My First Time Giving Blood!

On Tuesday, January 18, 2011, I went with my mother to go help with a blood drive at a fitness warehouse by Palomar College. It was a surprisingly warm winter morning and we had about 20 people on the list for the day. However there was a huge gap between the first person and the second person (about an hour and fifteen minute gap). I decided that because I am now 17, I wanted to give blood-for the first time! My mom could take care of anyone that came in and I was completely free to go on in. There are three steps to giving blood. The first is the room where they test you and ask you questions. My finger was pricked to check for iron, and I was happy to find out that I am not anemic like my mother. They also checked my blood pressure and body temperature to make sure that I am not sick. After they saw that I was healthy, they put all my information into the system and then left me alone in the tiny room to answer the questionnaire. Basically it was a bunch of questions where I could answer just Yes or No to. They asked me about specific diseases, if I had been to certain countries and things like “Have you gotten a piercing or tattoo in the past 12 months”. It only took me about 3 minutes to finish the questionnaire, and when I was finished I went to the Tables to get my blood drawn. I have never been afraid of needles so I wasn’t really worried when she pulled out the needle. The nurse first cleaned my arm for 30 seconds with iodine and then put the needle in quickly! It hurt for only a split second then it was over. I didn’t even realize that there was a needle in my arm till I look down and saw a tube attached to my arm. The nurse showed me how to squeeze onto a stress ball to help pump the blood out. It only took me about 5 minutes to fill the blood bag. After I had filled the bag, the nurse instructed me to stop pumping and she took everything out. Then it was time for step three: recovery.  For 15 minutes, I had to sit down and have fluids and snacks to make sure I wasn’t lightheaded or going to pass out. I ended up doing neither and the nurse let me go after 15 minutes. When I stepped out of the bus, I was so proud! I had just helped save a life by simply giving some of my blood. It was such a good feeling-a little bit of me could help save someone’s life: one little drop at a time.

Theres my name!