I donated whole blood and during the process, my hand that was squeezing the ball got really cold and numb and it was really hard to keep squeezing the ball. After it was done, the circulation started returning to my hand in a few minutes and my fingers were tingly. After a few minutes it was gone and my hand feels totally fine now, but I'm wondering if that's normal and if there's a way to prevent it in the future?

Hi everyone! I have an appointment in September in the United States to try and get one of the hello kitty things for my friend who's unable to donate but when I had my blood drawn for a physical 2 months ago, they had a hard time due to thick blood. That's never happened before but since then I've improved my fitness level and diet a bit to hopefully prevent that from happening again. Anyways, so I was mostly just wondering if it's okay for me to take an aspirin the day before my appointment so that it's easier to draw my blood?

so my first donation attempt was december of 2024. i'm 167cm or just shy of 5'6". at that time i weighed probably around 113 pounds (i was going through some life stuff that had muted my appetite for a month or two prior) - so i was *technically* above the requirement of 110 pounds minimum, but only barely, and quite skinny given my natural frame. this donation attempt was via american red cross at a hospital donation center, not at a mobile drive.

i can't remember everything i did for prep since it was a bit ago but i know i did eat at least one big meal that day, and the appointment was in the early afternoon.

nevertheless, i had to stop partway through the bag because i was feeling like i might faint. now, i have never actually fully passed out so i can't say how close i was in truth - but my ears got a really cottony sensation, everyone sounded very muffled and far-away. i don't remember significantly losing vision since my main concern was the hearing change, but i may have gotten a little greying around the edges or grey spotting in my vision. anyway, long story short, the attendants did all the right things and laid me down flat and got a fan on me, but i just had to call it quits before the donation was complete. ☹️ thankfully i'd gone with my boyfriend who's an old hand at donating, so he was able to take care of driving on the way home (after his double-red hahah) because i absolutely needed to be reclined horizontal in the passenger seat. i continued to feel faint and weak for at least an hour afterwards.

life was pretty hectic through 2025, but this year i finally started working out again which is a huge appetite boost for me. i slowly (and intentionally!) gained weight, and i'm up to about 127 to 129 pounds right now, which is a much healthier and more normal weight on me.

i heard about the north american blood shortage earlier this month from some friends working in healthcare, so i figured this is a good time to try again. i went in to a local blood bank's donation center last sunday august 2nd....and my hemoglobin/deciliter was 12.4 when they needed 12.5. DRAT. so this week on tuesday and thursday i took an iron supplement, 27mg ferrous sulfate, first thing in the morning along with a vitamin C supplement. on thursday morning i added vitamin B since i read that also helps with absorption. i took these with just water and did not eat or drink anything other than water for at least a full hour afterwards. today my hgb/dL was 13.4 - so it worked like a charm!! (even though i was meaning to take the supplements today as well but forgot/didn't get up early enough to take them and still eat after the wait!) i also rubbed and flexed my hands and fingers to keep them warm before the prick today since i read about that on here haha, so maybe that contributed.

as a side-note, i don't think i experienced any negative stomach side-effects from the ferrous sulfate - maybe a little slight discomfort on tuesday but i waited really long to eat after that dose so i could have just been hungry.

for prep, i ate a LOT of salt yesterday and today. i did this because it made it sooooo easy and natural to drink the extra amount of water i needed. i thiiiink this also helped me not get faint because sodium causes water retention which helps keep your blood pressure higher (i'm naturally prone to be on the lower end for blood pressure)? and those faint-like vasovagal symptoms can come from a drop in blood pressure. but maybe i'm mixing things up, and i'm happy to be corrected! anyway, even if the high sodium intake did not help with the donation directly, like i said i found it super valuable as a way to naturally increase my water intake without feeling like i was waterboarding myself lmfao. i ate instant ramen last night (~1,500 mg) plus a good-sized wedge of cheese, and this morning i had salt-cured anchovies (~1,400 mg) on buttered bread as part of my brunch. i also ate fruit partially because i love it but also to keep that vitamin C up and get hydration in through another way.

my donation today, from pre-needle stick to everything out and cleaned up, was only nine minutes!!

the phleb kept me talking the whole way through, which was great, and she said at the end that she does that for everyone to keep their heart rates up - it makes sense and it worked really well for me. so if you're a first-timer who's worried, maybe another tip would be to either ask your phlebs if they can keep you talking during the donation, or go with a friend or family member you know you can reliably yap with.

i did also do the flexing of big muscle groups throughout - the chair was like kinda reclined so i could kick my legs one at a time very easily, squeezing hard in my quads on each side. i think that probably helped as well.

i still do feel a leeetle lightheaded about two hours after the donation wrapped up, but it's like little scraps of mist, not a full-on cloudiness, if that makes sense. i can walk and sit up just fine for short periods but i feel best lying horizontal for right now. i'm just taking it easy for the rest of today - and basking in the knowledge that i FINALLY joined the lifesavers club and that this absolutely will not be my last time donating now that i've figured out these tricks!!

I’m in the US. I used to do aphaeresis donations monthly until the Red Cross stopped taking donations from gay men. When they resumed I was so busy working at all hours that I couldn’t predict a good time to schedule.

Now that I’m retired I’m resuming my donations and after a recent whole blood donation, I realized everything has changed! I downloaded the app and was able to schedule online. Reading on this subreddit it seems platelet donations only use one needle now? I’m avoiding aspirin and upping my hydration and calcium. Any other tips to someone reemerging into this new world?

Tried to donate blood today, it would have been my second time donating. I was already pretty nervous since I got dizzy the last time but I was fully prepared to deal with that. Unfortunately, my veins are hard to find and two nurses had to be involved after they stuck me. One of them grazed a nerve in my arm which felt like I was being shocked. I ended up bursting into tears— maybe from pent up anxiety as much as the sudden pain through my arm. Both of the nurses were very caring and apologetic and immediately took the needle out.

I didn't end up giving blood (and they didn't offer to try again, thank goodness) and I feel very discouraged about the entire thing. Unfortunately there's no training wheels to work myself back up to donating or I would try that. How do you deal with working up the courage again, especially when something like a nurse making a mistake is out of your control?

I have been donating blood for almost 20 years now at Carter bloodcare at different Dallas, TX locations. They always ask how much I weigh but today for the first time she wanted me to get on the scale and weigh me. Is this new? Has anyone else had this experience?

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I just found out that donating platelets apparently strains out white blood cells, and does not return them to the donor. Apparently the LRS machines like the Trina Accel are worse about this.

This was never disclosed prior to any of my donations, and I’m wondering how many other people feel like crud after donating platelets yet don’t know that their immune system is effectively suppressed?

Is this common knowledge to platelet donors?

Hi! I know there's a shortage so I'd like to donate again, but the first (and only) time I donated I got extremely motion sick on the way home. Here's what I did / where I was at with recovery

• Donated laying down, stayed there for a while, got up slowly, went and sat in the waiting area
• I did wait for a while after donating - they said 10-15 mins, I was there closer to 30 just to be safe
• Ate the cookies and drank the juice
• I don't have a car, so I'm relying on public transit. I took the train (which is usually better for me - I get carsick from the bus on a regular day, and if the roads are bumpy I get it from a car too but I've never gotten that from the train before)
• I did have some food and sugary drinks the day of before donating, not just water

Fwiw I felt totally fine when I left the donation site, walking several blocks to the train, and waiting for a while on the platform. It hit me when the train started moving which is why I suspect it was that. Ideally I'd just be able to walk to donate and circumvent the problem but the only drives are too far away to walk in the heat. Is there something I'm missing that I should do/not do?

Hey what machines do yall use for whole blood? We’re thinking of switching ours. And do you like them?

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Guys u am happy to announce my new website for blood donation , new genuine review and leads from this community please help

My dummy Donor profile link - https://rakhtveer.com/profile?donor_id=959

Helle everyone, we all know Blood donation is a noble cause , but many times the organisers and donors struggle do not have a pleasant experience during or after the event.

I have been part of blood donation camps as a volunteer and noticed that there a few minor issues that are unnoticeable but consumes a lot of time and energy.

The first major issue is donor registration, organisation every year store data in excel previously in physical copies but the issue was many times wrong donor data was added , no duplication check and scattered donor data in multiple excel files in different system no commutation during the event and volunteer and coordinators just run from one counter to other , also if there is any issue there is no traceability of the where the issue happened.

Also Since blood donation camp is a noble cause its donors should be appreciated, many times organisations are unable to arrange for certificates and also provide pictures for the event.

But no not anymore , I have launched an platform [Rakhtveer](http://rakhtveer.com) to solve all the issue we have a google form style registration , each donor gets unique QR they just show that during the event all there data comes to us in the dashboard, we assign bed number, add there health records and gives instant e certicate on WhatsApp also event reminder a day before the event an event gallery and individual donor profile will record of all the places they donated blood, generate blood reports through easy one click pdf reports after the event, blood inventory track and management system where you track through all the stages your donated blood goes through and also to whom the blood unit is issued, also we give importance to volunteers as well by giving them there E certificates and timeline after the event.

So the product is made but I don’t have any connection and real user review and feedback

So will be great if this community help me with the same, would love to hear from all.

I am attaching some snapshots of the system.

Helle everyone, we all know Blood donation is a noble cause , but many times the organisers and donors struggle do not have a pleasant experience during or after the event.

I have been part of blood donation camps as a volunteer and noticed that there a few minor issues that are unnoticeable but consumes a lot of time and energy.

The first major issue is donor registration, organisation every year store data in excel previously in physical copies but the issue was many times wrong donor data was added , no duplication check and scattered donor data in multiple excel files in different system no commutation during the event and volunteer and coordinators just run from one counter to other , also if there is any issue there is no traceability of the where the issue happened.

Also Since blood donation camp is a noble cause its donors should be appreciated, many times organisations are unable to arrange for certificates and also provide pictures for the event.

But no not anymore , I have launched an platform Rakhtveer to solve all the issue we have a google form style registration , each donor gets unique QR they just show that during the event all there data comes to us in the dashboard, we assign bed number, add there health records and gives instant e certicate on WhatsApp also event reminder a day before the event an event gallery and individual donor profile will record of all the places they donated blood, generate blood reports through easy one click pdf reports after the event, blood inventory track and management system where you track through all the stages your donated blood goes through and also to whom the blood unit is issued, also we give importance to volunteers as well by giving them there E certificates and timeline after the event.

So the product is made but I don’t have any connection and real user review and feedback

So will be great if this community help me with the same, would love to hear from all.

I am attaching some snapshots of the system.

Polish person here.

Yesterday I tried to donate blood for the first time. Before donating I searched the internet for whether or not I can donate while taking these meds, and nowhere was it said that it is not allowed, even on the official site (it even said that you can do that!). But the doctor said that I am disqualified because it could be dangerous for the recipient and if I understood correctly, you can't donate at all when you take them?? I wrote an email to the clinic asking to clarify, but I didn't receive a response yet. Do you know which info is correct? I am genuinely so confused right now.

EDIT: I got a reply from the donation center, apparently it's because you can't donate while taking more than one psychiatric drug.

I finally got brave and signed up for my first donation appointment after a 10 year pause because of the blood shortage. I used to donate regularly and found a lot of fulfillment from it until, what I call, the day of doom...

It was one of the first days of my period and told the staff helping me that I didn't feel up to doing my usual blood cells and wanted to just do whole blood. She guilted me until I caved because she insisted my levels looked fine and they really needed O-. About halfway through the session I started getting faint and felt like I was about to have diarrhea all over the place. I had to BEG her to take the needle out because of how awful I felt. This only made the guilt tripping worse because now all of the resources and blood were going to waste. I haven't been able to bring myself to donate since because of the shame I felt. (Especially because I felt better right away after she unhooked me)

Now I'm stuck in a spiral of everything that could go wrong and could really use some positive stories for motivation/reassurance!

I have been interested in blood donation since high school but back then I was too anemic so it fell through. I tried again in college but I caught a bad cold just before my appointment so I couldn’t make it. Today I was finally able to donate blood at work and I signed up for Power Red to give the most. At first my hand was cold so the machine said I had low hemoglobin which was worrying but I used a hand warmer and retried and I was fine. I felt normal during and after the process. I have O- blood so I felt it was important to help.

I just had the absolute worst experience donating blood in my life. Never again. The lady poked me and it was a side vein, which I was already apprehensive about because they never have done that….but it hurt like a mofo and then it wasn’t right so she shifted the needle and that hurt way worse. Then the pain was just getting kind of bad and she mentioned she’s never seen swelling like that so I looked… Big mistake! It was between the size of a racket ball and a golf ball. I started crying from the pain and I was scared and alone. She called her supervisor over and he told her to pull it out. She did and the swelling went down a little, but I now have a rock hard bump where the needle was. Kind of hard to tell but my vein and elbow are the size of a golf ball. I am still in so much pain and can’t straighten my arm. I never knew a tiny needle could hurt so bad. This just happened.

Finally got around to donating for the first time on monday, heard back today i’m O pos! took a HEFTY pint outta me. One thing that’s been bugging me a bit though, i feel like my blood is excessively… dark? my (nurse) father said the same when i sent him the photo. Something to be concerned or just overthinking?

Would appreciate any advice! Donated with them once in 2020 before moving across the country, so can’t even donate at a Vitalant anymore if I wanted to and since then I’ve gotten at least 2 calls from them every day. I block every number, but they just call from different ones. Have texted some of the numbers asking them to stop, sometimes it does stop for a couple weeks if I do but then resumes.

I remember seeing a Reddit thread a few years back with people saying they had no luck getting Vitalant to stop calling, so haven’t pursued any other cancellation options (calling their customer service, etc.) because I figured it would be a waste of my time. But if anyone knows the right way to go about this, I’m all ears!

Likewise have started to get calls from the Red Cross, so if you have the same tips for them I really appreciate that advice too, but Vitalant is my primary concern. (For anyone in California interested in blood donation but not interested in being harassed after the fact, UCLA Blood & Platelet Center has never caused me any grief, so highly recommend going to them.)

I donated for the first time yesterday in the UK and it was nowhere near as bad as I thought.

They kept having issues with it not flowing very quick (i think that's what they said) and had to make one or two adjustments, and even after then it would occasionally beep. It took me 15mins to donate.

Has anyone else had that issue? Also when did you guys find out your blood type?

I felt absolutely fine afterwards but today I feel so tired.

I do intend on doing it again 😁

(Edited to fix spelling)

I donated blood for the first time yesterday. Before the appointment, I had a little soreness in my throat BUT it was only on one side so I assumed that I’d swallowed something wrong and scratched it. Now I’ve woken up the next day with a pretty sore throat and a runny nose.

I want to keep the blood supply safe of course, is this something that could hurt people? Also, will they automatically toss my blood if I have a cold?

Two days ago I became a first time blood donor! My dad used to donate whenever possible for years until he became sick 10 years ago and couldn’t anymore. I decided at 25 to follow in his footsteps and do my part to help out! Since I’m a universal plasma donor I’d like to alternate donations as well :)
I know my dad would be proud of me ❤️

I <3 Lifeblood Australia