While this may sound like a late Halloween post, it is not. It does, however, involve blood. It was a pint of double-red O+.

After 14+ years of donating almost entirely double-red blood in Texas (Carter Bloodcare is crediting me with 7 gallons of blood during that time.), I did my first donation in Oklahoma yesterday. As with many things, it was exactly the same but a little bit different. Prior to Texas, I also made several donations in Ohio. Those were pre-blogging and before I observed such things for my own entertainment.

The first difference was only a difference in intensity. Giving blood makes me nervous. It causes my blood pressure to spike. The first attempt to get a reading had them standing with a defibrillator over my anxious body. The second attempt was a manual reading. I still had a high reading, but it was acceptable. Driving home, I realized I usually avoided caffeine on “donation” days. Scheduling the donation the day of the letting made this a little different.

When I was in the middle of the donation, I usually look at the screen. Double red donations involve removing red blood cells and returning the remaining blood back to the body. When the blood is leaving your body, you are supposed to squeeze on the squishy object. During returns, you aren’t supposed to squeeze on anything. The screen mounted to the device is a convenient way to track what is happening. Squeezing when you are not supposed to could have detrimental results. When I asked the nurse what I should use to determine “to squeeze or not to squeeze”, she said, “When the big dial is spinning, it is a return.” If they only had created a screen for this purpose, it would have been easier. I always relied on this in the past.

When blood is returned, the point where the needle is inserted often feels ” chilled.” This could also be accompanied by a coppery taste in the mouth. In the past, I begged to get a Tums. The calcium counteracts this. At Our Blood Institute, they hand out tootsie roll-flavored candies. They were less gritty and tastier. I didn’t taste copper, so they must have worked.

Finally, as I was finishing up, the guy across from me had a seizure or some other negative reaction. I heard ice packs being thrown around and 4 people gathered around his station. He recovered and was talked before I left.

Like all previous donations, I left a pint lower. There is nothing wrong with the Oklahoma vampires’ approach—it is just different.