Wednesday 2 June 2010

bwave so bwave

My resolution for this year was to be brave.
Not jump-off-a-tall-cliff-and-wrestle-crocs-brave but try-new-things-brave.

One of the things I'm doing is giving blood. I hate the needle quite a lot. Only way I can do it is not think about it too much until I'm in the chair and then it's too late to back out without embarassing myself) and it makes me feel so so sleepy and my arm always hurts a little bit the next day but it's a good thing to do(tm) so I'm doing it.

I currently give plasma which takes longer but is a bit more interesting at least. They take some blood out, spin it in a centrfuge, siphon off the plasma and then give me the red blood back. Repeat twice more and I'm done. The blood is a bit cooler when it goes back - feels so very very weird. I'm even trying to keep to the schedule of going every fortnight (opposed to the 6weeks for whole blood donation). Good thing I have a workplace that allows me to time for this kind of thing and a boss who encourages me to go.

It was mentioned to me yesterday that I might want to think about giving platelets next time. I have a lot apparently (yay for genetics) and it's roughly the same process, just takes twice as long (82minutes exactly apparently). It's an awesome idea as it mostly goes to cancer patients and only has a 5day shelflife so there can't be stockpiles of the stuff and given the number of friends and family who have had cancer and the guy at work whose daughter is currently undergoing treatment for the leukemia they discovered last week, we're all about the cancer. (sorry for uber-long sentence there, are you exhausted from reading it?)

So, I've made the appointment for the 15th. I just need to focus on the good stuff and less on the having a needle in my arm for almost an hour and a half.
/shudder.

3 comments:

Mousicles said...

I tried to give blood a couple of times when Gawain was sick but it turns out I'm a complete wuss-bag when it comes to sticking big needles in my arm. I tried to pass out both times so they told me not to bother coming back.

Giving blood is a good thing. It just seems I can't do it.

anti ob said...

Totally awesome thing to do; well done on the standing up to the evil tyranny of needles!

Impish said...

It has long been a plan (almost a pact, since a friend of mine and I agreed to go together) to donate blood.

And then I got cancer so there's no blood donating for 5 years. And then children so you're off the hook for 1-2 years. And then another child.

I figure by the time I'm healthy enough that they'll want my blood again, the nausea-and-fainting-inducing fear of having a needle left in my arm for more than .8 of a second might have worn off enough that I can do good works.

So I absolutely and wholeheartedly salute your dedication and your bravery. Particularly as you're going so regularly too, in spite of getting the ickies.