Do you donate blood?

ahjenny
ahjenny Posts: 293 Member
edited December 19 in Chit-Chat
I do! I had to stop for pregnancies, but now I get to donate blood this week. I love knowing that I can help others, especially since my blood type is a little rarer (AB+) and I enjoy the guilt free cranberry juice and cookie. I just got my gallon pin and I'm working on the next gallon. The only drawback for me is when they poke my finger... it seems like that hurts the most.

If you donate, what do you like most and least about it?
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Replies

  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    I love donating blood. It's something simple that makes a difference. I hate when they put the needle in the arm - I just hate looking at it!
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    what i dislike the most is being turned away if my temp is a little high, or my weight or iron a little low.
    i love the little kids with leukemia that get my blood.
    oh and the free snacks are a plus :D
  • missashley884
    missashley884 Posts: 188 Member
    frequent donor! i hate when they check my hgb, their lancets really hurt!
  • MissLuana
    MissLuana Posts: 356
    I too donate. I wish they would store some away for me personally, my own little stash. I'm O negative and would probably be assed out if I needed some in an emergency...LOL
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    I have a million scars on my left arm from donating. :)
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    i've donated blood to the ground does that count?
  • cellokitty91
    cellokitty91 Posts: 127 Member
    I do! But they wouldn't take it last time because it hadn't been a year since I got a tattoo :( I agree that its a simple way to give back.
  • JanetLM73
    JanetLM73 Posts: 1,226 Member
    I do, my daughter needed some blood for a surgery since I was not a match I couldn't donate for it, so I decided to donate at the bloodbank. I used to go every 56 days but I had to stop. I go a couple times a year.
  • bloodbank
    bloodbank Posts: 468 Member
    I'd love to, but the homophobic stance of the Canadian Blood Services keeps me from doing so.
  • lengirl75
    lengirl75 Posts: 153 Member
    I would if I could but I can't since I am anemic I try to hang onto all the blood I can...
  • SLRamirez2012
    SLRamirez2012 Posts: 297
    I used to, but They denied me one time inbetween my pregnancies because I was anemic, and then I went again about a year later and I passed out at the end... I was obviously still anemic... now I have a tattoo that is less that a year old, so I can't. But my blood type is A-, so on the rare side as well. It never really bothered me.. I thought it was cool... but i am a nerd like that!!!
  • BrionyTallis
    BrionyTallis Posts: 90 Member
    I wish I could donate blood but they won't take mine because of medications I am on. When I could donate blood though I did.
  • aamb
    aamb Posts: 377 Member
    i used to, but i had cancer and now they won't take it. i got someones blood when i needed it, and would dearly love to give that gift back
  • samiejo4
    samiejo4 Posts: 1
    Yes. I feel it is my duty since I am O+
  • FlyeredUp
    FlyeredUp Posts: 632 Member
    I donate every couple months, I was a premie when I was born and needed all my blood replaced to be able to survive. So I have been donating blood since I was a teen.
  • KrisyKat
    KrisyKat Posts: 740 Member
    Haven't been able to....

    Apparently, there's a one-year waiting period after getting tattooed. At the rate I'm inking, I'll never make the cut :laugh:
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    I'd do it more if they didn't bug me so motherf**king often.

    I donated blood and then got bombarded by phone calls and emails for months. Finally I snapped at a guy on the phone one day and they stopped calling...but now I get a million emails asking me to do it again.
  • charmingtrouble
    charmingtrouble Posts: 54 Member
    I try to donate as much as possible, Red Cross tends to call me once a week if I havent donated to them in the past 56 weeks :laugh: I also donate to my school's medical center (University of California, Irvine)

    I HATE the finger prick....my favorite part is when my blood is filing the baggie. I usually become giddy because of the change in blood pressure :tongue: and I also just find it fascinating to feel how warm the tube is ...weird I know, but I can't help it

    gotta love the juice and snacks after :drinker:
  • french_press
    french_press Posts: 18
    I give blood! I'm O- , so they harass me if I dont :) When I give blood I cannot look at the needle when they put it...i hate even thinking about it, ugh....
  • abberbabber
    abberbabber Posts: 972 Member
    I haven't in awhile, but I love doing it! I love the feeling of helping people. The last couple of times I did the double-red cell donation and I was *FREEZING*! The lady even warned me it would be cold, but for me, that was the worst part.
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
    Im not allowed because I have had transfusions myself... but thank you to those of you who do donate! I wish I could personally thank the people that donated blood to me because they saved my life. :)
  • vaderandbill
    vaderandbill Posts: 1,063 Member
    I donate as often as possible and there isn't anything I dislike about it other than having to wait a year after a tattoo
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    I do ,but i haven't in a while, for some reason
  • devonette
    devonette Posts: 263 Member
    I used to give twice a year until about 15 years ago, and then there wasn't enough iron in my blood for them to take it. Every so often I try again, thinking something will have changed (I even did what they suggested by boosting my iron intake for a few days befoe, but still never enough iron.
  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    I donate whenever I can. I feel like there is no excuse to do something so easy and actually save lives! I have a crippling fear of needles, so that's obviously the worst part. I've definitely cried multiple times before they put the needle in (anticipation is the worst). I haven't been able to recently due to either weight, anemia or a slight temperature. But when I can, I always do!
  • CarolinaGirlinVA
    CarolinaGirlinVA Posts: 1,508 Member
    I wish I could, I have received blood twice in my life and would like to pay it forward. Unfortunately, I am anemic and have a low immune system. I have been tested numerous times for autoimmune disorders, but the test says negative.
  • NinjaChickie
    NinjaChickie Posts: 118 Member
    I wish I could because my mom needed a transfusion a few years back and I wanted to help out, but there's a law (rule?) in Canada that if you lived in Europe for so many consecutive years after 1980 you can't donate... and because I lived there until 1996, I'm out. Something about mad cow disease.

    So thank you to all of you who do donate!. :flowerforyou:
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Haven't been able to....

    Apparently, there's a one-year waiting period after getting tattooed. At the rate I'm inking, I'll never make the cut :laugh:
    This actually depends on the state where you were tattooed. If it's a state that regulates their tattoo shops, you don't have to wait.
  • samf36
    samf36 Posts: 369 Member
    Please remember if you don't qualify it is not because someone is out to get you or dislike you because of lifestyle choices it is all about the health and safety of the RECIPIENT not the feeling of the making the donation. We need to insure a safe blood/plasma system. In the past we had a very unsafe supply and still there are times when "Bad Blood" slips through. I am very passionate about insuring we have a safe supply because my family relies on a safe supply for our very lives. There is 30 thousand units of purified, dried blood product sitting in my fridge right now. Is it safe? I have no idea but we are tested at least once a year for hiv and hep.
    If you have time there is a good documentary netflix "Bad Blood a cautionary tale"
    http://badblooddocumentary.com/
  • redheadmommy
    redheadmommy Posts: 908 Member
    I used to donate quite often, but not anymore. I have a 0- blood type, so I am the universal blood donor.
    Here you are allowed to donate every 56 days, and the canadian red cross called right away when my 56 days were up and they were really pushy and made me fill like **** if I didn't have time to go or just didn't want to go that often.
    They kept pushing me even when I was breastfeeding, and as a result became severely anaemic.
    It took me a year to recover from it...
    My GP actually told me that I have never should have donated during breastfeeding, and I did like 6 times.
    Well, lesson learnt, I will not donating until I have done with all babies, breastfeeding etc. Plus even after that I'll never donate more then 4 times a year maybe even less.
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