Poll: Donating blood

[michael87cn]

Hey escapists,

I like to post these at least once a year to try and get people to donate blood roughly around the same time I do.
I'm in the UK so there is no monetary incentive, its just 30-45 minutes of your time, a little bit of pain but you walk away with the knowledge you helped save someone's life.

Any who's not gone before, try it? Please? It takes so little time to make an appointment and generally the staff there will help and reassure you throughout the process.

When I donated it took 4 and a half hours before I even started giving blood, and several paperwork tests, lots of sitting in the waiting room... full of very poor looking people. It was one of the most uncomfortable experiences in my life. Going to the doctor is a faster process, atleast compared to the blood center near me.

Also, for whatever reason, I was unable to even give much blood. About 10 minutes in I started losing all feeling in my arm (the one with the tube inserted into it) and felt very dizzy. I notified the nurse (was told if I experienced anything out of the ordinary to notify someone immediately) (please note: I was not nervous or anxious, I rather desperately needed the donation money so was very willing to undergo the process)

Left the center wondering why on earth I couldn't give blood. While blood is necessary, I urge people to only go through this process if you are REALLY sure you want to do it, otherwise you're going to be very miserable.

If you're lucky maybe you'll get a quick trip.

 

[The Lunatic]

It's kinda odd really.

Disallowing gay people from giving blood these days makes about as much sense as disallowing anyone under 25, honestly.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Hemophiliac here, so they don't want my blood. It's not strong enough, as my wife jokes. I'm literally the only person in the world that could maybe receive my donated blood anyway, so I don't bother, and they likely would just prefer to use someone who doesn't have hemophilia.

 

[Gunner 51]

I'd like to try giving blood, but I'm not terribly sure they'd take mine given that I have Gilbert's Syndrome.

 

[JetFury]

I used to love donating blood in school. The last couple times I tried, recently in my local blood bank my heart was pounding and I couldn't calm down so they couldn't take my blood. Somethingabout it would end up hurting me if they took it while I was nervous. They shoulda done it anyway, I could handle it.

 

[The Funslinger]

I want to at some point, but I'm waiting for some THC to pass out of my bloodstream due to circumstances I cannot specify at the risk of being seen to endorse due to site rules.

But the implication is clear enough, I suppose.

So yeah, when that's all gone, I'll be sure to bleed for the cause.

 

[MortisLegio]

I just donated today on a whim. First time too.

 

[JetFury]

I wonder if I can manage it.

Over here, a lot of high schools and colleges have those vans that come up for volunteers.

At my high school, the rule was you had to be 17 so for me, I couldn't try until my senior year. And apparently, I was so nervous that my pulse was too high and they sent me away.

Since I've never given blood before, I don't imagine I'll cease being nervous so... I guess I can hope I'm not so majorly nervous the next time?

Though it's been years since then so who knows?

I'm with you there damnit...

 

[viranimus]

I would love to. However last time I tried to donate my blood sugar was 2100+ and for some reason they were not too keen on taking the strawberry syrup runnin through my veins.

Either you slipped a zero in there or you've got to be some sort of glucose zombie or mutant. Are you sure you're not the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters?

No Im no mutant... every one else is just a bunch of sugar pussies. xD

LOL. SPMM was my uncle.

No, Seriously. It is not a misprint. They said I should have been dead. Oddly enough I felt pretty good that day. But keep in mind this was a period of having no medical insurance for over a year and having "normal" BS run in the 400-600 range and I had been eating aspirin like Pez and I guess living on borrowed time due to still being young enough for the adverse effects to not immediately kill me. (Just doing a ton of damage instead)

 

[Teoes]

No. I'm O-. I'm told it is quite rare or something. However I'll never give my blood away. At least not for free. If blood drives started paying for the blood I'd definitely donate.

Yet surely if you're ever in the situation of needing a transfusion yourself, you'll gladly accept without busting out your credit card, right?

 

[Call me Baz]

I have no idea what my blood type is. Probably O, for O behave when I start telling my jokes.

OT: I suddenly felt like I really wanted to do this near the end of my year in uni, there's a donation centre in town but when I read the rules on giving blood, it said they couldn't accept anyone who had "A chesty cough or sore throat" - no, really. At the time, I had both of those. Next time I go into town for something other than work (because that takes up the whole opening hours of the donor centre) I might leave a couple of pints there, rather than the usual having a couple pints with friends.

 

[Call me Baz]

It's kinda odd really.

Disallowing gay people from giving blood these days makes about as much sense as disallowing anyone under 25, honestly.

They don't disallow gay people from giving blood though, it's rather unfair to phrase it that way. If you happen to be a homosexual with no sexual activity, they will happily take your blood, and care not a whim for whom you lust after or have posters in your room of, or what you spank your monkey to. Only those "lucky" gay people getting all the action cannot feel the joy of giving

[small]could have worded that better[/small]

Edit: Erroneous Grammatology

 

[Quaxar]

snip

I'm just quoting you to make sure you really do see this but would you please consider removing the "backwards arsehole" part from the third option? Not just because it's completely unconnected to the issue with gay donors but also because you didn't write "I'm a little pussy who's afraid of little needles" in the fourth option either so why ruin a perfectly good poll with one badly written option.

I would love to. However last time I tried to donate my blood sugar was 2100+ and for some reason they were not too keen on taking the strawberry syrup runnin through my veins.

Either you slipped a zero in there or you've got to be some sort of glucose zombie or mutant. Are you sure you're not the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters?

No Im no mutant... every one else is just a bunch of sugar pussies. xD

LOL. SPMM was my uncle.

No, Seriously. It is not a misprint. They said I should have been dead. Oddly enough I felt pretty good that day. But keep in mind this was a period of having no medical insurance for over a year and having "normal" BS run in the 400-600 range and I had been eating aspirin like Pez and I guess living on borrowed time due to still being young enough for the adverse effects to not immediately kill me. (Just doing a ton of damage instead)

Bloody hell, 2100! You should be dead 5 times over! I can't imagine even a long-term diabetic after decades being conscious with that kind of glucose levels, let alone feel good. Holy hematology, I dearly hope you're on some serious Diabetes treatment right now.

 

[Sherokain]

Option 3 is an interesting one, but i know it is in fact how it happens pretty much. I was going to give blood and asked my friend if he wanted to give blood too as i already had, he happens to be bi but I didn't think much of it. The manual states if you are a man who has given or received anal sex from another man, you can never give blood. bare in mind there is a 6 month ban for women if you have actually contracted a cured STD and the same length of time if you have received money for sex. So women who prostitute them selves aren't permanently banned but gay men are, it sounds selfish but I'm not giving blood again until they change their policies.

 

[TallanKhan]

I would gladly donate blood if they could find a way of draining me without sticking me with a needle. One of the only truly traumatic childhood experiences I had was needle related and to this day you cant get close to me with one without me experiencing a wave of severe nausea and shaking uncontrollably.

 

[Little Woodsman]

I've tried in the past solely to find out my blood type (it isn't listed on my birth certificate and I have to pay to find out from the NHS which I refuse to do - think I should contact the NSA? They might know) but I was turned away because I apparently have non-compatible veins, even though I have done a 4-day clinical study where I gave blood several dozen times.

Taking blood samples like they do for studies is a whole different animal than taking a pint for transfusion.
I once took 16 samples from a tiny young woman who had reached 3rd stage evaluation for marrow donation, and I
*shudder* at the thought of trying to get the much larger needle used for a pint donation in to any of her veins.

All I know is I still don't know my blood type and it is vexing.

Yeah, that would definitely be pretty vexing...can you contact the office of your family physician from when you were a child? They might know & should be able to release the information to you.

Not for free. I don't like the idea of having to pay to know something about MY BLOOD.

They make you pay for information about *yourself* that they *already* have?
....that sound you just heard was my mind, boggling.....

 

[Amethyst Wind]

I've tried in the past solely to find out my blood type (it isn't listed on my birth certificate and I have to pay to find out from the NHS which I refuse to do - think I should contact the NSA? They might know) but I was turned away because I apparently have non-compatible veins, even though I have done a 4-day clinical study where I gave blood several dozen times.

Taking blood samples like they do for studies is a whole different animal than taking a pint for transfusion.
I once took 16 samples from a tiny young woman who had reached 3rd stage evaluation for marrow donation, and I
*shudder* at the thought of trying to get the much larger needle used for a pint donation in to any of her veins.

All I know is I still don't know my blood type and it is vexing.

Yeah, that would definitely be pretty vexing...can you contact the office of your family physician from when you were a child? They might know & should be able to release the information to you.

Not for free. I don't like the idea of having to pay to know something about MY BLOOD.

They make you pay for information about *yourself* that they *already* have?
....that sound you just heard was my mind, boggling.....

Isn't our National Health Service grand?

 

[Little Woodsman]

Hey escapists,

I like to post these at least once a year to try and get people to donate blood roughly around the same time I do.
I'm in the UK so there is no monetary incentive, its just 30-45 minutes of your time, a little bit of pain but you walk away with the knowledge you helped save someone's life.

Any who's not gone before, try it? Please? It takes so little time to make an appointment and generally the staff there will help and reassure you throughout the process.

When I donated it took 4 and a half hours before I even started giving blood, and several paperwork tests, lots of sitting in the waiting room... full of very poor looking people. It was one of the most uncomfortable experiences in my life. Going to the doctor is a faster process, atleast compared to the blood center near me.

Also, for whatever reason, I was unable to even give much blood. About 10 minutes in I started losing all feeling in my arm (the one with the tube inserted into it) and felt very dizzy. I notified the nurse (was told if I experienced anything out of the ordinary to notify someone immediately) (please note: I was not nervous or anxious, I rather desperately needed the donation money so was very willing to undergo the process)

Left the center wondering why on earth I couldn't give blood. While blood is necessary, I urge people to only go through this process if you are REALLY sure you want to do it, otherwise you're going to be very miserable.

If you're lucky maybe you'll get a quick trip.

Ummm, If you are in the United States and if this place was paying for blood, then the blood they were taking
*wasn't* going for patient transfusions.
Federal law makes it illegal to pay donors for blood that is going to be used for transfusion.
A lot (not all) of the pay places are kind of icky and shady.