Confessions of a Teenage Blood Donor

I enjoy donating blood. Not only because I am sharing something of mine with someone else in need, but I feel incredibly cleansed afterward.

I was leaving my writing class yesterday and saw a sign outside of the door that said 'Emergency Blood Drive Taking Place on Campus Today' (or something of that nature). I tracked down the location of the drive and signed up as a walk-in. It was about 12:30 when I signed up and I was scheduled to donate at 4:30. The gentleman who helped me register told me to make sure that when I return, I am well hydrated and not hungry.

Now, I'm no pro when it comes to donating blood, but I have done it twice before. Here's how it went my first time:

Incredibly nervous and scared out of my mind, I passed out when my bag was about 95% full. The red cross volunteers were not too happy with me.

I was successful the second time because I knew what to expect. I was still nervous, but I was determined to finish what I had started.

So this time, my nerves really didn't play much of a role and I was confident that I'd make it through just fine. There was one little thing that I was concerned about that I thought would prevent me from donating: hemoglobin level.

Some vegans are known to have low iron levels because a large source of the average Americans iron comes from animals/animal products. Unfortunately, I am not one of those vegans who pays special attention to my deficiencies...which is subject to change in the near future. The last time I went to donate blood, my hemoglobin level came out below normal for blood donation (the requirement is at least 12.5 gm/dL and I was around 11.7 gm/dL). The nurse told me that the levels can vary based off of which hand/finger is used when drawing blood (the nurse pricks your finger and then runs your blood through a machine to check hemoglobin). She proceeded test blood from my other hand and the reading was 12.7...so I was good to go.

I did a bad thing this time though...

For some reason, I was convinced that the only way I'd be able to reach my 'hemoglobin quota' in enough time was to eat MEAT.

Stupid and illogical, I know, but I was so afraid of under performing that I was willing to do anything. Maybe this is all just an excuse and I was really craving some beef?? I certainly hope not, but whatever the reason was, I hope that it does not come back to haunt me again.

I had approximately 8oz of chili with some wild rice mixed in. My reading was 12.5.

When it was actually time for me to pump, I was moving very sssslllloooowlllyyyy. It took me about 30 minutes to fill the bag; not something I am very proud of. There were about 5 or 6 people who filtered in and out while I was pumping and each of them only took about 5 minutes each. The red cross volunteer asked me about my water intake and I said that it wasn't so great. Another one of the volunteers proceeded to lecture me about the importance of drinking 144 ounces of water a day (what??). I definitely need to drink more water, no doubt, but when I increase my intake, I don't know if it'll ever reach 144 ounces a day...getting up during class to use the bathroom is not my favorite pastime.

The imprtant thing is...I filled my bag. Yea, I had meat beforehand and yea, I took a hell of a lot of time to do it, but I did it...right?

For all of the non-squeemish people out there, I would most certainly recommend donating blood at least twice a year. According to the red cross, two donations can save six lives.

Don't you think it's worth trying?

Raw. Love.
-Natalie