Hey guys! So, a little PSA about something that's very important and can save lives - blood donation.
I've been a blood donor since I was 17 (the minimum age to sign up in the UK); my mother was a blood donor for years, and I always felt that it was an important cause. When I donated in May of this year, my grandmother was in hospital having a couple of blood transfusions because her haemoglobin levels were low, and since then I've vowed that I will definitely be doing this regularly.
It's a topic I feel very strongly about, so below the cut I've made a post about blood donation as a whole, including the uses of donated blood and the process. (there are no pictures below the cut)
Why give blood?
It saves lives - people need blood transfusions after accidents, or if they have a lifelong/long-term illness such as cancer.
According to the blood.co.uk website, over 6000 blood donations are needed a day to treat patients across England.
Approx. 200,000 new donors are needed a year because some donors are no longer eligible.
Most people between the ages of 17 and 65 are eligible to donate.
Around half the current donors are over 45 - which is why the NHS need younger people to register.
How blood is used:
To treat medical conditions such as anaemia, blood disorders and cancer
In surgery such as emergency surgery and cardiac surgery
A small percentage is used to treat blood loss during child birth
To labs for experiments that might aid in learning about blood/developing cures
For people who are dying/to improve quality of end of life
Who can donate
Minimum age in the UK is 17 to register.
If you're fit and healthy
(A/N: I'm on the larger side and I'm still perfectly able to donate :D)
If you're a first timer, then the maximum age is 65 (70 if you already donate or have done so in the last two years)
Most people, really!
Before Donation
When you're registered on the blood donor site, you can book an appointment online at a venue and time that suits you. They'll have a list of venues and the days where they will be doing donations, and you can cancel at any time/reschedule.
After you book online, the NHS blood people will send a letter confirming your appointment day/time - attached will be a Health Questionnaire that you MUST bring with you, filled in, to the appointment. It asks questions to make sure that you're eligible/safe to donate (eg. Have you been tested for Hepatitis C? Have you had a piercing/tattoo in the last 12 weeks? etc.)
All you have to do is fill it in and bring it to the appointment.
Don't worry if the answer to some questions is "Yes" (eg. "Have you been outside of the UK in the last few months" or "Are you on any medication?") - they'll just ask for more information/clarification at the screening.
You can sometimes get walk-in appointments but you could be waiting for a long time for a space to open up.
Before your appointment, PLEASE do eat regular meals/drink non-alcoholic fluids and get plenty of rest.
Donation Process
I speak from my own experience - I donate at a church near my old school, so I'm sure it might differ depending on the place slightly.
You give in your questionnaire/form to someone, who will tick your name so they know you've arrived. They'll take your form to give to another nurse, and they'll give you a leaflet that you have to read; it's just information about the process, where your blood goes, and the after-effects.
A nurse will take your form, call your name, and you go for a private health screening behind a curtain or similar for privacy. They'll ask you to confirm your name, address and date of birth to be sure it's you before going over your questionnaire. If it's all good, they'll have you read the consent thing and sign it.
Next the nurse will prick your finger to get a drop of blood, and then she'll put the drop of blood into a beaker/tube of iodine liquid stuff. This is just to check that your haemoglobin levels are high enough to donate. If they are, then the blood should sink - if it doesn't, then they ask for a sample from your arm. If it turns out that your levels are low, then - for health/safety reasons - you can't donate.
(They also put an anti-septic wipe on your finger and ask you to push down to stop any bleeding)
If your haemo levels are high enough, the nurse sends you to the water dispenser and tells you to drink a pint of water before you donate. It's important you remain hydrated, so please do drink as much as you can.
At some point, usually a few minutes after, another nurse will come over and call your name; they'll ask which arm is your donation arm (I'm right-handed so I use my left for donation) and bring you to one of the reclining chairs (they recline you). Again, you tell them your name/address/date of birth so they know it's you, and then they'll put a cuff on your arm; they'll tighten it and ask you to make fists so that they can find a vein. Once they find a vein, they'll swab the whole area to clean it and make sure they've got the vein ready.
That's when they put the needle in, and my advice is don't look when they do put it in. I hate needles, so I always look away when it's in.
The nurses will make sure you're comfortable (if you're not then do tell them) and advise you to do little muscle exercises in your chair as you donate - like clenching your fists/butt, crossing/uncrossing legs etc. just to keep the blood pumping.
A full blood donation is 470ml (just under a pint) and will take somewhere between 5 to 15 minutes usually.
Once you're done, the nurses will remove the needle, put a plaster/bandage over it and tell you to put pressure on it with 3 fingers, just to help the blood clot/stop bleeding.
They'll slowly put the chair up in an upright positon and make sure you're okay.
THE BEST PART: Once this is all over, you go over to a little table where you can help yourself to juice/tea/water and crisps/biscuits/chocolate. Honestly, just go ahead and stuff your face - you've earned it.
After Donation
Your arm may have a bruise - that's normal - and it may ache a bit...totally normal.
Don't do any heavy-lifting/strenuous activity with your arm.
They advise you to leave the plaster/bandage on for 6 hours, just as a precaution.
Don't get drunk in the 24 hours after - you'll be more susceptible to a hangover.
I think the rule is you have to wait 12 weeks between donations for men, and 16 weeks for women. They'll usually book you in for your next appointment after you've donated.
Useful links
https://www.blood.co.uk/ - the official NHS blood donation website
https://www.blood.co.uk/why-give-blood/
https://www.blood.co.uk/who-can-give-blood/
https://www.blood.co.uk/the-donation-process/
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I feel very passionate about blood donation, as you can see. The NHS is ALWAYS looking for blood donors, especially O- blood donors as O- blood can go to ANYONE (I'm O+) Only 3% of the U.K. donates blood, which is appalling.
I understand needle-phobia - I too hate needles and feel like fainting when I think of them - but the amount of lives it saves is worth it.
If anyone has any questions/queries, please feel free to hit up my ask-box! :)