Donate blood

When I was a college student, I donated blood about once every six weeks. The donor center was within walking distance from the dorms. You have to answer some questions and get your finger pricked, but you got juice and cookies, too. Definitely worth it! Also, I usually saw mostly women there when I went, but this is actually a great thing for men to do. They tend to have too much iron in their blood, and donating helps. So, MEN GET OUT THERE AND DONATE, TOO! It’s good for you and good for the people who need it!!! :o) Namaste

I have my three gallon pin.

Well, giving up is too harsh a statement. I am not able because I am anemic. I really wanted to donate something and I figured blood was best. Perhaps now is just not the time and if I work on my diet I will be able to do this in the future.

The blood bank came to my campus and I signed up.
Tip: Do not stand up and walk around right after you lose the blood. Also do not just drink the water very quickly.

I put it off for so long that I signed up a month in advance, telling myself that it was time to finally do it- no excuses. The day came and I thought for just a second about not going, but I forced myself to go. I was really nervous, but the people around me were really nice and encouraging. When it was finally my turn, it was over in what seemed like a minute. That bag filled up so quickly that the blood-taker didn’t even have enough time to prep the other girl next to me. All in all it was nice to give back and the free sandwich I got was a nice bonus :]

I tried to give blood 3 years ago, but wasn’t allowed because my heart was beating too fast(needles still scare me), but I really want to try again. I’ll do better next time.

There is no way I will ever be able to donate blood. But I will still volunteer at blood drives.

Nervous, I started to walk to the bus. While I was walking slowly to the white table to fill out the new registration form I found myself unable to write the correct date. 10/7/09. When I finally finished filling out my information I walked over to another table to register myself. I sat down while the nurse introduced herself. Once she finished checking my blood I finally slowly stepped into the bus. My blood pressure was checked. The nurse looked at me worriedly and said,”Do you still wish to give blood today?” I replied with a “yes”. I walked over to an empty seat and sat down. The new nurse introduced herself and asked if I was okay. The cold damp feeling of the cleanser on my arm insured that I was really doing this. I was actually going to donate blood. Wow, I was so impressed with myself. I asked her if the needle was in already and she said,”no”. I took a deep breath and didn’t feel anything. I asked if I could close my eyes the whole time and she rapidly replied with a no. She said,”okay, in about 5-10 minutes you should be finished”. I was in shock. How can I last 5-10 minutes with a needle in my arm. I studied another donor across the bus and noticed she was reading a book, obviously she had done this before. Finally my bag was full. Everything happened so fast. I ate some raisins and chatted with other donors. I was very excited that I had finally accomplished one of my fears. My next date is December 2, 2009. I can’t wait.

When I turn 17 I want to donate blood :) who knows, one day I might be on the recieving end…

I got a tattoo for my birthday, so I can’t donate blood for one year. This year my birthday present to myself will be donating :)