Blood: It's in You to Give

There's a church I always drive by and once every few months Canadian Blood Services visits there and puts up a sign and a banner advertising blood donation in hopes of wooing the public to the clinic inside. I always think, "I should really go do that sometime...", buuuut it never ends up happening. As a nurse, I know the importance of blood donation - I am often the one administering that blood to people in the hospital! So yesterday I saw that sign and I actually turned into the parking lot and went inside - big step, right?! I was a bit surprised at how many people were inside - staff, volunteers AND donors! And yet, the first lady I spoke with told me I was lucky to have come at a quiet time.

Before you actually sit in the chair and offer up your arm, there are several stations you pass through to collect different information and determine your eligibility to donate. The first person takes your ID, your height, weight and age and then gives you a pamphlet to read. If you are too young, too old or weigh too little, you get the boot! The second person pricks your finger and measures your hemoglobin level - mine was 137 g/L, woot woot! If yours is less than 125 g/L, you get the boot! Next you move onto a questionnaire about your health history. A nurse will take your vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse) and interview you about the questionnaire. If anything concerns the nurse, you get the boot! Someone who gets turned away might think, "I thought they were desperate for blood? How come they are so picky?" It's an understandable feeling, but if you imagine that your blood might end up transfusing a preemie baby or sick child, you'd hope it was absolutely clean and perfect.