THE toughest thing about donating blood is walking through the door.
Just talking about it can bring out responses of ‘I can’t stand the sight of blood’ ‘I hate needles’ ‘I don’t know how you can do it’ and so on, cue shudders all round the office.
And yet, it’s not that terrifying after all.
First of all, you don’t have to look at the blood if you don’t want to, or the needle, and to be honest, my care assistant was chatting away so merrily when the needle went in, I barely felt a thing.
So the biggest hill to get over is signing up in the first place, and once through that door, the process clicks smoothly in action.
A health check questionaire is filled in just to make sure you are fit and well, while a leaflet explains what happens to your donation.
Then each donor has their questionaire checked and a blood sample is taken – and don’t worry, it’s just a via a pinprick.
After that, it’s waiting for your name to be called, details to be checked and then each donor is tilted back in a comfortable chair, the needle is inserted and the donation can begin.
It’s all over in ten minutes, there’s a neat plaster on your arm and a cup of tea, chocolate biscuits, fruit or crisps await.
Oh, and there’s also the thought that your blood will help seriously ill patients from cancer victims to people undergoing major surgery or maybe those who have been involved in serious accidents.
