Help me donate blood!

October 3, 2021 4:53 AM

My history of not great blood donation experiences has turned into utter failure. Help!

The last two times I’ve tried to donate blood have been failures. The first time, the flow slowed to an unsustainable rate, and two people couldn’t get it going again with numerous needle positioning changes and other adjustments. They stopped the donation at about 300ml because it wasn’t going to complete. The last time, they couldn’t get more than a few mls out to start, and gave up after a few minutes. How can I fix this and donate blood again? More details to follow, if they are helpful.

-cis female
-I have no issues with needles.
-I have only one vein that they’ve deemed robust enough for donating, so it’s the same location every time. I am in some amount of pain throughout every donation - I have been told both there definitely is and definitely isn’t a valve right next to where they stick me.
-I’ve never had a GOOD donation experience. It’s always very draining, I often feel really faint during/after, and my donations are often very slow.
-I am a well hydrated, well fed person (I generally donate within an hour or two of lunch). I do eat a largely vegetarian diet, but:
-my hemoglobin is always fine (14-15)
-My blood pressure is high when they measure it (often 130-140/90-100, which is much higher than when it’s done at a medical office - 120/64 at my last appt).
-I am neither thin nor heavy.
-I am moderately fit and active (get 10000+ steps most days but not a lot of vigorous exercise).
-My only medications are birth control, melatonin, and magnesium. My off-week pills for my BC contain iron, and I do take them.

Any advice is appreciated on how I can get donating again! I don’t like doing it, but I really want to because I know it’s important.

posted by obfuscation to Health & Fitness (19 answers total)

Best answer: Impossible to say for sure, but one possibility is that if they're cannulating the same one vein over and over and it's already having flow issues, you may have developed scar tissue there. These kinds of access issues can sometimes resolve from leaving that site undisturbed over a longer period of time (months to years, not the typical weeks you would wait in between donations).

There are other ways to be of use; if it helps to conceptualize letting yourself off the hook for this particular form of philanthropy, remember that it actually takes more resources for staff members to troubleshoot a failed donation. If you can instead convince two people you know to donate blood, you'll be doing more than twice as much good!
posted by telegraph at 6:04 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]

Best answer: Donating blood is slow for me and makes me feel crappy, so I do other things instead, and folks at the Red Cross have told me that they prefer me to make that choice instead of suffering. I volunteer in other ways. Unless there is an emergency situation in your area that makes your blood type particularly needed, let yourself off the hook for this.
posted by metasarah at 6:15 AM on October 3, 2021 [15 favorites]

Get your ferritin, instead of hemoglobin, checked - and seconding that you might consider not donating blood any longer. I haven't been able to donate blood after three disastrous attempts in a row, all of which left me feeling awful for a few days.
posted by annathea at 7:08 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

For faintness, the NHS Donation Service suggests drinking 500ml (about a pint) of water right before giving blood and doing applied muscle tension exercises while donating. Also continually squeezing and relaxing your fist or rolling something in the hand of your donating arm can sometimes help blood flow. (I've only given blood in the UK, US blood donation may already advise doing these things).

As the others have said, it just might not be a good idea for you to give blood. I used to give blood with a group of friends. One friend, an otherwise healthy man, took a long time and fainted after each session. After the third session the nurses thanked him but advised him not to try and donate again. He just wasn't built for giving blood.

Same for me with platelet donations. I give blood quickly and easily so I volunteered for platelets. In theory I was the perfect candidate, healthy with good veins and platelet levels. In practice I was sensitive to the anticoagulant.
We hoped my body would adapt but instead it got slowly worse. During my last session I had to stop halfway through, apparently I was looking grey. So, the nurses thanked me and advised me not to do it again.

I'm glad I tried but donating platelets didn't work for me. Maybe it is the same for you.
posted by antiwiggle at 7:33 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'm a regular blood donor, almost every 8 weeks, and one reason I do it is because I have what one friend jokingly calls dartboard veins - they can throw the needle from across the room and hit it every time. Everyone is different - I feel like those of us who this is easy for, like me, ought to do it in part so that folks who it's not easy for, like you, can do other things.

Are you on the bone marrow donor registry? It's less frequent that you would be called, but the impact if you are would be MUCH higher. Might be a good thing to sign up for as a sort of farewell to blood donation.
posted by Lady Li at 7:35 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

Are you always donating at the same place? Maybe better/different staff might be able to find a fresh vein. I've found just for regular medical blood draws, different nurses/techs/phlebotomists have had really different takes on how difficult my veins are. Some of it is variance in my own bodily state, of course, but some is different technique and different level of ability.

My mom, who has very difficult veins for a variety of reasons, was super upset when her favorite phlebotomist retired last year!

(But also: strong agree with everyone who says that this might not be the most effective form of altruism for you.)
posted by february at 7:42 AM on October 3, 2021

If you're feeling faint, I agree this might just not be an option for you. I'm a hard stick, so I ask them to check the back of my hands for options on regular blood draws, but sometimes it is still slow.
posted by soelo at 8:54 AM on October 3, 2021

I'm with antiwiggle.

Are you given something to squeeze in your donation-side hand? I've always been instructed to squeeze firmly and hold while the cannula goes in, then give it a pump every 30 seconds or so.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:39 AM on October 3, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks for the thoughts so far. A few answers:

I do squeeze a stress ball with my donation hand, pretty much constantly squeezing and releasing. I keep my lower legs a little active the whole time. In the past I’ve had them lower my head a bit, but I haven’t asked for that recently because it didn’t seem to help and was more uncomfortable.

The first failed donation was at the actual donation center with two staff members who seemed really adept. The last failure was at a work blood drive, and the tech definitely did give off “new guy” vibes. I hate to make a fuss, but if I do try again, maybe I’ll give them a little history and see if I can get a more experienced person.
posted by obfuscation at 9:56 AM on October 3, 2021

Seconding all of the above. Pre-pandemic I was a regular blood-donater from age 17 on, and back in 2019 they started looking sideways at the one vein they always use. A minute clinic NP asked if I used intravenous drugs! It can get pretty scarred up if you donate regularly. I'm hoping that when I go back it'll be better, since it's been a couple years now.

Also very strongly seconding that you don't have to do this. I donate blood because for me it is easy and painless and is just an investment of 45 minutes or so. If donating blood is always painful, slow, and exhausting, this third internet stranger gives you permission to stop.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 10:13 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

It sounds like it’s not a good fit for you. Can you share blood drive info and encourage others to donate? That would mean you are still helping more blood get into the blood banks.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2021

I'd guess that, over a number of donations, your body has 'adapted' to this wound you keep giving yourself so as to keep you from losing so much blood.

And the unusually high blood pressure readings you get at donation could be a clue that you are shunting blood away from the vein where the iv is, and that raises pressure somewhere else.

Which might not be all that good for you, and considering that you often feel faint during and after donation, perhaps you should rethink donating.
posted by jamjam at 11:20 AM on October 3, 2021

I donate blood a lot, and it was only recently that someone told me that it's important to buffer hydration as much as three days ahead of the donation. I can't tell you how much water you should be drinking, but a few techs suggested +25%-50% of normal for a few days ahead of the donation.

That might not be a factor for the issues you describe, but it's what's been suggested to me.
posted by Gorgik at 11:55 AM on October 3, 2021

Best answer: Here in the UK (or at least at my old transfusion centre and according to a haematologist I know) they specifically ask people with two failed donations in a row for the reasons you describe to maybe not come back. There are costs (for the kit) involved in the procedure and, if the blood drawn is not of sufficient amount, the whole lot is discarded. That you feel personally unwell afterwards isn't wholly uncommon but, in conjunction with failed/partial donations, it really sounds like this isn't for you. Not everyone can be a blood donor and that's OK. At least you tried.

As suggested, encourage others to donate (without telling them why you can't donate! Stories of bad experiences aren't encouraging...) and make sure you have made your intentions clear regarding organ donation - you will honestly do more good with those two steps than in trying and, sorry to say, likely failing to fix this problem.
posted by deeker at 12:45 PM on October 3, 2021

I am a consistent blood donor. I don’t squeeze the ball, but just kind of roll it around in my hand. When I was squeezing the ball, my flow was much slower. I am a vegetarian and really up my iron intake for a few days before as well as drinking tons of water (my hemoglobin is fine, but I like the cushion).
But please grant yourself grace in discontinuing the efforts, I agree with the idea to find an alternative way to give back. Best of luck.
posted by gryphonlover at 1:19 PM on October 3, 2021

OK, are you willing to try one last time? Because I had similar experiences (not as bad, but pretty close) donating whole blood, but the "power red" where they take only your red blood cells and return the plasma is far less unpleasant to me. The needle is smaller, and there's less worry about clotting because there's an anticoagulant as it gets returned to you. The time is a bit longer and since it's a specialized machine it may not be as easy to get an appointment, but you only have to go three times a year. I do get absolutely exhausted a couple days after as my marrow realizes that I am short of cells. There is a slightly higher hemoglobin requirement and one time when I (an omnivore) wasn't eating much if any red meat, I couldn't donate. Still, that was 5 gallons ago. Overall I vastly prefer it. But don't feel bad for a second if blood donation isn't for you. The vast majority of folks never even try.
posted by wnissen at 4:08 PM on October 3, 2021

Oh, one other thing. At least in my experience, there are two different types of needles. There's the big old pipe needle and there's a smaller needle, usually in a butterfly needle style. I do know people with smaller veins who regularly ask for the smaller needles. But, with your history, I would imagine they're already trying to use those.
posted by Lady Li at 4:37 PM on October 3, 2021

I can't donate blood because I have appallingly bad veins for it. Instead, I signed up to be a bone marrow donor and made sure all my family knows I want to be an organ donor. Unless you have a particularly rare or are O-neg, it's not worth continuing. Butterfly needles on the back of your hand have worked for me when my elbow and wrist veins are not co-operating for needles. And definitely ask for the most experienced phlebotomist.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:21 PM on October 3, 2021

Response by poster: Thank y’all for your genuine and thoughtful answers. I didn’t know how much I needed to hear both “it’s okay for you not to try anymore” AND “repeated failed donation attempts just use up resources.”

I think I’ll give it another year and see if they want me to try again. I’m an organ donor, which my husband knows. I’ve thought about the bone marrow registry, so that was a good reminder.

(I’ve never heard of using butterfly needles for blood donation…? It seems like it really needs a pretty fat needle.)
posted by obfuscation at 3:40 PM on October 4, 2021