#82: Donate blood regularly... session #1



It wasn't my first time, but given I haven't been since 2004, they thought they should be cautious [image by Zahara Dessert]



I have always felt bad that I have only given blood once in my life, and that was many many years ago.

See my blood type is quite rare, but extremely valuable (O negative).

I can give blood to every blood type, but I can only receive my own type if I ever need blood.

However in Australia only a very small proportion of people donate blood.

The scary stat is:
     1 in 3 people will need blood
     But only 1 in 30 people currently give blood

By donating blood you help 3 different people. Which is always a nice feeling to have.

So I thought this would be something very easy for me to tick off the Life List.

After work on a Thursday night I found myself outside the Red Cross Blood Bank on Elizabeth St in Sydney.

The whole process was very easy and relatively pain free.

Black and White for your comfort [image by Zahara Dessert]

It only took about 10 minutes to get the blood they needed.

However the fun began after the needle was removed.

I felt 100% fine, but supposedly I had gone a pale grey colour and the nurses were getting really concerned. They asked me so many times how I was feeling and I kept on telling them I felt normal. But the nurses kept on hovering.

They only released me once they had taken my blood pressure, had made me consume a Caramel milkshake and I had showed them that when I squeezed my cheeks I had blood circulation!


I think they went a bit over board with the bandage [image by Zahara Dessert]



Drinking this Popper they gave me made me have primary school flash backs! [image by Zahara Dessert]

I don't know why I waited 8 years to give blood.

It is such an easy thing to do and you help people in need.

But next time, I need to warn them about my paleness! I don't want them to get so concerned again.

I will keep you posted...