Originally Posted by bloodywarz

is the blood donation going on only for 1 day? and is there like any place close by that i can also go to donate?

No, we usually have at least 2 clinics per month, this is just the only date they have given me as of today. At the clinic they will have all the dates for the year available on a flyer. So if you can't make this one, no worries, there will be plenty more coming up!

Originally Posted by GPat

just booked my appointment

Awesome, thank you! See you there!

Originally Posted by Kris_M

I also have very small veins, sometimes it takes 2 nurses just to find one, just make sure you drink plenty of water before, it will definitely help.

And make sure you are not cold. Being cold causes your veins to retreat deeper into your body, making them much more difficult to reach. Trust me, it was soooo cold when I got my wisdom teeth out, and docs were trying to find a vein to give me an IV, and they tried twice on my right elbow, twice on my right hand, and finally got it in my left elbow...and I was suffocating/reacting very badly to the laughing gas while all of this was going on but they were so distracted by trying to find a vein that they didn't realize I was having a really bad reaction, they thought I just didn't like the bajillion needle sticks. Bad experience...

Also, to the person who said they've passed out before...make sure you have lots of iron before donating! That's likely the reason you passed out, and they'll do an iron test beforehand to see if you have enough to safely donate. Meat (especially beef) and spinach are good sources...make sure you have it with some vitamin C to increase absorption, especially if you're getting your iron from a non-animal source.

Originally Posted by xxsumz

I just dont like blood leaving my body. Like if I get cut or something sure, i'll just suck up some blood or what not. But giving someone else MY blood. Not happening. I have a wierd mentality on that. I just feel that if someone else has my blood, then they also have some tiny part of me which is NOT cool. My blood adds to my uniqueness.

Just so you know, red blood cells do not actually have any DNA in them, so it's not really anything unique about you. When they do DNA blood tests, they're actually taking other parts of the blood...these parts often (though not always) get separated out when you donate--for example, some people (such as leukemia patients) tend to need a lot of plasma, and not so much the other stuff.
I'm not saying this to try to change your opinion or anything, but you should at least have a fully informed opinion
I do have a question for you though--if it was your best friend or one of your parents/siblings/other family, and their life depended on getting your blood, would you let them die because you think it's weird for them to have your blood?

Originally Posted by dsahota

I was a long time donor and never had problems during any of my donations. I no longer donate as I can't reconcile my personal views on equality with the rabid stereotypes of homosexual men that CBS endorses and has even used as arguments in court.

See, what I don't understand about the CBS is that they should in theory be testing all of this blood for HIV anyways...and I understand that it is a hazard to even draw blood that may be HIV+, but any person's blood may be HIV+, therefore it is ALL treated as if it is, regardless of who it comes from.
I can't agree with their policy, but there are real people who need this blood. As far as I know, it's the only actual organization here that deals with donating and transporting blood to where it's needed, so there's not another way to go about donating blood unless it's directly to someone you know.

It's not like disagreeing with a clothing company using child labour or something, where if enough people stop buying their stuff, then they might stop using child labour. If enough people stop donating due to the CBS policy regarding MSM, it might get the CBS to change the policy, but how many people would die first? So, although I very much disagree with their policy, I don't think it's a legit reason to stop donating nor do I think that will have the desired effect.

Having said that, they won't take my blood either, even though my plasma is fine...it's just my RBCs that are crappy. There are plenty of people who could use my plasma :(

Originally Posted by nerual

And make sure you are not cold. Being cold causes your veins to retreat deeper into your body, making them much more difficult to reach. Trust me, it was soooo cold when I got my wisdom teeth out, and docs were trying to find a vein to give me an IV, and they tried twice on my right elbow, twice on my right hand, and finally got it in my left elbow...and I was suffocating/reacting very badly to the laughing gas while all of this was going on but they were so distracted by trying to find a vein that they didn't realize I was having a really bad reaction, they thought I just didn't like the bajillion needle sticks. Bad experience...

Also, to the person who said they've passed out before...make sure you have lots of iron before donating! That's likely the reason you passed out, and they'll do an iron test beforehand to see if you have enough to safely donate. Meat (especially beef) and spinach are good sources...make sure you have it with some vitamin C to increase absorption, especially if you're getting your iron from a non-animal source.


Just so you know, red blood cells do not actually have any DNA in them, so it's not really anything unique about you. When they do DNA blood tests, they're actually taking other parts of the blood...these parts often (though not always) get separated out when you donate--for example, some people (such as leukemia patients) tend to need a lot of plasma, and not so much the other stuff.
I'm not saying this to try to change your opinion or anything, but you should at least have a fully informed opinion
I do have a question for you though--if it was your best friend or one of your parents/siblings/other family, and their life depended on getting your blood, would you let them die because you think it's weird for them to have your blood?


See, what I don't understand about the CBS is that they should in theory be testing all of this blood for HIV anyways...and I understand that it is a hazard to even draw blood that may be HIV+, but any person's blood may be HIV+, therefore it is ALL treated as if it is, regardless of who it comes from.
I can't agree with their policy, but there are real people who need this blood. As far as I know, it's the only actual organization here that deals with donating and transporting blood to where it's needed, so there's not another way to go about donating blood unless it's directly to someone you know.

It's not like disagreeing with a clothing company using child labour or something, where if enough people stop buying their stuff, then they might stop using child labour. If enough people stop donating due to the CBS policy regarding MSM, it might get the CBS to change the policy, but how many people would die first? So, although I very much disagree with their policy, I don't think it's a legit reason to stop donating nor do I think that will have the desired effect.

Having said that, they won't take my blood either, even though my plasma is fine...it's just my RBCs that are crappy. There are plenty of people who could use my plasma :(

You can donate plasma, but it has to be at their own centre because they use a machine. The closest centre is in London, Ontario but if you come from another city their might be one closer to there: http://www.blood.ca/CentreApps/Inter...nt&Clos eMenu

Originally Posted by jhan523

You can donate plasma, but it has to be at their own centre because they use a machine. The closest centre is in London, Ontario but if you come from another city their might be one closer to there: http://www.blood.ca/CentreApps/Inter...nt&Clos eMenu

Woah, so I have no idea how I missed that before! I always thought London or Toronto were the closest ones...but that link says there's one in Ancaster!!!

Thanks

(I don't feel *so* bad for missing it the first time, because evidently you did too )

Edit: aww, the Ancaster one only does platelets :( Meh, better than nothing.
Clearly that's why I missed it the first time *sigh*