ƸӜƷ•¨¯`•My Recuerdos•¨¯`•ƸӜƷ

Yours truly donated blood for the first time today.
Yup..450ml of blood was flowed from my vein to a packet like the one on top. (that's not mine by the way, I got that picture of Flickr)

No, I don't donate blood on a regular basis. Today was my first time ever and it was an experience indeed. I have wanted to donate blood since I turned 18 (legal age!!!) but somehow never did until today. The opportunity presented itself to me in the form of my housemate, Ji Yen, who has donated I-dunno-how-many-times. She saw the poster for the Blood Donation Drive and was like announcing it to me and the rest of the girls in my house and convincing us to go. So I thought, why not??

So I went there this morning and had to fill in a form and a card because I was a first timer. And the form contained a lot of questions asking about my health in general. Then they tested my blood type ( just a small prick on the finger and took my blood pressure and so on). So before I even sat down on the armchair to get a needle into my vein, I learned that :-

1. My blood type is O (universal donor...YAY!!)
2. I have a weirdly positioned vein in my left arm ( the nurse couldn't find it and kept poking in the middle and then she found it somewhere to the right of my arm. =.= )
3. Blood donors must be at least 45kg ( so underweight people don't have to admit they're scared..haha!!!)
4. You can't donate blood on an empty stomach ( I got shoo-ed to get a sandwich because I did not eat breakfast )
5. You must have at least 5 to 6 hours of sleep the night before.
6. Drink enough water (because it affects your blood pressure)

Donating blood is not for the faint-hearted!!Fighting the dizziness and nausea which comes after that is not fun.................!!! Okay, I'm just kidding.
Don't get put off about donating blood. Its not painful (just a bit of pricking from the needle and they anesthetize your arm before inserting the tube) and apparently it is good for you because your heart generates new blood for you. (That's what Ji Yen said to me while promoting blood donation.) And you get a certificate and a little book to record your blood donations. Plus they give you free food after taking your blood to feed you up. (Okay, please don't donate for this reason only. XP ) Who knows, your blood may be helping to save a life, or even lives.

I think it was due to the fact my stomach was quite empty (just woke up and chewed on a sandwich before donating. ), because as soon as the nurse removed the needle and unwrapped the pad around my arm, my vision went blur and I had to be tilted to a lying position on the chair to get over the dizziness and nausea. It was embarrassing.
That is why I strongly recommend eating a proper meal before donating.

So people, I encourage you to participate in the next blood donation drive that is held near you. At least try it once. You never know right?? The smallest thing can have the greatest impact.




:)