I donated blood today.
I wish I’d got round to writing about this after one of the previous times I donated (this would be the fifth time I’ve done it) - but better late than never. The timing isn’t so bad actually, as I’ve just discovered a really good virtual tour on the National Blood Service website, which describes a typical session more accurately and in far more detail than I could have hoped to.
Go to blood.co.uk and click ‘What happens’ in the menu on the left; you’ll see a link at the bottom of the page to launch the virtual tour.
The only thing in the tour which I have to disagree with is the guide claiming that she hardly felt a thing when the needle was inserted. I don’t believe in lying to people about this sort of thing - it is a bit painful! I’d say it’s about on par with accidentally banging your knee on a table leg. It might cause you to flinch and use a bit of obscene language, but within a short time that pain will subside to mere discomfort, and the sensation will probably disappear entirely within about a minute. There might be a brief moment of further discomfort as the needle is removed at the end.
All in all, the level of pain is tolerable when you weigh it up against how good you feel leaving the session: proud to know you’re helping to save lives, and aiding important medical and scientific research.
The website includes details of your nearest session, so if you’ve thought about going before but never quite got round to it, please find time to go!! Drag a couple of friends along if you can, it’s more fun that way, and more much-needed donations.
If you still have a tiny shred of doubt about doing it, just imagine if you or a close one needed an emergency life-saving blood tranfusion, and there wasn’t enough donor blood available.
It’s got to come from somewhere, right?
0 Responses to “Blood”
Leave a Reply