Donating Blood

1. Save a life!

Someone who really needs it will be receiving it. People who receive blood are usually in dire health situations - car accidents, cancer treatment, severe illnesses. Your donation helps make them better.

2. Save up to three lives.

Blood donations can be split into components and used for several people. You can save up to THREE lives!

3. You'll be different

Only 3% (Canada) of those eligible donate. This is your way of being different than others... in a good way.

4. Build a sense of community

There's a unique bond among those who donate regularly. Donating shows you care for those around you. The nurses and volunteers at the donation center see this and spread this feeling.

5. Another reason to stay healthy

Among other stipulations, drug use, risque behavior, and bad health choices can bar one from donating. Becoming a regular donor is just another weight against making bad health decisions.

6. Keep track of your health

Donating blood, especially platelets, helps you track your weight, platelet count, white blood cell count, etc. And, it's free!

7. They give cookies

Yup, you usually get juice and cookies after a visit! Lucky duck!

The first step in a blood donation is booking an appointment or checking in at a blood donation drive (sometimes held out of a RV). You'll be reminded to make sure that you're feeling OK on the day of your donation and that you don't have any dental work scheduled for three days before your donation.

When you show up, you'll check in and sit down with a nurse. The nurse will confirm your address and check you against a registry of those who have been barred from donation due to HIV or other transmittable diseases. He or she will then take a small sample of blood from a finger with a pricking pen (like a blood glucose test for diabetics). A small drop of blood will be drawn and placed in a vial of blue liquid. If it sinks within 15 seconds, you've got plenty of iron!

For first time donors, another drop may be taken to test your blood type. This will be retested after the donation and will show up on your donor card (you'll receive by mail a few weeks later). Yippee! If you didn't know you're blood type, you'll find out now.

Then, you'll be asked to fill out part of a questionnaire in private. Are you feeling OK today? Have you traveled outside of the country in the past three years? Have you worked with monkeys in the past 12 months?

Once finished, you'll be called to a small room where a nurse will interview you with the remaining questions on the form. You're temperature and blood pressure will be taken (bonus!) and your arms will be checked for hypodermic needle marks (to see if you're a needle drug user). Some questions: Do you have HIV? Have you given money or drugs for sex in the past 6 months? Were you born or have lived in Africa since 1977? Answering yes to some questions might now disqualify you. Be honest!

Once finished the interview, the nurse will give you a form with two stickers and will leave the room. You'll be asked to put a "yes, use my blood" sticker on your form or a "no, do not use my blood" sticker on your form. The stickers have anonymous codes, so no one at the center will know which choice you made. Sometimes people feel pressured into giving blood or are embarrassed and lie about their answers. This gives them a way to go through the process and have their blood discarded if they feel for some reason their blood is unsafe.

Once you pick a sticker, you'll be ushered to an open chair. A nurse will ask you which arm you want to use, then will give you a stress ball to squeeze on as he/she first cleans your arm with a alcohol sponge and then iodine. A fresh needle will be used to extract the blood. At first, the blood will be diverted to a pouch to take samples for testing and then re-diverted to the donation bag. The donation bag rests close to the floor on a platform that rocks back and form to keep the blood from coagulating.

After 5-15 minutes, a light will go off on the platform and a beep will sound, meaning your blood bag is full. The nurse, who'll be checking on your regularly, will then remove the need and ask you to apply pressure to a cotton swab placed on the needle point. After five minutes of applying pressure, the nurse will make sure that the wound isn't bleeding, will apply a bandage or band aid, and escort you to a table where you'll be offered juice and cookies!

A few weeks later, you'll receive your donor card. After 7 weeks, you can come back for another whole blood donation. Once you've got a few donations under your sleeve (pardon the pun), you might want to try platelet donations. They take a little longer (1.5 - 2.5 hours total) but you can do them every two weeks!