I am planning to donate blood on a regular basis. I was advised by my doc freidn that it not only serves the needy, but is also affects donator's health positively. I would like to know if anyone out here every did this. Pls share your experience. Thanks!
My logic says that there is certainly a higher chance of messing something up when you get a big scary needle into your vains regularly. (But what do I know, I am not a medic.)
I donate blood at my local doctors every 4 months and have donated blood a total of around 15 times now, I think. I just feel great knowing that I can help others and possibly save other peoples' lives by doing something that takes only a few minutes of my time a few times a year.
Yep...this is kinda my philosophy also. And before the no-it-alls fire back with their "with modern sterilization techniques" rebuttals, I'd like to give an example of what we are talking about. A dentist in our local area is up on charges because he has been caught not following proper sterilization techniques in his practice and due to the fact that he has a few HIV positive clients, ALL of his other clients now have to be tested for AIDS. I'm NOT saying we shouldn't give blood...this is just a concern of mine.
I've donated blood 4 times in my life. Every single times was sort of a bad experience for me. I have small veins and the people they have working at a lot of drives are just not very experienced at what they do. Almost every time they had to prick multiple times, which left me with bad bruising. I've never heard of giving blood "positively affecting a donor's health" in any way shape or form. If it makes you feel better, that's one thing. The last time I gave blood, I couldn't believe my ears. I heard one of the medical staff say to a fellow staffer that she "almost got air in the vein". Now, in case you don't know, if air gets into a vein during this process, it can kill a person. Needless to say, after that, I decided I would keep my blood to myself.
I am running a network of rhesus negative people and someone posted an article the other day indicating that donating blood is actually good as it causes "renewal of the blood in your system". I will try to look for it again, but those interested ... this is the fanpage for my site where it was previously posted: https://www.facebook.com/rhnegatives The ones who experience the biggest shortage are those whose blood type is O negative. O negative blood cannot be stored too long and is given to everyone when there is no time to test a patient's blood type, but when it comes time for an O negative person to receive a transfusion, their type is not always available. In a few years we should be seeing artificial O negative blood on the market. Until then, the system is IMO pretty flawed and considering a transfusion costing up to 3,500 USD, there should be better compensation for O negative donors who have been screened for all diseases. A list of donors who are O negative and willing to be on call for something like 200 USD per donation would solve the universal blood shortage quickly. This will not likely take place though. so blood banks will continue to rely on volunteers knowing it could be them being in need. This girl has recently been on Ellen and Cover Girl: https://www.facebook.com/angelsfortalia Now a lot of people come to donate, but 3 years ago she couldn't get O negative blood (her type) all the time. Sorry about this long post, but there is so much more I want to say, and jmjsolutions is correct: Lots of horror stories from donation centers are coming my way. In addition, about 4-5 percent of all blood donations are wasted, mainly due to incompetence of the staff. See also: How much blood is being wasted in the hospitals? So yes, I completely understand those who say they don't want to donate blood as long as so little is done on the professional side to ensure steady supply. But it seems until a reform of some sort takes place, people volunteering to donate will be the only way to ensure that those who need a transfusion will be able to receive one. Added: Just made a minipost on this as it seems there are both, health risks and also benefits in donating blood: http://www.rhesusnegative.net/work/what-are-the-health-benefits-and-risks-in-donating-blood/ Whatever it is you decide to do, educate yourself about this (as I am doing now), so your decision is YOUR decision. And don't expect the professionals to do it for you. Go to Google Scholar to find out more.
I have donated several times in my life and I don't have any regrets about it. I always do it with the red cross to be sure that it is safe. I think it is good to do it, you can save the life of a lot of people, and you never know, maybe your own family...
I have donated 1 time and it was a great experience doc says you can donate your blood after 3 months.
I have donated several times,It is a wonderful thing to do, and when you think that your gift may save someone's life [especially if you have a rare blood type] it is more than worth the trouble.
I've given blood. However I'm terrified of needles. So it takes a lot for me to get up the nerve to do it sadly.