"When I turned 16 I got a letter asking to donate, I'm now almost 20 and have donated whenever I can"
How I did it: The National Blood Service sent me a letter, but as far as I can tell, it's very easy to find out how to give blood. You can visit the website at http://www.blood.co.uk/ and find the nearest place that you can go to in order to donate. With me, it is in the nearest city, but they do set up temporary stations at regular intervals in more local places - this is where I usually go.
You have to fill in a questionnaire, to check that you are suitable to donate (for example, if you recently had a tattoo or a piercing, they will ask you not to donate).
A nurse will then take a small drop of blood from your finger, to test if you have enough iron in your blood. If not, you won't be able to donate.
If you do have enough iron, you lay on the bench/bed, and it takes around 10 mins to give your full donation.
Then you get a plaster, and some drinks and biscuits, yum! And a sticker =D
And when you've donated once, they will send you letters as reminders when you can donate again, if you would like to.
Lessons & tips: Before you go - drink lots of liquids, obviously water is best but juice/milk are good too. And also make sure you eat something. If you don't, then losing the blood might make you light-headed and more prone to fainting.
Afterwards - It's an excuse to take it easy! Have more liquids to help replenish, and don't do anything to strenuous!
Resources: http://www.blood.co.uk/
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Jan 27, 02:19PM PST
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