Blood Drive

I gave blood yesterday for the second time in my life, and the whole process was so easy that I was reminded I should do this more often. The fact that I’m able to give blood at all is impressive considering that I used to get very dizzy or even pass out when I got vaccines, and I would definitely pass out if they had to draw blood for a test. But I’ve been getting better about the whole needle thing over the years, and when I was still living in Boston my co-workers talked me into going to a blood drive with them. I was nervous, but being with a group really helped. I found that giving blood was nowhere nearly as scary as I had imagined, and before I knew it, the process was over and I was sitting again with my co-workers having a snack. But that was about 3 years ago, and I had never gone to donate blood again.

A great opportunity presented itself recently—by donating in this blood drive, I got a free ticket to Body Worlds 3. It was the perfect incentive to do something I should have done already. I made my appointment, answered all the questions about risk factors, and went through the iron test to make sure I was able to give blood. And then it was time to actually give the blood. The guy that got me all set up was very nice and did a great job—I don’t have a bruise at all (of course it helps that I have easy-to-find veins!) Honestly, the iron test was more unpleasant than the blood donation part. I really should donate more often than once every 3 years.