Today I went to town to sit in a chair and donate some of my blood to help others who are in need of it. As I am healthy and above the recommended age/height/weight I figured "what harm can it do?". Yes it was a little uncomfortable and I was nervous until I left the building but overall, it was a rewarding experience.
At my mother's wake my dad stood up and asked everyone to consider signing up for organ donation as it was something she believed in strongly as a nurse, knowing the benefits new organs have for people and explained how she was devastated she had to come off the register because her organs had been taken over by cancer. I took this in and burned it into my mind to sign up as soon as I was old enough and one night, on an outburst of motivation, I grabbed the laptop and signed myself up and found that I could still help save lives with my contributions while I was still alive.
My dad had given the week before due to following me to support me and my bravery but I was asked my weight which I had no idea of so they rejected me, asking me to weigh myself and come back if I was within a certain bracket because young females are more at risk of fainting if they don't have much blood volume.
Thankfully I was fine so I went back the week after and met a lovely nurse who did the entire procedure with me. Everyone there is so nice and friendly and it's a real comfort to the nerves. My health check was fine and I was given the all clear to go through and sit waiting to donate. Laura, the nurse who asked me the questions, sat me down and checked my vein. I have a very good vein at that, which she said will be great to keep on taking donations from. She proceeded to insert the needle and take some samples for tests then began letting the bag fill. You only have one needle in your arm the whole sitting, it hurts going in because it has to get to the vein under your skin but other than that the pain doesn't intensify anymore than what you've just had, it's a small, bland discomfort of having a small tube in your arm taking some blood out.
As long as you do the recommended exercises throughout your donation and a little while after, you don't feel faint. I opened and closed my hand (that was the same side the donation was coming from), clenched and unclenched my bum and crossed my legs over each other over and over and tried not to think about the needle/tube coming out and I felt fine apart from a little bit of short lived shakiness.
It took me 6 minutes to fill my bag, I was nervous to look at the needle or bag much for fear it would make me feel faint or sick but I did have a few glances. The tube was taped to my arm a little to stop it bending too much and it felt warm which was very strange but normal as I am in fact a warm blooded living person. Laura was very reassuring and having spoken with other nurses last week at dads appointment, they are all so friendly and I'm sure they aren't the only ones.
I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a blood condition, a bad blood or needle phobia or didn't have strong religious beliefs that went against it but I just did it to honour my mom and made my dad (and others) very proud in the process. I feel very calm now and hope this is the start of a lifetime of blood donations. As long as I am healthy and producing enough blood to keep myself going, why not give some to help another.
Here is the UK blood homepage where you can see FAQs about blood donation and sign up if you wished.
I hope this story has inspired or encouraged you to do the same, if not then share to a friend who is considering it and I hope they are inspired. If you have any more questions about how it went for me don't be scared to comment them below.
Cheerio loved ones - Beky x
Ps: I did ask the question of "If you're on or have recently had your period, does that affect if you can still give blood?" and the reply was, no it isn't a big issue although some women do feel like they shouldn't because there's blood coming out of there and there so it's up to you really whether you want to while you are on or not.
