[otmame]

i went for a blood donation about a year ago, and i'm considering going back BUT the last time i went, the blood flowed very slowly so the nurse (who was a trainee) shoved the needle all the way in (it really hurt). after an hour or so i only managed to fill up half a bag and i ended up with a large nasty bruise that ended halfway down my forearm and didnt fade for a few weeks.

so has this happened to anyone else before? is the slow bloodflow just a one-off thing? is it just low blood pressure or something? i carried a heavy schoolbag afterwards, could that have caused the bruise?i want to donate again cause i'm blood type O, so i'm a universal donor but i'm not too keen on going through the jabbing-needle-all-the-way-in part again...

[Laura25]

I want to give blood but I can't *has a paddy*

Right, sorry about that...

I don't think that should've happened. It was probably because the nurse didn't do it properly rather than anything to do with your blood (I could be wrong though). Try it again but ask for a trained nurse. And well done for giving blood I wish I could.

[DomAD]

Uh, I would have thought possibly saving someone's life outweighs a bruise...

[ManxKirsty]

I gave blood and it was absolutely fine. Maybe it was just an off go? Try again incase it was just like that for the one time- it is so worth it, especially as you are a universal donor.

[Gary10k]

Some people just bleed faster than others. I filled up a bag in like 10-15 minutes, but then it could take twice as long as that for others.

Person(s) life > a bruise and some time

[xxbutterbeanxx]

I've given blood twice, third time they wouldn't let me do it because my iron levels were too low and turned out I was anaemic. Anyway, second time, I had a trainee nurse doing it and she couldn't do it (after jabbing me a few times in the arm) so she got a senior nurse to do it and even she missed my vein (apparently I have small veins??) and said 'oops jus gone underneath your vein' which made me cringe ALOT but i still went back the third time 2 give blood even though I had a massive bruise from it before and nearly passed out that time (probably because my iron levels are always quite low). So things like that do happen, but if you really want to do it, it shouldn't put you off. Doctor's now given me the all clear from anaemia so I can go back to giving blood

[secretmessages]

Lots of people bruise (well, obviously not the majority but it's nothing to worry about). Also I've been told that it usually takes longer during the first go, although perhaps not that long. My guess is that the nurse might have not got your vein completely square on, or something like that. I'd go again, there's no risk

[anna_spanner89]

I have deep veins so a fair amount of people have to do some prodding and poking to find mine

but seriously, go back again your experiences was likely to have been a one off

[abc101]

Some people bleed slowly. I fill up a bag in 5 minutes, but some people take 10, some people take 15. I guess I'm a really fast bleeder, which won't be good if I get a bad cut!

Next time you go, move your fingers. You should wiggle your fingers and clench your fist continuously to keep the blood flowing.

[Easy E]

I gave blood recently and I filled the bag in a couple of minutes I think.
I really like the feeling, plus all your veins in your arms protrude and it makes you look well 'ard!