My First Ever Attempt to Donate Plasma - Part VII

In Part VI of "My First Ever Attempt to Donate Plasma," I had made it through the needle stick. The needle had been inserted into my vein and my blood was flowing through the tube and into the plasma machine.

I watched as the container collecting my plasma filled to about one-fourth full. Then, the plasma machine made a clicking sound. A light lit up next to the word "return." My red blood cells were being returned to my body through the same tube and needle in my vein that had taken my blood. I could not feel any difference when the mode switched from draw to return. There would be several draw and return cycles before the donation would be complete. I still felt pretty good.

Sickness

The plasma collection bottle was now about half full. I mentally congratulated myself for making it this far so easily. I was even optimistic enough to view the plasma container as "half full" rather than "half empty."

During the second "return" phase, when my red blood cells were being returned to my body, I suddenly began feeling woozy. I began seeing black spots in my vision. I tried to focus my eyes on the closed caption words from Congo on the TV screen, but my world was quickly swirling toward darkness. I felt nauseous.

I told a nearby medical tech that I was beginning to feel woozy. She brought a medical waste container to my bedside in case I vomited. She asked if I felt hot. I realized that I did feel quite hot. I was sweating. I thought I might pass out. The medical tech placed an icy compress on my chest for me to hold in place with my chin. She fanned me with my medical file. Within seconds, I began feeling better. No more nausea. As she fanned me, I imagined lying on a sandy beach in the tropics, sipping a cool drink while an attendant fanned me.

I snapped back to reality when the medical tech asked if I felt better. I told her I did feel better. I admitted that I had thought I was going to pass out before. She stopped fanning. She stood beside me, making notes in my medical chart, occasionally asking me if I felt okay. With the cold compress in place under my chin, I felt much better. Why had I never heard of this ice pack trick? I made a mental note to try this with an ice pack at home the next time I felt sick.

Donation Complete

When the plasma container was nearly full with my donation, the machine clicked into the final return-of-my-red-blood-cells cycle. Then the machine clicked off. Everything stopped. My plasma donation was complete. Amazingly, I had even made it through without vomiting. I was anxious for the needle in my vein to be 'unstuck', for me to be freed from the machine.