Blood Donations

L

LOBO

Inactive
Recently, I donated a pint of blood.

The "Blood Drive" was located at a
military base.

It was open to military and civilian
participants. I`m a civilian. :)

Anyway, three of the military personnel
had a few problems. Here goes.

1. A female had a low iron count of 12, and
she was told that she should not donate any
blood.

2. Another female could not get up after the
pint of blood was taken, she had her feet
elevated and needed two ice packs.

3. Another male was so weak that he could
not get up either. He also had to have his
feet elevated, two ice packs, and a portable
fan to cool down. He also threw up.

The female and male donors had to take a
few minutes to recover.

After I donated my pint of blood, I got up
from the chair, retied my shoes, and left.
No dizziness or feeling faint.

I thought the military personnel would be
stronger than that. What would happen if
they were in combat and were wounded? A pint
of blood is not a lot of vital fluid.

Does anyone else have similar stories?
 
I used to be on the Red Cross Emergency Donor list; they would call me in at all hours to give blood. I never had any problems that were serious, but was a little lightheaded at times.

The reason for this, I found out after becoming a physician, is that people are often in a precarious state of hydration. If you drink a couple of glasses of water before you give blood, this will expand your circulating blood volume so that you should not have any problems with dizziness (orthostatic hypotension).

Walt
 
I have to dissagree here. LOBO my Ex-Girlfriend tried to give blood once.. THey had to give it back to her. She is in good shape, a good sized girl. (I mean tall and well built) but for some reason when she can not give blood. When she was preagnant with her twins they had to take blood every day becasue she couldn't give enought at one time without getting extremely week. I think it has more to do with a persons body chemistry and Circulitory(sp) system that how tough they are. or what kind of will power. I can give an obscene ammount of blood and just be a bit dizzy but I have friends bigger and in better shape than me who can not give more than half a pint withought passing out..
 
Don't forget who's been our Commander in Chief these past eight years. Military salaries are at all time low. Lots of military families are on welfare thanks to Billy's policies. I read about service men selling their blood plasma twice a week to make ends meet. Poor nutrition might account for what you saw.

------------------
So many pistols, so little money.
 
With all of the recent hype about DNA, what happens if my blood is transfused into someone who commits a crime and leaves DNA?
Does my DNA show up or what??

------------------
Better days to be,

Ed
 
If I remember correctly, Brunner, red blood cells (RBCs) don't have cell nuclei--therefore, they don't have any DNA.

Someone might oughta check that, though.

LawDog
 
The last time I gave blood, a few weeks ago, was the 48th time I've given blood since I became old enough to donate, so I figure I have a little experience here to be able to comment.

I have seen all sorts of people have trouble donating blood, from little women barely over the weight limit to big college football players. Some people just seem to react differently to it.

I have to agree with what Walt said above about hydration, and to that I want to add a reminder about nutrition as well. If you have not had a good meal yet on the the day that you are donating blood, you may get the dizzies. I always assumed that this was because of blood sugar levels, but maybe Walt can clear this up a bit for us.

(And who would guess that I am a lawyer, and I am giving blood that much instead of sucking blood!)
 
I used to donate regularly, and do platelet donations, as well.

They always wanted to syphon me dry, as I have a rare blood type (AB+) and am CMV negative, which makes my blood & blood products critical for treatment of newborns and transplant patients.

First time I donated I passed out about 5 minutes after getting up. I was sitting, drinking juice, and had my legs crossed. Big mistake, apparently. I hadn't eaten any breakfast, and I hadn't had anything to drink that morning, either. Another big mistake.

Now I just drink several glasses of water right before donating and don't cross my legs while eating my cookies. Everything's cool. :)
 
Interestingly enough, some blood banks automatically disqualify me from blood donation, but others do not. So since I know that I am NOT carrying any blood born pathogens, and it IS safe for me to donate blood, I usually have to lie on one of those questions they ask you before hand.
 
The Queensland Blood Bank sells surplus supplies of freely donated Australian Blood to Asia---Asians apparently "don't like giving blood"---no objection to taking it apparently.
I don't give blood.
 
I've given blood regularly since I was 18. I still have all the little stickers that they give you. I stuck most of 'em to my bed.

I've never once had any problem giving blood. In fact, I hold 2 records for lowest e.t. to fill a pint.

I'm not a very large person (6'0 140 lbs.), my blood pressure has always run on the low side (my systolic is aways in double digits).

Conversely, when we had blood drives at school, it was always the big football players and wrestlers that were having problems, i.e. dizziness, black-outs, etc...

If you want some real fun, go give platelettes. Make sure you bring a book though. Then you can use the 10 bucks to go get a six pack to aid in replacing vital fluids :D

[This message has been edited by Christopher (edited June 04, 2000).]
 
I faint when I see the IV needle. When I was a cop, I passed out when I received the hepetitis series. I passed out in Marine Corps boot camp when I got all those inoculations at once. I almost passed out when in Lamase class the instructer started to speak about an epidural injection for women in labor, my wife had to take me out for air. I can't give blood because just talking about it sends me into some kind of pre fainting experience. But I've got some tattoos, figure that one out.
Arrell

[This message has been edited by Arrell (edited June 04, 2000).]
 
It's pretty typical for women to be denied on the basis of low iron count. The last few times I gave, they were testing everyone's blood for the iron levels (IIRC, they drop a big fat drop of blood into some sort of clear liquid; if it falls to the bottom, there's enough iron). The nurses were always very happy with me (must be lots of iron in Snickers bars and pilsner), but they were always complaining that they had to turn away so many women.

A friend whose wife was a hospital nurse told me that the staff at that hospital had stopped giving blood, because most of the blood was being used to top up the gang-bangers after shootings every weekend. They kept refilling the same bastards. Pretty sad if that's really true.
 
I get the dizzies for a couple of hours every time I give blood. It doesn't really seem to matter what I've eaten or drunk that day. Now I'm on the same schedule as Mom, so she picks me up on her way. She never gets dizzie, but she does sometimes have the low iron thing.
Eric

------------------
Formerly Puddle Pirate.
Teach a kid to shoot.
It annoys the antis.
"But Officer I HAVE to have all these guns in the truck, I'm going to TFL End of Summer Meet"

[This message has been edited by Eric of IN (edited June 05, 2000).]
 
I've been giving blood since I turned 18, a little over 3 years ago. I usually give about every 8-10 weeks and I've never had any problems. However, I always make sure I eat and drink plenty and don't engage in a heavy workout for two days. I have seen a few people get dizzy and not take too well to giving blood. I think its just an individual thing that some people's systems can't handle.

I've been giving RBCP for a while and yes, I always bring a book. Its also kinda neat to feel that cold saline being pumped into your bloodstream. :cool:
 
I've given blood plenty of times. Until 6 years ago, I never had a problem. I was 24 and gave at Philadelphia's Red Cross building. I gave a pint in < 5 minutes, felt fine, walked over to get a doughnut and some juice. I sat down, felt hot, and then I saw 6 people standing over me. I was sooo embarassed.

I gave blood a year later, and had to lie down for almost 15 minutes before I could get up.

I had blood taken for a test about a year ago, and passed out on the nurse (after only ONE vial). That was REALLY embarrasing. After that happened, I asked the nurse why? She said that there is a nerve in the middle of your chest called the Vegas nerve (at least is sounded like Vegas), and some people have a very sensitive one.

I can get shots just fine, but draw any blood and I go down. That's pretty bad for someone 6'4" and 215#.
 
Damn Ed that's one good question. All bodily fluids contain DNA, I wonder how that would work out.
 
Mikul, I believe its the "Vagus nerve". Same reason some folks drop when hit in a nonvital area with a wimpy round, perhaps. Blood pressure spikes downward 5% and the body overreacts and does a full system shutdown. I wonder if it is possible to desensitize that nerve or not. Might be kinda handy to be shock-resistant.

KP95OKC, it's only labeled "saline," it is actually alien plasma. They're getting humanity hooked on the stuff, so we will be forced to fight for them in their clone wars... ;)



[This message has been edited by Ivanhoe (edited June 05, 2000).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top