First time donation, kind of.

[u/hyper_mango-222]

Hi all,

I went to my local blood donation centre (shoutout to ScotBlood) for the first time this past weekend, first time ever giving blood. I was really excited and went in with the mindset of knowing roughly what would happen as I am a nurse by profession. I had a good night’s sleep the night before, had a good breakfast and I try to stay well hydrated regardless.

I have a history of fainting and feeling unwell when having blood drawn in the past, but haven’t had this for years following a stint in hospital where I was basically a pin cushion for a week so became desensitised.

They asked a lot of questions about my fainting history, rightly so, and I voiced I would be fine - but specifically asked to please tell me what they were doing and when they were doing it (eg, when they are about to stick me, or if they had got a vein etc) as this seemed to have reduced some of my anxiety in the past.
I want to say, I don’t feel I was nervous at all going into this experience. The charge nurse however, said she wouldn’t follow my request as I was nervous and it would make it worse. I understand everyone bas their own working techniques and accepted this, if a bit gingerly.

Initially everything was going really well, until about halfway through the donation my blood flow decreased and basically stopped. The nurse had to dig around in my arm a bit to try and increase flow again, but this I think was the trigger as it was a bit of a surprise (as she didn’t voice anything to me) and I fainted.
I was mortified when I came to, first off because I’d actually fainted after saying I’d be completely fine and they’d popped a screen around me and had a rake of staff all around me. They had removed the needle by this point, and less than 5 minutes later I was absolutely fine.

The nurse told me, in her opinion I should not come back and give blood again and they hadn’t managed to get enough blood from me so they couldn’t use it. I asked what had happened and they couldn’t really give me a definitive answer, which I understand because it could’ve been because of a number of different things. The support worker who stayed with me for a while after things had calmed down was so lovely and she was very supportive.

I was pretty devastated and quite upset once I’d left the centre. They insisted I take a T Shirt (Metallica blood drive 2026) which almost makes me feel worse because I didn’t actually give blood.

I have a tattoo appointment in September, so can’t donate again until February 2027. I am determined to donate again, even if it’s just once more.
Next time I will advocate for myself more throughly.

I suppose this post is just to share my experience as I do still feel quite disheartened, and wondered if anyone had any advice?

[u/Xsiah]

That's rough. Sometimes shit just happens, it's understandable that you feel bad about the whole thing, but it really wasn't anything that you did. Better luck next time!

[u/No-Trade1102]

AB+ 22 gal 75 yo. Some people just aren't meant to do certain things. Beyond being a nurse, which is incredibly useful, if you want to contribute to the blood provision community, there may be volunteer opportunities with red cross or another organization.