hiya there highly beautiful people, hope all is well for you and loved ones.

as the title says really. im an 18 year old who did an appointment on the 5th of December as my first donation, that I can still cancel ofc, and im not aware of any significant health problem like cancer or heart problems, the only physical health problem I have is acne and I did take drugs for it but the type of drug I took are fine to donate with after 4 weeks of not using, and I took them like 4 years ago. I asked my parents and they said most people dont do blood test before which I do question tbh a lot. what do you think?

thank you in advance, wishing you and all of your loved ones well and to have a good day!

I seem to have some persistent and low level numbness in my donation arm/hand from a couple weeks ago. I'm a regular donor, but have never experienced this before. The numbness is slight, and really only when I flex my hand or am pushing through that hand (like in downward dog post). I assume that i had some small nerve damage from my last donation? i was the most noticeable immediately after donation, and symptoms have decreased slightly, but are still there. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi! I have been convinced to donate blood at my school in the upcoming week. I know the beforehand basics but I cannot, for the life of me, find any consistent rules when it comes to marijuana use, specifically edibles. Obviously I don't intend on being high the day-of, but is there any guidelines of a buffer time so I can prepare? My particular edibles wear off in within a few hours but I know there are technically still in my system for while and I would hate for my blood to be faulty or harmful.

I(16M) am doing my first donation this year! My school’s doing a blood drive, I got rejected last time in March this year for being underweight(105) but this year I’m over the minimum(115) :D im super excited to donate, but I’m a lil concerned bout the procedure and how I should prepare. Should I eat or drink before my appt? How much should I eat/drink? What kinds of food should I eat? What tests do they run? I have it at 11:30am, towards the end of my lunch period. The estimated time is roughly an hour cuz they do all the screening, the donation itself, then they let you chill at a snack table for however long ya need to rest up. I’ll prolly be out by 12:30pm which is my gym period, though I could prolly skip out on doing any activity if need be. I think I’m also gonna do the spring drive too(my school does 2 drives each year; one in December one in March)

I have donated platelets twice and both times had a lot of tingling in my lips to the point where it really bothered me. I stuck it out and plan on donating again but would love some suggestions to help make the donation less stressful. I take calcium supplements and eat as lot of yogurt a few days before my appointment.

Also does anyone know if donating platelets has any affect on your cholesterol?

I've been desperate to donate blood ever since I was young, and I went to do this the other day, as I recently turned old enough to do so, and to my devastion, they told me I had low iron (99). I have beta thalassemia minor, and I was wondering if that means my iron will always be too low to donate blood or if there's anything I can do about it. I have a relatively iron heavy diet, ie. I eat chicken and lamb regularly, I have lots of lentils regularly and have green vegetables on almost a daily basis. I also try to exercise a fair bit, and absolutely don't have extra time to exercise at this point in my life.

OneBlood doesn't have any gift cards that I typically use, so I mostly just give them as gifts for other people, but I'm wondering what y'all do with yours

31M, around 200 lb and 5'11", if that's needed.

I've been wondering about this lately. The only thing I've found is this from OneBlood.org:

"A normal platelet count for adults ranges between 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter. The number of platelets collected when you make a platelet donation is determined by a ratio of your platelet count to blood volume."

any information would be helpful!

It is a mix of platelets, whole blood, and plasma, so it isn’t actually a full gallon in volume. But I just donated my 8th unit so it counted.

This is huge for me as I'm absolutely terrified of needles. That's actually the only reason I haven't donated blood before, even though I really really really wanted to. When I saw how thick that needle was, I was thinking about running away.

Anyways, I did it and I feel really good now. And the craziest part for me is how much I'm looking forward to my next donation. I don't even care about the needle anymore 😝

Started in my 2nd year of uni a decade ago, donated every chance I got since then

Donated platelets for the 3rd time this month with the Red Cross (been a pretty consistent whole blood donor since 2020, but more so the past year or 2). It’s crazy to say that most of my socialization has been donating this year lol. I guess I’m really an introvert at heart.

E

Had my 26th Donation today in Boston, hope everyone had a great holiday

Looking for some insight on this number. My diet is shit, I'm a little bit stressed about school and I sleep really well. If I had maybe spent like two or three days sorting out my food, as in eating more veggies and fruits, taking my vitamin c tablet, could I have feasibly gotten that number up to 125??

I ask because my diet hasn't really changed all that much since the last time I donated but the iron levels difference is drastic. I'm not even allowed to return for a year unless I get the go ahead from my GP after a blood test.

I also ask because I recently got the birth control implant, nexplanon. I'm fairly (nearly 100%) certain that this is the reason for my low iron. I have been bleeding probably about three times as much as I usually do on it, and my hormones are extremely out of wack.

But I also think that I'm certainly not helping my iron levels by my lifestyle choices.

I just need some context for that 101 number. Is that a number I could raise to 125 by eating well, supplements etc even with the constant bleeding (which might regulate in the future) or do I need to take the implant out.

Hey,

I donated blood for the first time today but felt faint 5 minutes in and the nurse stopped the flow there. I think they thought I was dehydrated but I’d had loads of water before going.

Do we know if the blood they took was just a waste? will it just be thrown away?

I’m not really sure what the issue was, as i’ve never fainted in my life. My iron levels weren’t right the first time they checked, but surely that’s common for most younger women (i’m 19). I had also taken iron tablets the few days leading up to it. They also had to double check with a more senior nurse that i was the right weight to donate, but I didn’t think 63kg was even remotely too light. They also said I had very thin veins, but whilst i was still feeling fine, they said my flow was ‘going like a train’.

Idk, I just feel really guilty and pathetic. Do other younger women typically do better than I did?

I got my nexplanon put in last Wednesday and planned to donate platelets this Saturday. The incision site is fully healed but I still have some minimal bruising.

Can I still donate with the minimal bruising or should I skip donating until that's also fully healed?

EDIT: fixed Sunday to Saturday, didn't mean to say Sunday

Hi all,

I am new to this subreddit.

I want to donate blood but I do not know if I can while taking my current medication.

Last year I was on Valium Zoloft and Remeron and donated without a problem.

This year I am on Wellbutrin and Lamotrigine(not epileptic but for depression episodes) and I read in another sub that you need to be clear of seizures and medications for epilepsy for at least 3 years before donating.

In my country(Greece) they don't have specified medications that you are restricted to donate if you take them.

So my question is: Do you know if I can donate blood while on Lamotrigine while having not history of epilepsy?

I’ve successfully done 5 blood donations here in Canada- never had any issues before, during, or after a donation. On my 6th donation yesterday evening, everything went well. After the donation I was a bit tired but chalked it up to a long day at work. This morning I felt absolutely exhausted, and weirdly lightheaded. Advil didn’t fix anything, and the whole day at work has been an absolute uphill battle- I could have taken a deep sleep on my desk at 9am already. This is extremely unusual as I had a good nights sleep, plenty to eat, drank extra water, and nothing else is out of the ordinary.

I looked at my blood stats today and I bled 100ml more last night than my last highest donation. Does anyone know if just 100ml of blood can cause symptoms post-donation? Again, I’ve never even been remotely tired after a donation in the past. And before anyone mentions, my iron levels (and really, all my levels) are routinely monitored by my doctor and are just fine.

Hello! Donor in Toronto. Are platelets not as urgently needed in Canada? Is it not worth it to build up the same pipeline to recruit platelet donors?

I finally got accepted into platelet donation and have booked my first appointment. I found it kind of a byzantine process. I've donated whole blood a couple of dozen times and:

• It was only at the last appointment that a blood tech asked me if I was interested in donating platelets.
• There was confusion on whether the clinic I was at could do the platelet test.
• They referred me to another clinic and when I got there, they clarified they couldn't do the test standalone - it had to be part of a regular blood donation appointment.
• They filled out a paper form - not bad, just unusual!
• Once they drew for the test, they told me they'd call me back in a few days. I didn't really believe that but it did take six weeks to hear back.
• I can't book or reschedule platelet appointments online - it has to be by phone.

It's my individual experience but it gives the impression that the platelet recruitment and screening isn't as built up as the whole blood or even plasma.

I'm not feeling particularly down about it but just curious and a bit puzzled.

Number 26 complete, though here in the UK they award a donation credit if you're unable to donate as was the case when I once had low iron levels a few years ago so technically this is the legitimate donation number 25 so I've actually earnt my 25 badge that I received after the last donation now 🙌🏻 will be booking 2025 donation on the app tomorrow!

I’ve been donating as often as I can since move been taken off the deferral list about 2 years ago. I heard about platelets and was successful on my first three attempts but since then have had multiple failures in a row. I took a year off of platelets to let my veins “rest” and continued while blood as often as possible. Two days ago after hydrating like crazy I made another platelet attempt and after 3 blown veins I was sent away. The vamps got good flow on my draw arm with is my same while blood arm and had two sticks on my return that seemed good until the flow started.

I’m not really sure what else I can do. We briefly discussed doing one arm platelets but I wasn’t eligible because I’d given whole blood too recently. I’m also a bit concerned that one arm platelets might be stressful on what seems to be my only decent sized vein. I guess I’m just kind of bummed I can’t help out more. I’m thankful I can do whole blood but would love to be able to supplement those donations with platelets. But I think based on my track record I’m probably done attempting for a while unless there is some secret trick to boosting vein size. It’s always harder because the vampires try so hard and when they can’t get a good stick I’m already trying to put on a good face and not let on how bummed I am but then they also get bummed and then I feel bad for them too.

Sorry for the sob story. Just venting and trying to come to grips that it’s probably not an option for me anymore.

Hey team! First time posting.

I'm 22F, 5'2 and about 85kg (due to PCOS, but slowly losing weight!), and I have donated blood once 3 years ago and plasma earlier today. I really want to get into regular donating, but I have this problem:

My blood pressure drops really quickly mid donation and while I recovery quick, I'll then continue to have my BP drop repeatedly in the following half an hour to 2 hours, including vomiting in this most recent time (mid trying to have some plain salted popcorn. Nothing major, just one small spew). I drink minimum 2L before my donation, eat something savory/salty, and am not at all stressed by needles (had blood tests all the time as a kid, and am relatively heavily tattooed and pierced). I also do all the tensing and muscle exercises they tell you to do. I don't think I have naturally low blood pressure.

I really wanna be able to keep donating if I can, it's something I'm really passionate about, and the only reason I haven't done it more was because I wanted to get some of my tattoos and piercings out of the way first. My grandfather is terrified of needles and donates every few months, and I really want to follow in his foot steps.

I'm thinking of having a gatorade before my next donation and seeing if that helps, does anyone have any other advice?

Might talk to my GP the next time I see him about this, as I'm currently under review for a bunch of other conditions (Endo, CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, IBS and/or pancreas issues, and issues relating to my bladder/urinary tract) and it might be related to one of those? Though from my Dr google search, I can't find anything relating to these.

[TW: bodily fluids lol] Hello! So I donated plasma for the 2nd time today. I was nearly done with my donation and just waiting to be discharged when out of nowhere I received faintness and a constricting feeling in all my limbs. Within 60 seconds of that I remember my whole body jumping/spasming/convulsing, could not breathe, eyes rolling, everything felt tight, and I vomited. I really thought I was dying. All the nurses were on me stat and were very helpful by giving me saline. I then went to the ER after having that same feeling out and about 2 hours later. I made sure to eat and drink extra that day. What the heck causes this?

I still have a tiny bit of bruising and you can sort of see the needle marks but I'm down if they are. Red Cross limits to 24 donations a year, which is like 1 every two weeks

I received a letter from the Canadian Blood Services saying that my blood clotted while being processed to the extent that it blocked the filters and this occurred after my last 4 donations. I was assured that this could happen for a variety of non worrying reasons but that I should go see a physician at earliest convenience to ensure everything is normal and run a few tests. As a result of this issue I was also informed that I would be unable to continue donating blood which has me kind of down and I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this before and if this is a “normal” experience.

I'm having my first platelet donation later this week (yippee!), and the weather is going to be around 36°F (2°C). Obviously, I can't wear my usual cold weather layers and need to put on the traditional donor attire of the humble T-shirt. I'd rather not be shivering away for 2+ hours while the vampires work on me.

What do you guys do to keep warm during lengthy, cold-weather donations? All tips and tricks are welcome!

Donated my tenth pint today and the donor center was giving out their usual Thanksgiving holiday tees! This is the second year that I’m getting to add one to my collection. Wild that I’ve donated so many pints that I’ve officially donated enough blood to fill a whole human body!