My Memorable First Blood Donation (Tell me yours)

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When you're already 20+ years late in fulfilling something in your bucket list, the excitement and fulfillment doubles, at least this is what I felt when I got my first blood donation this week.

I remember the first time I lined up for bloodletting. It was 1999 and at the gym of Passi City which then celebrated its first fiesta as a component city. I was there as part of my on-job-training in a local paper.  I queued myself hoping to donate that day. But I did not make it past the weighing scale because I do not weigh at least 50 kilos. To not waste my time, I was offered to know my blood type. I then knew that my blood type follows that of my father's.

There were many invitations and queues for bloodletting after that but it took a long time for me to be qualified as donor because I weighed less than 50 kgs, I had my period or I was anemic. 

For the first timers, here are my take-away pointers after making it past the weighing scale. Your blood pressure will be noted down among others. Then, you will be interviewed using the official checklist which seeks to know when your last blood donation, whether you are feeling all right at the moment, if there are maintenance drugs one is taking. It's a long checklist which will be filled in by the interviewer.

After the interview, one has to queue for the blood typing and checking of hematocrit. A prick in the ring finger stings but it is done to get three drops of blood in the slide.

After this, one is led to the doctor who has the checklist sheet. The doctor asks if one has eaten breakfast because a donor should eat at least two hours before the bloodletting.  No Tattoos. One is also asked of one's maintenance medicine but I'm not sure what disqualifies a prospective donor. One is also asked regarding vaccines. I had flu shot a month ago but that does not count as disqualification. Anti-tetanus and anti-rabies vax  and surgery (prolly, because of the anti-tetatnus) has to be a year ago or more in order for one not to be disqualified.

I am in intermittent fasting so I eat at lunch time only. I do it for a long time already so the doctor allowed me to donate despite my having no food intake earlier.

While the blood was drown and after, I did not feel anything. I was instructed to rest still lying prostrate for three minutes. I didn't look at the blood bag as my blood filled it up so I won't get any icky or panicky feeling. It was a swift process. I felt a small pain on my arm from the injury made by needle, but mostly, I was left with one big happy memory of being able to donate a blood FINALLY.       




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