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[linnea]

I have been told by folks who donate blood a LOT that ..."OMG, I didn't even feel that!! Are you SURE that you drew blood?" and then I'll show them the lab vials and smile.

I've also missed veins, which suuuuucks...the worst was when I had to start an IV on a pediatric patient (~9 years old) and I totally missed it.. I felt terrible and had someone else start the IV.

Personally, I've donated in the gallons range of blood, and I've had some really shitty blood techs in my day. If a vein rolls, you CANNOT dig around for it, for fuck's sake!!!! Withdraw and get a new needle!!!!

I really feel for you guys with needle phobias. It can be very scary.

[AugustWest]

I don't have good veins. 

For years I was a platelet donor for the Red Cross.  This means that they hook you up to a machine for about 2.5 hours whereby they take the whole blood out of you as in a regular whole blood donation.  Then it's pumped through a machine which separates the blood into its various component parts.  Then they keep the parts they want (platelets and a little bit o' plasma) and pump the rest (plus a substantial amount of saline solution) back into your other arm.

It's a very good thing to do, and I'm rather proud that I've given as much as I have.  It's been a few years since I've made a donation and I'm in a position to start again.  I probably will.

Anyway. 

You ain't felt pain until they miss your vein on the return arm and pints of salt water and various blood components are being pumped into your flesh.  It's enough to make you (almost) completely forget what it feels like to have a fuck*ng knitting needle rooting around in your elbow looking for a blood vessel for 10 minutes or so.

Ow.

OW.

OW!

OW!!!

My right arm was bruised green from the middle of my forearm to the middle of my bicep for 10 days.

[Lister]

My veins don't roll, they dive for fuck*ng cover.  My blood pressure plummets, and my entire body goes into shutdown mode.  It's almost as though my body is thinking that if it plays dead the nurses will take the needles away and leave me with my precious fluids.  And of course it doesn't help that generally you're not allowed to eat before blood is taken.

I don't know if Vasovagal is the proper term or what that really means, but one lady used it.  I basically have to have a wet washcloth over my eyes, and you have to be quick because the longer I think about it the longer my veins spend looking for hiding places.

Honestly I don't know why I do that.  Shots aren't a problem at all, and blood in general doesn't creep me out -- I even spent a summer working in video production for a hospital's research arm.  I edited video of hip replacements, but I can't stand having blood drawn or an IV inserted.

[jaydub]

Medical vampires usually get a big smile on their face when I put my arm out for them.  Big ol' veins, nicely contrasted against my skin and they don't roll much.  Everyone gets relaxed - its usually pop in, pop out and we're on our way.  Blood donation is something I like doing, but out of respect avoided for a year after getting my tat done.  I'll go back now that hepatitis has declined the invitation.  My blood bank always salivates over the O+ blood.

[Nabubrush]

Medical vampires usually get a big smile on their face when I put my arm out for them.  Big ol' veins, nicely contrasted against my skin and they don't roll much.  Everyone gets relaxed - its usually pop in, pop out and we're on our way.  Blood donation is something I like doing, but out of respect avoided for a year after getting my tat done.  I'll go back now that hepatitis has declined the invitation.  My blood bank always salivates over the O+ blood.

Somebody told me that you couldn't give blood after having any ink done. I guess this is only a rumor.

[jaydub]

Yeah, that's just scare tactics.  They test every unit.  If you had some bloodborne disease they'd toss it.  If you give knowing you're a carrier for something, its a weird kind of dick move, since you cost the bank the price of testing (and I suppose there's some non-zero chance of it getting through).

[linnea]

While they test every unit, they have standards for donors.

You have to answer the questions truthfully, and then they decide if they're going to accept blood from you or not. At Bonfils in Colorado, anyone who has traveled to certain countries is automatically excluded. Same thing with getting tattooed or pierced; you have to wait at least a full year before you can donate.

Basically...yeah, they test each unit of blood, but there is always the risk of a false negative and tainted blood getting through. So answer the questions truthfully.

[robot_god]

I lied about asprin, but the risk was on my end.  Filled a 300cc bag in like 90 seconds.

[jaydub]

Is that true, that its only your risk?  What if it goes to a kid and they get (Reynaud's syndrome?), or to a surgical patient where the clotting capacity is needed?

[robot_god]

Not a problem.  First of all, the amount of any drug in 300mL of blood is going to be pretty low.  The body has 42 liters of body water through which most drugs are dispersed evenly (not only the blood, but extracellular fluid in tissues) and then 7L of blood.  So even if the dose was completely in the blood, 300mL will not contain more than 1/20 of the dose in the body, which is pretty negligible.

Also, for many surgeries patients are actually anti-coagulated, believe it or not.  Especially in the case of surgery on the legs, there is risk of developing a thrombus while the patient is lying on the table for an extended time and the blood is more stagnant, so it is common to give heparin to anti-coagulate before many surgeries.  Doctors always "err on the side of bleeding."  If a patient develops a bleed, it is not a big deal, they give a transfusion and medically it is not a serious problem.  However, clotting is much more difficult to reverse and exponentially more likely to be fatal.  Disseminate intravascular coagulation is a very scary medical problem, and could lead to a heart attack or pulmonary embolism (clot in the lungs).

[Doc]

I haven't given blood for about a year now but I have had a bunch of blood taken recently, like twice a week for the last month and a half. I apparently have fairly good veins but every now and then they just miss and it's the weirdest thing (to me at least) looking at this needle in my arm and no blood coming out then they just wiggle it around a bit and boom we're in business. Better than taking it out and resticking me I guess.
My brother gets annoyed because the red cross won't take blood from dudes who have engaged in male on male anal sex, I know that puts you in a higher risk group than the general population (though I am not sure how much higher, I'm don't think it would be as high compared to a couple of decades ago) but since we know each sample is going to be checked anyway it seems a shame to turn away such a large population.

[linnea]

I haven't given blood for about a year now but I have had a bunch of blood taken recently, like twice a week for the last month and a half. I apparently have fairly good veins but every now and then they just miss and it's the weirdest thing (to me at least) looking at this needle in my arm and no blood coming out then they just wiggle it around a bit and boom we're in business. Better than taking it out and resticking me I guess.
My brother gets annoyed because the red cross won't take blood from dudes who have engaged in male on male anal sex, I know that puts you in a higher risk group than the general population (though I am not sure how much higher, I'm don't think it would be as high compared to a couple of decades ago) but since we know each sample is going to be checked anyway it seems a shame to turn away such a large population.

Yeah, anyone who has sex with men (any type of sex), or if you're a woman who has sex with bisexual men, you're IMMEDIATELY outta the donor pool. They won't even let gay men donate sperm from what I understand, although there are some banks that are trying to change that.  I knew several gay fellas in Denver who were really pissed about being cut out of the donor pool like that... but they also ban people who've traveled to Africa or were born there. It's a matter of risk.

[Doc]

a matter of risk.

Oh I totally get the reason, I wasn't trying to make out that there was prejudice against gay blood or anything, just seems a waste is all.
Hell I think anyone who lived in britain for a period in the 80s is exempt around here.

[jaydub]

Another of my coworkers (not the one I sometimes call Lizard) calls herself "The Mad Cow", as she is British and of a certain age.  I think Discover has an article this month about how, although beef consumption dropped some, many people on The Island considered it a very mark of the culture that one should eat beef - and to avoid doing so would be more self negating than dying of chronic encephalopathy at some future date.

My coworker is persona non grata at the bloodmobile when we do our biannual drives, so Doc's recollection is true for The States as well as Oz.

[Nabubrush]

Yeah, anyone who has sex with men (any type of sex), or if you're a woman who has sex with bisexual men, you're IMMEDIATELY outta the donor pool. They won't even let gay men donate sperm from what I understand, although there are some banks that are trying to change that.  I knew several gay fellas in Denver who were really pissed about being cut out of the donor pool like that... but they also ban people who've traveled to Africa or were born there. It's a matter of risk.

What if you have sex with a woman who has had sex with a man who has had sex with bisexual men?