Strictly speaking, this is the not the first time I considered donating blood. The first encounter was when I was 17, still in JC. There was this blood donation drive in school. I didn’t donate because the freaking needle freaked the hell out of me. I wasn’t particularly scared of needles, perhaps it was the way I saw the them handle the needles. I stayed away from blood donation since. :P

This time round, I made up my mind to overcome this 10 odd years of fear. I checked the Donor Web website and found that there’s a blood donation drive on at Rivervale Community Club on the 14th of March, Saturday. I woke up the following Saturday morning and drove me and my wife there. So, here goes, the first blood donation attempt.

The staff at the donation drive were helpful and pleasant. I was given a sticker that read “Be Nice To Me. This is my first donation”. In any case, I think they are nice to everyone, whether first time or not. So, my blood was tested, like a blood type test. On hindsight, this was perhaps the most painful part, relatively. :)

A local anaesthetic was administered, then came the thick needle. I was abit nervous then, but I looked on as the medical staff pushed the needle into my arm. No pain! While I was observing what the medical staff was doing, I didn’t realise that the bag was already half full. Pretty fast!

These are the few pictures I took while I was waiting.

And after a couple more mins, my bag was full. The removal was swift, no pain! And then they bandaged my arm.

They even had matching bandages for ladies!

The whole procedure was very comfortable, and fast, much faster than I thought. So, I have donated my first bag of blood. The next time would be in June.

I strongly encourage more people to donate their blood. As the slogan at Donor Web says, “Your blood is replaceable…a life is NOT !” Your pack of blood may save another’s life!

Related posts:

1. A Serious Misconception About Bone Marrow Donation!
2. Bone Marrow Donor Programme – The Stem Cell Harvesting Procedure