My First Time Giving Blood and Why I Will Try to Donate Blood Again

My church recently organized a blood drive in honor of my four-year-old daughter, who has needed several red blood cell and platelets transfusions since starting treatment for leukemia. The point of the blood drive was not to reserve blood for my daughter, but rather to replenish our community's blood supply. This blood drive took place last Sunday, on Valentine's Day, and despite the bad weather, most people showed up for their scheduled appointments and a lot of generous people filled in for the blood donors who couldn't make it. It was awesome to witness that loving, giving spirit firsthand.

I'd never given blood before, and I was so ready to give. I'd been drinking extra fluids all morning, and eaten two good meals. I passed the medical screening; my temperature, blood pressure, and hemoglobin level were fine. I haven't done much traveling outside of the U.S., so I can't be suspected of carrying any strange tropical diseases, thank goodness.

I took my window seat in the huge Community Blood Drive bus, and relaxed as the nice lady marked my veins. Finally, I was going to give some of my good blood back to the community, to possibly save lives-it's an exciting prospect! The needle went in, no big deal-I'm not scared of needles-and I squeezed and released my hand just as I was instructed to do. Out came my blood...for a short time. Then it stopped, and the nice lady fiddled with my needle and remarked on my "small veins." I kept squeezing and releasing my hand, but my blood wouldn't come out. How frustrating!

"Don't give up. I bet you won't have any trouble next time," said the nice lady as she bandaged my arm.

I'm not going to give up. The importance of giving blood was reinforced the very next day as my daughter, whose hemoglobin level had fallen to 6.9, required a red blood cell transfusion at clinic. She slept through the majority of her three-hour transfusion, and I held her on my lap, thinking that I wish I could thank all of the donors responsible for the blood my daughter has received in the last six months. That information is confidential, so I can't thank them personally, but I can thank everyone reading this who has ever given blood. Thank you! My daughter's cheeks are actually pink today!

My husband also gave blood for the first time last Sunday. We'll have to call him "The Gusher" from now on because he filled the bag in six minutes and felt fine afterward. At least one of us was successful!

To learn everything you ever wanted to know about giving blood, visit the American Red Cross's excellent website.