Blood donation? Do it or dread it?

Just curious. Who donates on a regular basis? Who donates only when the van is parked in front of their office building? Who is totally needle phobic and never does?

Blood donation is an essential community service. A single donation can save up to 5 lives. All parts of the blood can be utilised, whole blood, plasma, platelets etc. I personally do not understand needle phobia, we do a lot worse things to ourselves, than letting a highly skilled nurse insert an IV. You, a family member or a friend or even a complete stranger will need blood one day, you could save their life.

I have a problem which a nurse told me is called vasil-vagil syndrome. I have to get blood tests every 3-4 months to check my cholesterol, but the nurses at my doctor's office know what they're doing and are able to do it in a way that doesn't affect me. If I can feel the blood coming out of my veins, I'll start to get all sweaty and feel feint and have to lie on my back for awhile. If I don't get that feeling, it doesn't bother me at all. I think it is part physical and part psychological. Looking at veins and even thinking about it upsets me, even writing this reply is bothering me. I had the same problem getting my eyes checked and the optometrist pulled open my lower eyelid to put in eyedrops. I had to sit down for about 10 minutes and drink some sugar-water to recover. I fainted once in the 8th grade because in hygiene class there was a picture of the human body showing the inside (all the veins), and I started thinking about it. I'm 47 and I haven't fainted since, because after that incident I was told to put my head down between my knees to get the blood there. I only needed to do that a few times since.

My problem has nothing to do with needles or blood, only veins. The funny thing is that twice I've had an IV going into my veins, and that didn't bother me at all. So my problem is only when they take stuff out, not when they put stuff in.

I did donate blood once, in 1987. The only reason I agreed to it was because it was for my best friend's grandmother who was having an operation, there was the AIDS scare regarding tainted blood, and all of his other friends backed out, so I was used as a last resort. I was scared out of my mind prior to doing this, and I warned my friend that I didn't know what would happen if they tried to get a whole pint of blood out of me, being that I got so messed up just from taking out a small amount. It turned out that I threw up twice, right in the beginning after they only got about a half-ounce out of me. I had enough warning to have the nurse get me a pail. They kept the needle in me the whole time, and after I threw up I felt fine and they were able to take the whole pint. I was upset after that because it turned out that for all the trouble I went through, she didn't need the blood and I wasn't even the right blood type for her to use.

I am never going to give blood again unless it is for a very close friend or family member, and even then there would have to be a good reason for why they needed my help. I am registered as a bone marrow donor, and getting a whole test tube of blood from me to sign up for this was a nightmare. I hear that donating bone marrow is a big ordeal and painful, but I would be happy to do it if they ever found someone who matched my type. I wouldn't worry one bit about the pain or having a needle stuck in my spine, but I would be very worried if they had to take blood from me to test it.

Anytime I see the van and have the time I do it. I don't really like needles but I can deal with it to help out.