Thin Ice of A New Day
Jan. 9th, 2006 11:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alfvaenI've been trying to give blood a bit more regularly for the last few months. As in, when I come in, I let them immediately make an appointment for me at the earliest possible date. (Nicole, who frequently fails the iron test, has pretty much given up, so I don't have to worry about bringing the kids along.)
I went this past Saturday. It happened to be the middle of some annual competition between Edmonton and Calgary, somehow associated with people who get to drive vehicles with sirens. I'm not really big into intercity rivalry, but I put my name on that list anyway.
Unfortunately, due to a "venepuncture malfunction", I didn't end up giving very much. I have a very good vein, oft-praised, in my left arm(my right is far inferior), and the puncture didn't hurt as much as usual, but somehow the blood just stopped flowing through the needle after a few seconds--just far enough that I couldn't try again, and I contaminated the whole bag, but probably not enough to be useful to anyone. She apologized all over the place, but somehow I can't help but be amused by the whole thing. I wanted to give, and I tried to give, but I was unable to give for reasons beyond my control.
So, I did get poked in the arm for nothing, and I gave up close to two hours out of my day, but I did get to read a bit, and I got to sing along with "The Way" while driving home, so it wasn't a total loss.
I went this past Saturday. It happened to be the middle of some annual competition between Edmonton and Calgary, somehow associated with people who get to drive vehicles with sirens. I'm not really big into intercity rivalry, but I put my name on that list anyway.
Unfortunately, due to a "venepuncture malfunction", I didn't end up giving very much. I have a very good vein, oft-praised, in my left arm(my right is far inferior), and the puncture didn't hurt as much as usual, but somehow the blood just stopped flowing through the needle after a few seconds--just far enough that I couldn't try again, and I contaminated the whole bag, but probably not enough to be useful to anyone. She apologized all over the place, but somehow I can't help but be amused by the whole thing. I wanted to give, and I tried to give, but I was unable to give for reasons beyond my control.
So, I did get poked in the arm for nothing, and I gave up close to two hours out of my day, but I did get to read a bit, and I got to sing along with "The Way" while driving home, so it wasn't a total loss.
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-10 07:57 am (UTC)Also, you should drink some water to keep the blood flowing, but too much will also lower the hematocrit.
My last time at the Red Cross was tough because my blood flowed at a glacial pace. The nurse kept fiddling with the needle and ended up jabbing the inside of my arm rather badly at some point. We managed to finish eventually, but my arm was sore for weeks.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-10 03:51 pm (UTC)The last few times I tried to give, I failed the iron test and was sent home with a pricked finger.
Whenever I have given blood (always whole blood) it's taken me about twice as long as most people. At least I've not had nurses fiddling with the needle to try to make it go faster. If I could figure out a way to speed up the flow without adverse side effects, I'd go for it. Assuming I got around to making an appointment to give.