Blood donation goes high tech

[jethrien]

The blood drive people have new apparatus. Instead of just clipping your bag to the railing, they put it in this little cradle that has tiny robotic arms that tips it back and forth (I guess to keep the blood flowing?) And when it gets heavy enough, the robot thing cheerfully starts cheeping until an attendant comes over and clamps the tube. It's actually ridiculously cute. (The mental image is probably cuter than the actual device. It mostly looks like a robotic swing with a digital display set. But now I'm picturing Pintsize from Questionable Content, rocking the blood cradle back and forth. Wait, no, Pintsize wouldn't be cute, he'd be creepy. Maybe the iPod robot instead. Or Marigold's chibi bot.)

Something must have happened, though - they were far more obsessive about reading you all the directions afterwards and walking you to the table and inspecting your bandage than ever before.

Comments

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

5) You start the actual donation process.
a) You hop up on a bed that's rather like a beach lounge chair. Your back's at roughly a 45 degree angle. They're adjustable, usually, so they might be able to fuss with this if you need them to.
b) They swab your arm with a disinfectant. It's cold and a little tickly, but not too unpleasant.
c) They tape the tube down to your wrist. (Removing the tape is actually going to hurt more than the needle will.)
d) They put a tourniquet (usually a blood pressure cuff) on your upper arm. Your arm rests on a fairly comfy armrest.
e) They gently insert a needle. It feels a little pinchy when they insert it, but after that you'll barely feel it if you stay still. Which you'll want to do anyway.
f) They will either fill a vial off the feed for testing before or after filling the bag. There's not much difference.
g) You sit there for awhile, depending on how long it takes for you to fill the bag. They give you something to hold in your hand, and you sort of roll it and squeeze it every couple seconds. This helps the blood keep moving so you get done faster. I usually read a book--this bit is boring.
h) You've finished filling your bag. Yay! They crimp the line and detach the bag.
i) They gently remove the needle and press down with a gauze pad. They ask you to apply pressure and hold your arm up above your head for a bit. It's about the same as raising your arm in class and the professor not noticing you for awhile. After a minute or two, they let you take your arm down, swap in a fresh pad, and wrap a bandage around your elbow.
j) They have you sit up and ask you how you're feeling. If you're dizzy, they let you lie back down until you feel a bit better. If you're ok, they tell you all the things you're not supposed to do so you won't feel dizzy. (For the next couple hours, don't drink or smoke, don't lift heavy stuff, don't do heavy exercise, don't take aspirin, don't take the bandage off or let it get wet. Double your fluid intake, maybe step up your iron and salt a bit.)
k) They walk you over to the table. A nice person feeds you something and makes you drink something. They won't let you leave until you've sat there for fifteen minutes without incident. If you get dizzy or your bandage bleeds through or whatever, they take care of you until you feel better.