By partyrocker12 - 19/09/2012 19:45 - United States
partyrocker12 tells us more.
Hello, OP here! Thank You all for your concern! I'm doing a lot better. I actually ended up passing out three more times before they carted me off to the hospital, where I took a nice nap. I think what did me in was my blood pressure, which to me actually seemed low to give blood. I have normally low blood pressure (96/84 is my average) and it was 100/85, or something like that. They also did not attempt to detain me. As for the amount, they took 2 cups from me, so one of the smaller bags. This is a company that regularly visits my university (not the Red Cross, if it was Red Cross it would be different), and my sorority sister who took care of me had two bags taken from her last year, she's about 5'5" and weighs maybe 170lbs and she nearly passed out. I think the next time I give blood, it will be with RC. They made no attempt to stop me as I went up a flight of stairs, handed my meal card over, and made my way over to the pop machine, which is where I fainted for the first time in my life. Thank You again for your concern, and I'm so glad that I did it.
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Being the minimum weight doesn't necessarily mean you'll be fine. Donating does something different to everybody, so it's good to just take it easy after a donation. Feel better OP. You helped a good cause.
In Denmark, 110 lbs (50 kg) is the absolute minimum weight - and blood banks are a part of our public health care system, so the rules and amounts of blood donated are the same everywhere in DK. But I wanna say this: People react differently. A 110 lbs girl can in some cases donate a pint and be fine, and in other cases a much heavier person may faint repeatedly. Even if they ate and drank plenty before. But do be careful if you want to do this again, OP. You are the absolut minimum weight for a donor, and you are not supposed to keep donating, even if it makes you sick. Fun fact: As in every other country, blood banks in Denmark offer you drinks and snacks. One of the drinks you may choose from? Beer. I'm not kidding. They'll give you a beer when donating.
168 - in the UK you only get tea (well you can have soft drinks too, but) - no beer! I would have thought beer right after giving blood was a spectacularly poor idea. However, given the price of beer in Scandinavia, I can see it might attract more donors just for a free beer! I think 50 Kg is the minimum in the UK also but, as has been said, everyone is different and it depends a lot on what you try to do straight after. Your body is not expecting to lose that volume of blood unless something serious has gone wrong so it's not unlikely that some type of physiological panic may set in. Doubly so if you start running around with a pint less fluid than you had a breakfast-time.
#170, I would've thought alcohol was off limits, too, when donating blood. I read through the quarantine rules out of curiousity, though, and it turns out that you can't donate if you are "visibly intoxicated", but it says nothing about a few beers. I'm not sure I'd want to drink alchohol straight after donating, though. I think it's cute and very British that you are offered tea in the UK. It's probably also a lot more helpful and healthy than beer, anyway. Another fun fact about blood donations in Denmark: Travelling to certain destinations (mostly in Africa and Asia) will lead to a quarantine for a given period of time after returning home. Going to America during the summer leads to a 28 days quarantine for fear of West Nile Fever (as one of my American friends said: What then, are Americans not supposed to donate blood at all!?)
Unless it is herbal tea, it is not a good idea either to give it to blood donors considering that tea can cause anemia. :-(
Good for you for donating! I'm 5'8 and I've donated enough times to know how I will react...usually I feel a little tired right after donating a pint of blood even with juice and cookies afterwards. I can't do it right now because I got a tattoo a few months ago and in the US, you have to wait 12 months after a tattoo before you can donate again.
I'm 5'6 and 105lbs and I have donated blood and feel fine
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At least your vein didn't collapse. Shame on the doctor who permitted you...at our blood drive you have to be 120
Threesome?