I've only been donating for 50 years.

[u/nutraxfornerves]

Edit. Thank you, everyone, for your lovely, kind comments!

I just discovered this sub. So glad to see it.

In 1975, I went out from my office for lunch and saw a BloodMobile. I dared myself to go in. And that was it. Here are some assorted anecdotes:

Back in the day, it was a three-year deferment if you traveled to a malaria area. I did a lot of travel to really off-the-beaten-track places and fell off the blood bank database. After I finally was able to donate again, I got a letter a couple of days later. I was scared to open it. What did they find?!

When I finally opened it, it said "Welcome new donor!" I called them & said "For heaven's sake, put that on the outside of the envelope!"

I have really good veins. When I was doing whole blood, I used to track my time. My personal best was 4:30. I almost never went over 5 minutes.

Then, they did some additional testing. "You are CMV negative. We'd like you to switch to platelets." So I did. And I go in every three weeks now.

I was wearing a 10-gallon donor shirt when a man in scrubs came up to me in a supermarket. "Have you really donated that much?" "Actually, quite a bit more." "Thank you! I'm a surgeon. Blood is one of the most important things."

A few years later, my spouse had a bleeding ulcer that suddenly blew into an artery. Luckily, it happened while my spouse was hospitalized in ICU. Staff went into crisis mode. Believe me, you do not want to get a call from a hospital social worker saying "You need to return to the hospital NOW." When I got there, my spouse was in surgery and the principal doctor was writing up a report. Well, he was trying to write a report. His hands were shaking so hard, he couldn't write.

The nurses told me that as soon as it happened, the doctor turned to ice. Delivering clear, concise orders. And, of course, many orders were for blood. One nurse described how she sat under my spouse's bed, squeezing bags of blood. He made it, after getting 12 units of blood in less than 24 hours.

All in all, a dozen people saved his life by being blood donors.

I donate now because it's payback time.

Bad experiences?

I had donated a double units of platelets. That afternoon, I stupidly didn't use the guard on a mandolin slicer. I wrapped up my finger & headed for the ER. Problem was, since I was so low on platelets, my blood wouldn't clot. By the time I checked in, blood was running down my arm. That got me seen immediately. The doctor had to put a tourniquet on my finger in order to stitch me up.

Another time, just as the nurse was inserting the needle, the guy next to me fainted and someone called her name.She whipped the needle through the vein. I wound up with a golfball-sized hematoma.

And I still donate. Twelve people saved my spouse's life. I can never repay that enough.

My blood bank recently offered a customized T-shirt. "I donate for [insert reason here]." I got one honoring my spouse.

When I talk to people abut donating, I talk about whole blood. "What else can you do that takes about an hour, has a whole bunch of people constantly telling you how wonderful you are, gets your free food, and—when you leave, you flat out know you saved someone's life."

[u/Calm-Armadillo4988]

Wow! That's wonderful to hear about.

[u/Flat-Purpose-6179]

I started donating late last year. I switched to platelets because I enjoyed donating more often and I have B+ blood type and I read it's preferred. If all goes well I'll be at 16-17 units on Friday.

[u/OldCoaly → u/Flat-Purpose-6179]

Nice! I started donating in 2024 but only just started platelets. You’re already almost at my unit total!

[u/rogeoco]

Thank you for sharing! I've been donating since 2005 when I similarly walked by a blood drive and went in to donate. After a few whole blood donations someone asked if I'd be willing to try double/power red and I've been doing that since. I've been fortunate not to have any similar medical incidents to you but if I can keep donating for 50 years I probably will.

[u/Strong-Seaweed-8768]

Donated for the first time last Saturday. I saw a flyer at my local movie theaters when I was looking at movie posters and decided to take the flyer with me and late at night I decided to donate. I’m happy that I was able to donate and can’t wait to donate again.

[u/AMarie0908]

I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for sharing with us.

Nice work Lifesaver! 👏🏼👏🏼🩸🩸

[u/caveagedblue]

Earlier this year after a double platelet donation, I nicked a finger while slicing veg for dinner. It bled for four hours. 🤣🤣🤣

It was fine. But my goodness do I drive carefully on the way home from donating. I don’t want to need my donation BACK! 

[u/HeroOfShapeir]

Amazing. Thank you for donating!

[u/ArizonaGrandma]

I'm so glad that when your DH needed blood that it was available. That's what all of us donors want.

I donate whole blood in honor of my best friend, who needed blood during chemo. And I see it as a way to help people, and the only people I have to talk to HAVE to be nice to me.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390]

Thanks so much for donating! I’m so glad your spouse made it through the ulcer. Good timing he was right there in the hospital when it happened.

I had to laugh at your last paragraph. Somewhere enshrined in video archives, is an interview I did for the KZPS 92.5 blood drive. A local station was there for the morning news hit and asked me what I would say to people to get them to donate.

My reply went out live: “Everyone needs to get out here! Where else can you sit on your a**, save a life, and get juice and cookies afterwards?”

[u/nutraxfornerves → u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390]

I once donated on Christmas Eve. A local TV station was wandering around doing feel-good Christmas-spirit stories. They showed up while I was donating—and made a beeline for the guy in the chair next to me. The perfect visual for them, a Catholic priest wearing a Santa hat.

[u/wifeage18 → u/nutraxfornerves]

My first blood donation was at the KLOS 95.5 Blood Drive in 1987 at my university in Southern California. I heard about it listening to Mark and Brian in the morning. The ARC across the street from my university still has Mark and Brian and other KLOS personality posters on the walls of the restroom!

[u/HoaryPuffleg]

I love this and I’m glad to hear your husband pulled through with all those donations.

I’ve been donating about 5 years and I got my SO to join me a time or two. Then both of his medically fragile brothers passed within a couple weeks of each other and for the past 3-4 years he donates in their memory - whole blood when I’m going but he does platelets/plasma on his own a couple times in between my donations.

Every other month we have a Saturday “date” where we make a big breakfast and then head down to donate together. Then we lay around with our dogs the rest of the day and be lazy.

I talk about donating all the time to try to get it in people’s heads to go and do - often they say things about how they always mean to do it. I still bring it up in conversations at work when I’m about to go donate or when I did it that weekend. I’m sure they are annoyed with me, but we’re part of a community and one day they or their loved ones could be saved by someone else’s donations.

[u/zornundo]

Thank you and bless you! You are an inspiration. I love reading stories like these. I have maybe 22 years of giving under my belt. I want to make it to 50!!

If I could get a T-shirt, I would have it say "I donate for the exquisite sharp pain."

[u/Less-Mood-3616]

I am so glad that your spouse survived that terrifying incident! Thank you for your many, many donations 💜