Giving blood - I'm having issues - experienced donors chime in!

[heartofjoy]

I want to donate blood. I have type O negative, so I figure it's something good I can do.

I went in December and it was kind of uncomfortable. The tech said my veins were small and the blood came out really slow. But I was able to donate.

I just went for the second time. Got the same tech. It really hurt this time and he kept moving it to get it to flow better and finally he gave up. He said I'd already given a certain amount so I couldn't try the other arm and I had to wait the standard 8 weeks to come back. He said the same thing about my veins being small. And then he said I should tell them next time what happened and he'd have one of the more experienced people work with me.

I'm so sore! I want to make this work, but I feel pretty crappy.

I've never had anyone complain about my veins when I give blood samples. I usually don't look at the needle, but I did this time and it seemed HUGE.

Can anyone give me tips for doing this successfully? Can they use a smaller needle? I was a little taken aback at how little the guy explained what was going on to me.


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