Hi all. It’s been an age since my last post, so I hope you’ve all been keeping well. There isn’t any one particular reason why it’s been so long. I’ve been somewhat busy, but not much more than usual. It would be hyperbole to say that I’ve been suffering from writer’s block, but I’ve certainly not had as much inspiration to write recently.
Truth be told, I was halfway through a political blog about how I was disappointed with this Labour government. They certainly haven’t been good, though they also probably haven’t been as bad as some would have you believe. Either way, I was struggling to write it. And then the Budget dropped and, despite what James Dyson and Jeremy Clarkson may have thought, it was ok for regular folk. Not outstanding, and nothing to get giddy about, but not a stick to beat them with either. So, there was even less for me to moan about than I thought.
Couple that with Trump winning the US presidential election, and I just really wasn’t in the mood to think or write about politics. It just makes me too sad.
So, as a complete change of pace, I will instead now be talking about giving blood. I hope you enjoy:
Assuming my health holds for the next four months or so (and taking nothing for granted here), I should be able to make my 20th blood donation before long. This may come as a surprise to some of my family or friends who are reading this, as it’s not something I talk about a great deal.
One of my big ‘fears’, for lack of a better word, is for people to ever think I’m ‘humble-bragging’. For anyone unaware of what a humble-brag is, it is a mostly online term for people who like to brag, but without making it too obvious. As an example, someone might post a status saying something like, “I find charity work so rewarding.” There’s, of course, nothing wrong with doing charity work or finding it rewarding. But, a status like that could be construed as a method of letting everyone know that you do charity work.
A more toxic element of this over the last decade or so is the phenomenon of people filming themselves giving a homeless person money or food and then posting it online. As difficult as it might be for some people to fathom, it is possible to do a good deed just because it’s the right thing to do. You don’t always need to get recognition for it.
Anyway, that’s the main reason I don’t post about giving blood very often. I don’t want people to think I’m doing it for recognition, so I mostly avoid talking about it. Which is a bit stupid, really, because the more awareness there is of it, the more likely other people might be to give it a try themselves. Hopefully, writing about it today might offset my lack of coverage on the subject over the years.
I can’t really remember what encouraged me to first start giving blood now. My mum used to years ago, but I think she stopped before I started. Whatever the reason, I took the plunge and first donated about seven or eight years ago.
From what I remember, it was relatively straightforward to sign up. You don’t have to go through any rigorous fitness tests or doctor checkups. I think you have to provide your NHS number, so I guess they can do the due diligence on your health and suitability based on your medical records.
Speaking of suitability, there are obviously some exclusions to who can donate. Off the top of my head, diabetics can’t donate. Certain other conditions or illnesses will also preclude you from involvement. Full details of who can’t give blood can be found on the official website.
Controversially, for a very long time, you couldn’t donate at all if you were a gay man. A new ruling was made in 2021, allowing gay men to donate for the first time. There are still certain limitations, depending on lifestyle, but that is true of anyone who donates.
For example, you can’t donate if you have had a piercing or tattoo within the last three months. You can’t donate if you have recently been abroad (visiting certain countries will be deemed more high-risk than others). Stating the obvious, but you also can’t donate if you’re unwell.
If you’re eligible to give blood, one quick benefit you get is that you definitively find out what your blood type is. I’m sure there are other ways of finding this out, but I went through most of my life not knowing. As it turns out, I am (un-)luckily O-negative. Being O-negative means I am a universal doner; essentially, my blood can be given to anyone, regardless of their blood type. Therefore, my blood is always in demand.
The only drawback is that should I ever require a blood transfusion, I can only have O-negative blood, so that potentially limits my options. But I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Although, given my apparent lack of blood transfusion options, perhaps I should just steer clear of bridges altogether.
So, you’ve registered, and you’ve found out your blood type. The next step is to book an appointment. This is both easy and difficult at the same time. Practically speaking, it’s very easy. You log in via the website or app (the app is easy to use) and you can book an appointment for a date and time that suits you. You also get a choice of venue, so you can pick whichever one is most convenient. If you’re old school, I think you can call a phone number to book appointments as well. Given my reticence to ever make a phone call, I’m not 100% on that.
The difficulty can sometimes be actually finding an appointment. You’ll search for a couple of venues that are near to where you live and then often be met with a message that the next session there is in six months’ time. If you’re happy to wait that long, then it’s obviously not a problem. Assuming you want to donate sooner, you’ll likely have to compromise and pick a donation centre slightly further afield. I guess it is luck of the draw, depending on where you live and when you want to donate.
If you’re part of the O-neg Crew like me, there is often a special phone number you can call if you’re struggling to find an appointment. They’ll go out of their way to squeeze you in somewhere, so that’s a useful backup option if you need it.
In terms of the donation itself, there are a few things that will help you in the lead up. If you can, try and get plenty of sleep the night before. Giving blood can be draining (pun intended), so you’ll want to avoid going into the donation tired. You should also swerve alcohol the night before (and for the rest of the day after!) donation.
Keeping hydrated throughout the process is very important. They will make you drink a large cup of water before the donation, and then another large cup of water or squash after the donation. Make sure you have plenty to eat, to keep your energy up (more on that anon).
No matter how many times you have donated, they will ask you to read through the information booklet before you give blood. This is akin to pre-flight safety information; it is potentially very important, but most people give it a cursory glance at best. The information/details do sometimes change, so it is probably worth skimming it, just to be on the safe side.
A week or so before your donation, you should receive a doner questionnaire form in the post. Don’t worry if you don’t receive it or if you forget it, as they can give you one when you arrive for your appointment. The form is a list of ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions, which is pretty easy to quickly fill in. Questions like, “Have you been abroad recently?” Or, “Has there been any change to your prescribed medication?”
At your appointment, after drinking your water and ‘reading’ the information pack, you will be called into a little private cubicle. Here, a nurse will run through the form with you. If you’ve answered “Yes” to any of the questions, she’ll ask about it to make sure you’re still able to donate. Even if you are fine to donate, she’ll probably still make a note for the record. Assuming you’re good to continue, she will then do a finger prick test on you.
After all my donations, I’m still not 100% sure exactly what the finger prick is looking for. It’s obviously a test to make sure your blood is good enough to be donated safely. Iron level, maybe? All I know is they suck a little blood off of your finger. With a pipette, I should add. This is a professional operation being run here, not some back-alley slice and dice. They then drop the blood into a test tube full of green liquid. If your blood sinks, you’re good to go.
You will next be escorted to a surprisingly comfortable chair. It’s surprising because it is made of the sort of plastic a school chair might be made of, and it is a bit of a funny shape. But it reclines into a near-horizontal position, and I could probably drop off to sleep in that chair, if not for all the prodding and poking that soon follows.
You’ll have a blood pressure cuff put on your upper arm (why do they need to grip your arm so tight?!?). They will give your arm a good clean, and then it’s needle time! Like with most professions, some people are better at it than others. About 80% of the nurses I’ve had have been superb, finding the main vein in my arm with precision and expert calm. When that happens, it is virtually painless. The other 20% of the time, the nurse has either struggled to find the vein or has had trouble inserting the needle. This can be more painful.
Once the needle is in, just lay back and let the process play out. They give you some small exercises to do while you’re lying there. These are supposed to help blood flow and to stop you getting Deep Vein Thrombosis.
I’ve never really had a problem with donating, but it’s in the chair where problematic situations might arise. I’ve seen a fair few people pass out or come over a bit funny. I’ve been to nearly 20 donations, and I’d say I’ve seen someone pass out about five times. So it’s not exactly common, but roughly 25% of the time does seem a little high. To be fair to the staff, they are fully prepared for these situations, and they always deal with them calmly and effectively.
When the blood bag is full, they will remove the needle and patch you up with a plaster. Then the fun begins. You’ll be escorted over to the snack area. You will be given another drink (either water or squash), and you can choose from an array of snacks. There’s usually a selection of packets of crisps, packets of biscuits, or chocolate bars. I tend to opt for biscuits. Bourbons, thanks for asking.
There’s not really a set time you need to stay in the snack section. If you’re feeling alright, you can get going after about five minutes. If you are feeling a bit ropey, it’s imperative that you stay there for as long as you need. Particularly if you’re driving home. If you’re going to pass out, it’s better to do it surrounded by nurses rather than when you’re travelling at 30 miles per hour.
For my first few donations, I would feel quite rough afterwards. I’d be lightheaded and would feel weak. I assumed this was just part and parcel of giving blood. Luckily, I stumbled across a remedy for this by complete accident: eat loads!
Brief story time. My wife and I had hosted some kind of party; I think it was a BBQ. If you’re anything like me, when you have people over, you worry that there won’t be enough food. This leads to over-buying and ending up with loads of leftovers. For some reason, I had decided to buy extra hot dog buns and a couple of those tins of hot dog sausages in brine.
Of course, with the amount of other food consumed that day, the hot dogs didn’t get a look in. Anyway, a couple of days later, I had an afternoon appointment to give blood, and the hot dogs needed to be eaten. The tins were obviously going to keep for ages, but the buns weren’t long for this world. I hadn’t thought to put them in the freezer. So, I suggested to my wife that we eat the hot dogs for lunch.
Now, there were 12 in total, and my wife tapped out after four, if memory serves. Not wanting to waste food, I happily polished off the remaining eight hot dogs in one sitting. Even for me, a self-diagnosed greedy bastard, it was a lot of food. I immediately felt as though I might be sick. So much so that I contemplated cancelling my blood appointment.
It was so close to my appointment time, though. I’d really be letting people down if I bailed on it. So I dragged myself off of the sofa (by the grace of God, not requiring a forklift to assist) and went to the appointment.
The appointment was unremarkable. Though I was relieved to get through the donation, a) without throwing up and, b) without a nurse telling me that they couldn’t use my blood, as it was diluted with too much grease.
A few hours after the appointment, it suddenly hit me: I hadn’t felt lightheaded or weak at all that afternoon. The usual symptoms I felt after giving blood weren’t around. I felt completely fine.
I thought it might have been a fluke. A quirk that had nothing to do with the hot dogs. But, lo and behold, I did the same thing at the next appointment, and the next, and felt fine every time. And, as I said up top, I have done nearly 20 donations now, and I’ve never felt rough after one since hot dog day (what a bank holiday that would be!).
I should stress, I don’t have hot dogs every time. The key is just to eat loads; it doesn’t seem to matter what food you choose. I recommend something carb-heavy, though. I guess I should also stress that it probably isn’t wise to eat to the point of nearly vomiting. But, if you’re giving blood, eat like Henry VIII at a royal feast. You’ll thank me for it after.
Thank you for reading. After such a long gap between posts, I suppose it’s no surprise that I waffled on a bit. So, well done if you made it this far.
I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and New Year. I’ll catch you again in 2025. Take it easy.
Rob Recommends
A Man on the Inside – TV – Netflix – 9/10
Ted Danson is just so charming. The review will obviously be longer than that, but, in a nutshell, it’s about the leading man’s charm. If you don’t like Ted Danson, you won’t like this. Also, what’s the matter with you? If you’re a regular person who likes Ted Danson, you’ll enjoy this.
I loved this show. It is so well written, and the jokes and humour seemingly come very easily to the whole cast. There are plenty of heartbreaking moments, too, which the show handles well.
So, what’s it about? A private investigator hires an older gentleman (Danson) to go undercover in a retirement home to help solve the mystery of who stole some valuable jewellery. It sounds a bit rubbish when you lay it out like that (though it could just be my writing), but give this one a chance, it’s great.
A Rob Blog 