Donating Blood | Ten Times Anniversary
When I turned eighteen, I got a letter in the mail asking me to consider signing up to donate blood. I didn't know much about it and had never really considered it in length before but I signed up immediately because I knew a small "sacrifice" on my part could save someone's life. I also kind of wanted to know my blood type but that was just an added bonus.
I'm 21 years old and I have now donated blood ten times. In Denmark, you can donate every 3 months and even though it's not something you can get paid for as in some other countries - I find the experience in itself very fulfilling.
Firstly, the nurses are always so nice and thankful and I've experience multiple times that they've had to work half their lunch break because so many people came in. They're dedicated and great at calming you down if you're a bit nervous. And this time a notification of my ten times anniversary popped up on the screen while they were registering me and I got a handful of gifts from the organisation to show their appreciation for my time and my blood.
I'm by no means an expert but I feel like I've gone through the process enough times to be comfortable with it. It's not like I particularly enjoy having a big needle stuck into my arm but it's not as scary as I thought.
Am I in reality selfish because doing this actually brings me joy? You could argue that because heck yeah I feel good after donating a pint of blood that I know will go towards helping or even saving someone's life.
It's an inconvenience to have to cut out an hour of your day but it's worth it in my opinion. I book an appointment beforehand and once I get there sit down to answer about a dozen questions to make sure I'm fit to donate (you have to do this every time) and then I'll have to wait usually just a couple of minutes before my name is called. A year or so ago, they even updated their system to include scanning of your fingerprint, so you don't even have to remember your donor card.
The nurse asks which arm you prefer. You should usually go for your non-dominant arm, however, sometimes your veins are not equally visible and in that case you might have to get it in your dominant arm, which is the case for me. Additionally, I always try to remember to eat breakfast - they ask you and make you eat something if you haven't and as you might otherwise feel faint afterwards. I also aim to drink a lot of water before as slight dehydration might make it harder to find the vein and that's not fun.
I've never been "scared" of needles but I was always a bit apprehensive about them. It's actually helped me having to go through the process several times and I don't even blink anymore. It's become a normal sensation, it stings a tiny bit right when it goes in but other than that I don't feel anything.
I'm lucky that if I'm feed and hydrated, I feel absolutely fine afterwards. I don't even feel uncomfortable and can go on with my day as if I hadn't just given up around a tenth of my blood. I'm always a bit low in my iron levels so in addition to the twenty pills I get at the hospital, the blood bank also sends me iron at home, which is nice.
When you're done, you get a cotton pod over the area and they stick it down with that special skin tape. One of my least favourite parts is actually peeling that tape off later. Big needles - no problem but tape - hmm... I'm only partly joking.
I'm actually quite proud of the little bronze emblem that I got given. It's such a silly little thing but it always feels nice to be appreciated. I believe that you get silver at 25 times and gold at 50 times. That's a lot of years to go if I want those as well but I have no intention of quitting just yet. As long as I'm healthy and fit to donate, I plan on continuing it.
One day I might need a blood transfusion (and I know it doesn't work like an equal trade-off) but then someone else's blood can save me like mine has to others. My blood type is AB+, which is quite a rare blood type in Denmark (4 % of the population), and it's good to know I can help others with the same blood type.
I'm 21 years old and I have now donated blood ten times. In Denmark, you can donate every 3 months and even though it's not something you can get paid for as in some other countries - I find the experience in itself very fulfilling.
Firstly, the nurses are always so nice and thankful and I've experience multiple times that they've had to work half their lunch break because so many people came in. They're dedicated and great at calming you down if you're a bit nervous. And this time a notification of my ten times anniversary popped up on the screen while they were registering me and I got a handful of gifts from the organisation to show their appreciation for my time and my blood.
Am I in reality selfish because doing this actually brings me joy? You could argue that because heck yeah I feel good after donating a pint of blood that I know will go towards helping or even saving someone's life.
It's an inconvenience to have to cut out an hour of your day but it's worth it in my opinion. I book an appointment beforehand and once I get there sit down to answer about a dozen questions to make sure I'm fit to donate (you have to do this every time) and then I'll have to wait usually just a couple of minutes before my name is called. A year or so ago, they even updated their system to include scanning of your fingerprint, so you don't even have to remember your donor card.
The nurse asks which arm you prefer. You should usually go for your non-dominant arm, however, sometimes your veins are not equally visible and in that case you might have to get it in your dominant arm, which is the case for me. Additionally, I always try to remember to eat breakfast - they ask you and make you eat something if you haven't and as you might otherwise feel faint afterwards. I also aim to drink a lot of water before as slight dehydration might make it harder to find the vein and that's not fun.
I've never been "scared" of needles but I was always a bit apprehensive about them. It's actually helped me having to go through the process several times and I don't even blink anymore. It's become a normal sensation, it stings a tiny bit right when it goes in but other than that I don't feel anything.
I'm lucky that if I'm feed and hydrated, I feel absolutely fine afterwards. I don't even feel uncomfortable and can go on with my day as if I hadn't just given up around a tenth of my blood. I'm always a bit low in my iron levels so in addition to the twenty pills I get at the hospital, the blood bank also sends me iron at home, which is nice.
When you're done, you get a cotton pod over the area and they stick it down with that special skin tape. One of my least favourite parts is actually peeling that tape off later. Big needles - no problem but tape - hmm... I'm only partly joking.
I'm actually quite proud of the little bronze emblem that I got given. It's such a silly little thing but it always feels nice to be appreciated. I believe that you get silver at 25 times and gold at 50 times. That's a lot of years to go if I want those as well but I have no intention of quitting just yet. As long as I'm healthy and fit to donate, I plan on continuing it.
One day I might need a blood transfusion (and I know it doesn't work like an equal trade-off) but then someone else's blood can save me like mine has to others. My blood type is AB+, which is quite a rare blood type in Denmark (4 % of the population), and it's good to know I can help others with the same blood type.
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