A few weeks ago I read that the Red Cross was appealing for blood donors for, I think A+ and O+ blood, so it suddenly piqued my oddly subdued interest to donate blood, though my blood type is B+.
My friend and I decided to then travel to the blood bank at Dhoby Ghaut to donate, because he donated before and he knew the process and I thus decided that it was safer to tag along him rather than going alone. Alas, because we made no appointment, the queue was two and a half hours waiting time so we forewent it.
Until just last Saturday, there was a mobile drive. So we decided to go again.
I'm going to say that the first time of everything gets my nerves all fired up, despite repeated assurances and stories that say it's a simple process that does not necessitate any fear, but anxiety is, after all, an irrational response that is biologically necessary.
As we reached there, the first thing to do was to fill up a health form. Then we proceed to get our details registered.
Then, we had to get our haemoglobin levels checked. Insufficient haemoglobin disqualifies one as a donor; after all, if you don't have enough, you shouldn't donate. I knew it involved extracting blood from a wound on the finger, so it got my very, very nervous. The nurse saw that my palms were all sweaty, so she gave me a tissue paper to wipe off. I was very scared of any pain, regardless of how small it is, and I would say I was totally unprepared for the 'stapler' (don't know what it's called) and the subsequent rather loud sound it produced. It threw me off balance and my palms were visibly sweaty again despite just wiping them off a few seconds ago, amusing the nurse that took my blood. Ya, it hurt a little, but it was temporary (and uncomfortable).
My haemoglobin level was 15.2 g/dl. It was good.
Then, the next was health check. I hadn't taken any medicines or fallen sick, so it was good.
Next, we waited for donation. It was quite a while. I wasn't expecting the donation to be in the centre of the room with the crowd watching while waiting.
When it was my turn, I was asked to sit on the chair. I was given a small thing to squeeze to stimulate blood flow. The nurse tried finding my veins, but was deterred by what she said was 'very small' veins. She then moved on to my right arm in hope for a better shot, but I knew my right arm was the red zone for all nurses - very, very few nurses successfully extracted blood from my right arm. She moved back to my left arm hoping for a better luck, to no avail, and sighed rather frustratingly as if I offended her. She had to seek help, and another nurse came and took a look and pondered a while, and then she said, okay. She would do it.
She applied anaesthetic on my arm, and naturally the standard procedure required my vision of the extraction site to be blocked off so I couldn't see it. Then she tightened my arm again and told me to please squeeze hard because my vein was very small. Then I felt a prick, which was rather uncomfortable though momentary, and she plugged the tube in. I had been advised to squeeze that thing every 5 seconds or so to accelerate the extraction, and so I did. But to be honest, squeezing that thing allowed me to feel that a tube was plugged in me and it was not very comfortable.
After a while, I surmised not more than 3 minutes, she came and removed the tube, which I thought was fast. Three people in front of me sat down a few minutes before me and they ended their donation the same time with me. In fact, I left the chair earlier than all of them, which prompted my friend to say 'your donation process was especially fast'. I was told this meant I had healthy muscular system and blood circulation, so I took it as a compliment. We were given foods and drinks for rest, and I took Milo.
After that, the side effects were not immediate. But I did feel a little dizzy and light weight a while later, and by night time I felt a little angina and heart weaknesses, and my heart seemed to beat a lot faster than usual. Considering that I lost about 15% of my blood, I supposed it was normal. I felt better the next day, but my appetite was beyond normal for the next three days.
Overall I would say the entire process was fairly easy and only minimally painful. I would be eligible to donate in 45 days, and I guess I might. Maybe not soon, to allow my body to heal better, but suffice to say I think a second donation is imminent. If I can save lives, I guess I'll do it. And I guess everyone should too - it's fairly harmless yet beneficial.
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