My arm with the needle in it
Today was my big day, as I for the first time was finally able to give blood.
Probably one of the biggest needles I have seen, probably..
I have a very low blood pressure that is quite sensitive to my hydration status and I finally managed to get enough fluids in to be accepted as a donor. In my younger year I had quite a collection of piercings and tattoos, so needles don’t really bother me. But this needle was big! I was surprised that it actually didn’t hurt.
Giving blood is fun! Well, maybe not fun, but it doesn’t hurt!
The needles are so sharp that you hardly feel anything, and it only takes five to ten minutes to donate 4.5 dl of blood.
The blood is weighed on a scale next to the chair/bed
The blood goes into a little bag that is weighed, to make sure that no more or less than 4.5 dl of blood is drained from your body. I was feeling slightly dizzy afterwards (probably due to the 9% drop in blood pressure),
This is my A+ blood, 4.5 dl of it. It was still warm actually
but was otherwise fine. I also sent some blood samples for tissue typing for stem cell donation, and I am now officially a registered stem cell donor and blood donor. Yey!
Sending some blood for tissue typing, I am now a stem cell donor
