The American Red Cross Blood Mobile came to Holy Rosary Church today seeking blood donations. I had signed up for an appointment 8 weeks ago, and today, I came to give blood. I was 2 hours late, but they were all right with me being late. They just said, "Go sit there and wait." I waited until I was called into a small, makeshift office where my blood pressure was tested, my temperature was taken, my pulse was counted, and my hemoglobin level was checked. I made the counts on everything. So I filled out a question-aire on a computer. When that was completed, I was sent to a table to lay down and wait. You can see that I had a good view of the treats that awaited me when I was finished!
Although I didn't learn his name, the young tech who worked with me was very kind and very capable. He measured and marked my skin very carefully. In the end, that did help.
After he found my vein, he asked me if I was allergic to Iodine. I'm not, so he proceeded to clean the area where he would insert the needle in my vein. He did a lot of cleaning with the iodine.
He inserted the needle when my arm was dry and I began to donate my blood. Can you see the red ball in my hand? They ask you to roll it gently in your hand to help the flow of blood. In truth, I didn't even feel the needle go into my vein. Sometimes, I do! The last time I gave blood, the tech was getting ready to insert the needle when someone came in asking if anyone in the room had a certain type of car with a Wisconsin license plate. My tech said that she did. The gentleman told her that her car had just been hit. I was hoping she'd go and check the damage, but she chose to stay and finish her job with me. OUCH! That needle hurt! This time, I felt no pain at all! He was good.
My technician was a very nice young man. He even took a picture of me as the blood was flowing into the bag. This experience was a good one. I'll be donating again in October!
The American Red Cross Blood Mobile came to Holy Rosary Church today seeking blood donations. I had signed up for an appointment 8 weeks ago, and today, I came to give blood. I was 2 hours late, but they were all right with me being late. They just said, "Go sit there and wait." I waited until I was called into a small, makeshift office where my blood pressure was tested, my temperature was taken, my pulse was counted, and my hemoglobin level was checked. I made the counts on everything. So I filled out a question-aire on a computer. When that was completed, I was sent to a table to lay down and wait. You can see that I had a good view of the treats that awaited me when I was finished!
Although I didn't learn his name, the young tech who worked with me was very kind and very capable. He measured and marked my skin very carefully. In the end, that did help.
After he found my vein, he asked me if I was allergic to Iodine. I'm not, so he proceeded to clean the area where he would insert the needle in my vein. He did a lot of cleaning with the iodine.
He inserted the needle when my arm was dry and I began to donate my blood. Can you see the red ball in my hand? They ask you to roll it gently in your hand to help the flow of blood. In truth, I didn't even feel the needle go into my vein. Sometimes, I do! The last time I gave blood, the tech was getting ready to insert the needle when someone came in asking if anyone in the room had a certain type of car with a Wisconsin license plate. My tech said that she did. The gentleman told her that her car had just been hit. I was hoping she'd go and check the damage, but she chose to stay and finish her job with me. OUCH! That needle hurt! This time, I felt no pain at all! He was good.
My technician was a very nice young man. He even took a picture of me as the blood was flowing into the bag. This experience was a good one. I'll be donating again in October!
