently that time, I realised I hadn't eaten anything that day. Go figure.

Sadly, I haven't been back since, because the fainting episode has put me off. I really must sort that out, there's no excuse.
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Sure it is an acceptable excuse--you are human, after all! It's ok...

Tell them...there are some things they can do to make your experience better.

And...worse case scenario...my brother passes out every time he gives blood. Now, he tells them he will. "It's ok, I'll faint, just wake me when it's over." They laugh, unbelieving, and he passes out. It's ok.

I think he is much braver than I am--it is no problem for me. He donates despite the fact that it makes him faint. Either way, an hour later we are both doing just fine, and the next day someone might be kissing a loved one because some stranger gave blood and they did not die in some stupid automobile accident...or someone might get another week to wait for an organ...or someone might...around here, we know the stories...

Go with a friend, someone who has donated before. Much much easier that way. And thanks for all the times you *did* give ...
 
Mercutio said:
And...worse case scenario...my brother passes out every time he gives blood. Now, he tells them he will. "It's ok, I'll faint, just wake me when it's over." They laugh, unbelieving, and he passes out. It's ok.
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That reminds me very much of a Dave Barry article about blood donation.
The first time I did was peer pressure to some degree. I was working at Canada Post last summer, and a fellow summer student was a veteran donator, though knowing her I wouldn't have guessed. So us students volunteered for the office drive, and it was all very professionally done, (although at the end there was a contest with a skill-testing question that had a long decimal answer, by accident it seems) and my first thoughts were admiration for the nurses. The needle wasn't so bad but it didn't seem to be flowing well, or something. I remember squeezing the ball with that hand for a bit until I felt a very mild lightheadedness. I mentioned this to the nurse and she immediately unplugged me and turned me on my side. Good thing because I got worse and didn't recover for several minutes. For some reason all I could think about was whether they got enough to use. It must have been annoying for them. Anyway, since then I have gotten a couple calls looking for me to donate at the office where I no longer work, but the last one asked where I was close to and mentioned a nearby public school that would be having a drive late in the year. So that is coming up I think, and I really want to tough it out and donate but knowing I may not even produce enough blood before losing consciousness makes the anticipation all that much more aversive. I'll try though.
 
UnrepentantSinner said:
I can't help with the blood pressure question, but I know I can't donate any more since my family lived in Western Europe during the 1980s. Apparently the Red Cross thinks I might have latent BSE.
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Uh huh, and they don't distinguish between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I finally got taken off the medical deferral list and now I can't donate because I spent winter break of 1980 and the summer of 1981 in the UK. Can I go scream now?

Anyway, before I got booted on a medical, I used to donate pheresis. It takes couple of hours, but it's much easier than whole blood if you have BP issues, and I'm another of these low BP types. Even so, the only time I ever really had trouble donating was partly my fault (not getting enough liquids before hand, that time of the month), and partly the Red Cross's. They let me donate within forty-eight hours of getting a hepatitis vaccine. I'd made a point of telling them about it too.
 
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