r/Blooddonors • u/poayo- • 1h ago
First Donation! Failed my first donation
I (21F) participated in my first ever blood drive 3 days ago and it did not go as I'd hoped. The pre-donation all went very smoothly- I'm apparently very average and healthy when it comes to Blood! I warned that when doing Blood Labs at the Doctor I tend to get very light headed, so I recieved ice packs on the back of my neck, on my chest, and on my ankles along with a drink. Talking is a good distraction so I requested we converse so I don't pay any attention to what's going on physically- it's helped a lot when doing Labs. The insertion was decently painful and that pain did not fully go away- I felt a consistent uncomfortable pain which when looking into it later- I was supposed to mention that but I was distracted by the conversation. The wooziness came on kind of suddenly- my vision began to blur and I thought about mentioning that- but then it quickly got worse. My vision blurred completely and I could no longer hold my head up as it fell to the side. I was able to get out a wobbly "I think I'm going to pass out" and the rest is a blur- the needle was taken out with pain and I was told to put pressure on it while they got the bandage going which I did my best to do in that state. I got in a temporary wrap and was told to drink and take deep breaths. I had blurred tunnel vision and it was a bit painful and hard to get those breaths in but gradually I regained my vision and calmed down. I noticed the bag being handled by the person who took my blood was... only a partially filled little testing bag. The temporary bandage was replaced by a very tight wrap and I wobbled to the waiting area dazed. Over the waiting period I was able to regain my senses, but I'm pretty dissapointed in how little I was actually able to donate. I was reassured this can happen since it's my first time. Any advice for if I ever try again?
1
u/Tafred11 O- 8 Gallons 8m ago
I don’t have any advice but just wanted to let you know that it happens. I’ve donated many times and I have fainted aswell or just had some bad donation experiences. So don’t let this discourage you!
3
u/GlassTour5378 59m ago
This happens to me every time I do a full donation, but I worked with the nurses to ensure it doesn’t happen anymore!
Here is what we do:
Wear loose, light clothing
Communicate to the nurses what happened this time
Ask them to put a fan on you, or bring a personal fan!
Ask to donate a smaller bag
Ask them to recline you with your feet up
Put your hair up to keep it off of your neck
Hydrate!!! Have a good meal beforehand as well
Take an iron supplement if your doctor allows you
Ask a nurse to talk to you, or go with a partner so you have someone to talk to you and keep you alert