"May" We Tell You You ROCK?! (Remember! Both donors AND NON-donors are stars!)

[nutraxfornerves]

I donated another pint today. I had no idea that blood donation could be so, um, exciting. (I am a woman in my 60s.)

The nurse who did the initial interview was a man of about 30, whom I had not seen before. Blood Bank staff are encouraged to develop their own patter, to put clients at ease. So, when he went to take my blood pressure, it went like this:

RN, holding blood pressure cuff: Is it OK if I give you a little squeeze?
Me: Why I'm always thrilled when a handsome young man wants to give me a little squeeze!
RN laughs, not a fake laugh but a genuine, appreciative one.

Hard to describe, but the RN wound up in a somewhat awkward position while he used his stethoscope to take my blood pressure. I had to curl my fingers so I wasn't poking him in the stomach. I waited until he was finished writing things down and then

Me: I never knew donating blood could be so much fun. First, I get squeezed, then if I hadn't made a fist, you would have gotten groped.
RN: completely cracks up.

[Outdoor Girl]

LOL.  I think I've told this story before but once, when my brother was donating blood, the RN was going through all the questions that are required to be asked verbally.  When she got to the one 'Have you ever paid for sex with money or drugs?', my brother asked, 'Does dinner and a movie count?'

The RN cracked up and couldn't finish asking the rest of the questions.  He was a regular so she wasn't too worried about going through them all.

[DottyG]

Yea, Nutrax! Both for donating and for getting some excitement in the process. See! Donating can be a fun experience!

[Bethczar]

LOL.  I think I've told this story before but once, when my brother was donating blood, the RN was going through all the questions that are required to be asked verbally.  When she got to the one 'Have you ever paid for sex with money or drugs?', my brother asked, 'Does dinner and a movie count?'

The RN cracked up and couldn't finish asking the rest of the questions.  He was a regular so she wasn't too worried about going through them all.

Love it!

[GreenEyedHawk]

I decided when I donated today to try my right arm; I usually do the left but it went really slowly last time so I thought maybe that vein needed a bit of a break.

Right arm was a complete no-go; they couldn't even really find a viable vein.  They tried once, and the phlebotomist said there'd have to be way too much messing around to make it work.  So, we tried the left arm.

Apparently my left arm wanted to make up for its poor performance last time, because I think this may have been my fastest ever donation to date.

[Outdoor Girl]

^ One of the last times I donated, it was so slow that they had to stop before I filled the bag because I timed out.  That had never happened before - I usually gave a full pint in about 4 minutes.

I realized later that the blood pressure cuff had been too tight and had cut off the flow.  So maybe last time you donated, they didn't loosen the cuff enough.

[nutraxfornerves]

Thought you folks might enjoy reading about a blood transfusion done 100 years ago.

News stories of the past

Scroll down to 1912 at the bottom. I'd be willing to bet that Mrs. Taylor's "prolonged hemorrhage" was associated with childbirth.

The two quarts Mr. Taylor gave is about 40% of his blood volume! At that time, the only way to check for compatibility was to mix some blood from the donor & recipient. If the red blood cells clumped up, then the donor could not be used. Since this technique was still fairly new in 1912, it may not have been done.

The 1937 story above it is pretty good too.

[Layla Miller]

I'm going to be donating blood tomorrow, for the first time in over a year!  (I couldn't donate while I was pregnant, and I was always sad when the drives were announced.)  Wish me luck! 

[dawbs]

I managed for the first time in ages this weekend.
(it's hard to go, I have to find time on my day off and have a toddler in tow.
For the record, my 2 YO who doesn't like doctors was fine with this...she told everyone 'momma getting a shot!' and hung out and talked to the nurses and played w/ the stress ball they gave her while the bag filled up...and then she got a cookie.
No downside for her :-P)

[DottyG]

Cool!  We're ending the month with a bang!  Congratulations y'all!  And good luck to Layla Miller!

[Layla Miller]

Blood donation yesterday went just fine, and the best part was that I had to wait almost half an hour--even though I had an appointment.  Why is that the best part?  They were running behind because they had so many donors! 

[nutraxfornerves]

If Americans are looking for a way to help out with the devastation due to hurricane Sandy, one thing you can donate is blood. There is a serious shortage in the affected areas--not because so many people need blood, but because donor centers have had to close and cancel mobile blood drives. From a news report

Superstorm Sandy forced the cancellation of about 300 American Red Cross blood drives in 14 states along the East Coast, resulting in a shortfall of nearly 9,000 blood and platelet donations already and expected to grow.

Blood or blood products donated in other parts of the US can be sent to where it's needed.

[DottyG]

Blood donation yesterday went just fine, and the best part was that I had to wait almost half an hour--even though I had an appointment.  Why is that the best part?  They were running behind because they had so many donors!

I LOVE this reason for having to wait!!!  This is such a great "problem" to have!

[DottyG]

And Nutraxfornerves, I want to reiterate your post, because it is so, so true.  THANK YOU so much for reminding us of this excellent way of helping out with a real need.

(And I want to further remind everyone that this does mean that we need donors.  However, even if you can't donate for any reason - medical, religious or just don't like needles - you CAN still be a very, very important part of the process. You can still repost Nutraxfornerves' post onto your FB page.  You can tell your friends and family about the need.  You can take goodies to the donation sites.  You can pray for the donors and recipients.   You can still do a tremendous amount even if you don't donate yourself.  I want to keep stressing that, because I don't want people to misunderstand and think they can't still be very much used in a good way.)

If Americans are looking for a way to help out with the devastation due to hurricane Sandy, one thing you can donate is blood. There is a serious shortage in the affected areas--not because so many people need blood, but because donor centers have had to close and cancel mobile blood drives. From a news report

Superstorm Sandy forced the cancellation of about 300 American Red Cross blood drives in 14 states along the East Coast, resulting in a shortfall of nearly 9,000 blood and platelet donations already and expected to grow.

Blood or blood products donated in other parts of the US can be sent to where it's needed.

[Bethczar]

I gave doubles Monday since they had a blood drive in town. Apparently doubles were very popular that day. The nurses said it's usually like pulling teeth do get people to do it, but most of the people they suggested it to that day wanted to. It sounded like it was split between people wanting to honor veterans or help out because of Sandy.