Hello all. As is standard operating procedure, I was to donate a few units of my own blood in anticipation of my surgery. This is called an autologous donation or some such. Never having donated blood before, I didn't know what to expect, and I had some problems that I hope I can help you avoid. (For the bottom-line advice with out the narrative explanation, skip to the end.)
Here's what I did not know never having donated blood before. First of all, it's no big deal unless you're one of those people with tiny veins. If you are, you already know it because you must have had blood drawn before and it was painful. But if you're not--it's a breeze.
The kicker is your iron level. Women are commonly disqualified from donating blood because their iron level is too low (crit level I think they were calling it). 38 is the minimum for a good samaritan donation. You can do an autologous donation with a crit of 33. But the first time I went in, mine was 31. Rejected. Came back a week later after adding iron supplements to my daily regimen. Crit was 38--huzzah! But my temperature was 99.7. Rejected. I felt fine. I think my mistake was eating a cinnamon altoid in the waiting area. Apparently you must avoid all beverages and candy for 20 minutes before a temp reading. I had not known that. Another wasted 2 hours for Holly.
As you may have surmised, at this point, the schedule was getting tight and it was looking decreasingly like I could get 2 units in on time. Everything else would have to go right. And I would have to not be developing an infection. I had to be adamant with the schedulers that day--that I felt fine, that I thought that the temp was an anomaly and that I wanted to come back the next day. They wanted me to wait several days, we compromised on 2.
2 days later, crit was 36, temp was 99.2 (acceptable) and the donation went swimmingly. Not painful, not sick-making. It was a dawdle. They gave me delicious lemonade and fig newtons. And a foot massage. Not really, but that would have been awesome.
I week later. All the delays had made this the last possible donation time. I had continued my iron pills, but my crit was back down to 31. Rejected. Again. Total output in 5 weeks of donations: 1 unit.
It's not even close to the end of the world. I feel comfortable possibly receiving blood-bank blood. It's just that it's such a stressful and hectic time when you are preparing for surgery, that it's best to have everything go as smoothly as possible. 4 trips to the blood bank yielding one measly unit--not so smoothly. It led to a lot of compensatory stress-shopping. Which led to buyers remorse.
So here it is: the fruits of my experience.
1--begin taking iron supplements weeks before your first donation and keep it up until surgery
2--In one of your consults with your surgeon, ask him how many units he wants, and how long he wants it to be between your last donation and the surgery. Then consult with a bloodbank about how long you should wait between donations (this can vary among people). With that information construct your own donation timetable that leaves a couple of weeks of cushion at least--if you get a cold, for example, they won't let you donate, or your crit may fall too low during your period to donate. Then push that agenda aggressively on the sometimes too laid-back and jaded staff who seem so used to what they are doing that they don't seem to get that it is really important to you. Just my experience.
Hope all goes well for you. May they take your blood in peace. Ew.
Holly
Here's what I did not know never having donated blood before. First of all, it's no big deal unless you're one of those people with tiny veins. If you are, you already know it because you must have had blood drawn before and it was painful. But if you're not--it's a breeze.
The kicker is your iron level. Women are commonly disqualified from donating blood because their iron level is too low (crit level I think they were calling it). 38 is the minimum for a good samaritan donation. You can do an autologous donation with a crit of 33. But the first time I went in, mine was 31. Rejected. Came back a week later after adding iron supplements to my daily regimen. Crit was 38--huzzah! But my temperature was 99.7. Rejected. I felt fine. I think my mistake was eating a cinnamon altoid in the waiting area. Apparently you must avoid all beverages and candy for 20 minutes before a temp reading. I had not known that. Another wasted 2 hours for Holly.
As you may have surmised, at this point, the schedule was getting tight and it was looking decreasingly like I could get 2 units in on time. Everything else would have to go right. And I would have to not be developing an infection. I had to be adamant with the schedulers that day--that I felt fine, that I thought that the temp was an anomaly and that I wanted to come back the next day. They wanted me to wait several days, we compromised on 2.
2 days later, crit was 36, temp was 99.2 (acceptable) and the donation went swimmingly. Not painful, not sick-making. It was a dawdle. They gave me delicious lemonade and fig newtons. And a foot massage. Not really, but that would have been awesome.
I week later. All the delays had made this the last possible donation time. I had continued my iron pills, but my crit was back down to 31. Rejected. Again. Total output in 5 weeks of donations: 1 unit.
It's not even close to the end of the world. I feel comfortable possibly receiving blood-bank blood. It's just that it's such a stressful and hectic time when you are preparing for surgery, that it's best to have everything go as smoothly as possible. 4 trips to the blood bank yielding one measly unit--not so smoothly. It led to a lot of compensatory stress-shopping. Which led to buyers remorse.
So here it is: the fruits of my experience.
1--begin taking iron supplements weeks before your first donation and keep it up until surgery
2--In one of your consults with your surgeon, ask him how many units he wants, and how long he wants it to be between your last donation and the surgery. Then consult with a bloodbank about how long you should wait between donations (this can vary among people). With that information construct your own donation timetable that leaves a couple of weeks of cushion at least--if you get a cold, for example, they won't let you donate, or your crit may fall too low during your period to donate. Then push that agenda aggressively on the sometimes too laid-back and jaded staff who seem so used to what they are doing that they don't seem to get that it is really important to you. Just my experience.
Hope all goes well for you. May they take your blood in peace. Ew.
Holly
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