I went to the Blood Center on Thursday. Actually it’s the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and it’s the donor center in Katy.
I arrived there before my appointment and was taken back to the little room. There they measured my temperature, iron level, pulse and blood pressure. Then I got to answer The Questions. Questions about my sexual history and about my geographical history. My medical history too, including whether I’d gotten a tattoo or piercing in the last 12 months and have I ever been pregnant. Some of the questions make sense, but I’m not sure about the pregnancy one.
Okay, so far so good. They asked me what size t-shirt I wear and gave me a shirt for KKRW’s drive. Then I went into the room where they actually take the blood. They asked me which arm, and I said, “Either,” because the veins in both my arms are good. Instead of an elastic tourniquet, they used a blood pressure cuff inflated to serious tightness.
The phlebotomist marked my arm where she would stick me and had me periodically squeeze a brain-shaped(!) stress ball. She told me to squeeze and hold while she stuck me. Then she walked away for a minute. She came back to check something and it wasn’t right. Now, she didn’t say anything, just got the supervisor. They moved the needle around a bit in my arm but apparently, I’d clotted at the site and so the blood was flowing sluggishly. (They wanted me to keep squeezing and unsqueezing the brain because it made *some* difference–but not enough.)
So they unhooked me, wrapped me up and told me I could try again in 48 hours. Apparently the rules say you can’t stick the other side if one side fails. I’ve donated blood for years now and this is the first time this has happened to me. I have been deferred before though, for not having high enough iron.
I know people who can’t donate blood for one reason or another. One of my friends says he’s scared of the needle. Well, you have to have a heart rate below 100 to be considered fit and if you’re being afraid, your number will probably be higher. I know it’s not too tough to bring my heart rate up at the gym in the morning when I’m hardly awake. If the idea of having a needle in your arm stresses you out, then don’t.
