Giving blood for the cause

I went to give blood last week. This is not me boasting about how I help worthy causes, merely because, as so often in my life, there were complications and problems (with hilarious consequences).

My appointment was last Wednesday, just after 6pm. Everything went fine, I handed in my form (you need to fill out a health check every time you donate), had the little chat where they checked my iron levels etc, and lay down on the bed. Then there was a delay because they noticed that I hadn't donated in the West Midlands before (my previous donation was in Nottingham). Despite the wait, I was grateful that they had noticed, because apparently if they hadn't corrected the details, my donation would have been wasted.

Then the needle went in, it was painful enough for me to shout "ow". I don't particularly like needles, but I can cope with injections, blood tests and donations. But this hurt. Definitely hurt more than last time (last time, she used the other vein in my arm). I was asked if it felt OK, I replied that it was a little uncomfortable, but the blood was coming out quite quickly, so we decided not to adjust too much - it would be over soon.

Then, when the blood bags were full, I asked "will it hurt as much to take the needle out?". The nurse said "I knew you were going to ask that! I will do my best". So she carefully removed the needle, and before I knew it, she had lowered my head, raised my feet, and there were two staff fanning me. What seemed like a few seconds later, I felt hot, clammy and faint.

Of course, I was fine after a few minutes - they managed to get some blood back to my brain, I didn't pass out, and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of lemon squash and a few biscuits. Apparently a few others had similar problems, probably due to the warm weather (the donations were being taken in Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, in a room with big screen windows and not much of a draught). In my case, I had foolishly not eaten anything since lunchtime, so my blood sugar was a bit low, and the sheer pain of pulling the needle out of my arm did not help.

So, for next time, I must remember:

• Do not give blood on an empty stomach
• Try and donate in an air-conditioned room
• Make sure that the nurse chooses the right vein - one of them hurts, the other doesn't!

After my drink and biscuits, I filled in a feedback form to compliment the staff on their excellent work. Being a bloke, I spent most of the rest of the day feeling a bit sorry for myself; my girlfriend remarked that I seemed a bit subdued. What was strange was that I felt out of sorts for a couple of days afterwards - maybe they removed the bit of the blood that holds my soul?