Donating blood

Today my friend and I started talking about shots and needles, and eventually the conversation turned to donating blood. The conversation was pretty interesting, so I thought I would sum up my thoughts here.

Firstly, I am quite scared of needles of all kinds. This fear started a few years ago when I had a strange rash and had to get blood drawn to try to find out what the problem was. I stupidly watched the blood being sucked out through a clear tube, and even though I couldn't feel anything, it made me fear needles.

Then, last year, I had 3 shots for HPV. I had an incredibly bad reaction to them. The first time I cried after getting it because it hurt so much¹. The second time I was so scared to get it that I was almost in tears before I even had the shot! My arm was sore for weeks after each one. Reading about experiences such as Mimi's (if I recall correctly, she fainted and threw up after donating blood) adds to my fear of donating blood and needles in general.

However, I know firsthand how important donating blood is. My brother had a tumour on his heart and had to have open heart surgery when he was only ten days old. If there had been a shortage of blood, he may not have made it. Because of this, donating blood is very important to me and I plan to do it even though I'm a bit scared. I would encourage anybody who can to do the same thing. It may be scary, and it may cause you a bit of discomfort, but in the end, you are potentially saving lives like my brother's! I think it's probably worth it.

(Also, if you have O negative blood, doctors LOVE YOU and will probably harass you about donating blood. When giving somebody a blood transfusion, the blood types have to match… but O neg can be given to anybody! So if your blood is O neg, PLEASE donate it! Your blood is a precious resource! )

1. and I am not one to cry because of physical pain [↩]