Giving blood..

[turkey154]

I'm 17 on saturday..yey! so that means i amthen old enough to give blood. my mum does this and i have been along with her a few times and i think it is a wonderful thing as it isnt just used to horrible accidents but in childbirth and cancer treatment. what i wanted to know is how many of you give blood? if you do, why? and if you dont also why not?

[LiverpoolLou]

Hiya turkey........I think it's a brilliant thing to do and would love to do it myself.....apparently because I've been anaemic I cannot give blood. But I take my hat off to the people that do.

[LiverpoolLou]

Sorry turkey, forgot to say...........HAPPY BIRTHDAY.....for Saturday....have a lovely day.

[turkey154]

Aww thankyou very much i will have a good day..

[JoAnnMul]

Good for you girl,what a positive way to celebrate your bd...I give blood only gave it 3x so far though,happy birthday for Saturday..!!

[funkychicken]

I was told I couldn't give blood because I have diabetes, I would if I could though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR SATURDAY!!!

[woofgang]

I did it for 30 years on and off then had to stop because menopause gave me dizzy spells. Just always thought it was a good thing to do and will again if allowed. Happy birthday Turkey ans well done to your mum and you

[lozzzz]

You have to be 8stone to give blood and i'm just under,they wont let me even though I've asked several times.

[boobesque]

i tried to give blood, but have a phobia of needles and passed out, and they wont let me now as i freak out!

i did give blood when my son wasin special care and needed 8 transfusions, but i wasnt compatible, and i was sick after they took the blood!

[Supernick]

Good for you turkey. I started giving blood at university because (cough cough) I wanted to impress a girl who was also going. It's an extremely valuable thing to do, and more people should. Of course it's not for everyone, and I have seen people faint or feel very unwell during the process. However if your healthy, relaxed and pass their criteria you should be fine. I'm on 6 times now and almost look forward to those trips i only because work give me a coupleof hours off to do it! Good luck

[Englishbird]

I've been 3 times so far, but I keep testing too low red cell count for them to take it.  Will keep trying though, i think it's very important.

[shaz-rla]

Been six times now and will keep doing it as long as I can!  Don't have rare blood or anything but think it might be me sometime.

[Oleanda]

I did it for many years, started going with my Dad when I was 17. Was about to start donating plasma about 14 years ago then was diagnosed with RA and had to give up because of my medication.

[Hermia]

I am desperate to give blood, but can't as there is no place to do it! There are no sessions near my work and all the sessions near where I live are in the daytime (and I'm not angelic enough to use a day of my precious Annual Leave). I rang the blood place and they said there is a drop-in place at a hospital near me and I thought "Wooohoo". It turned out the hospital was 3 bus rides/2 hour journey away. I'm moving next year so I'm hoping I'll get the chance to give blood then.

[CiderMonkey]

I've given blood a few times but as I keep getting pierced and tattooed I can't at the moment as you have to wait a year since you had anything like that done. I will definitely go again next time I reach a years gap.

I hate the idea of a needle actually going into my vein  - makes me feel queasy - but i think giving blood is such a good thing to do so i just turn my head away and try not to pay any attention to the feeling!

[nect4r]

I give blood for the obvious reasons (helping others etc) and also because I have rare-ish blood - A neg, which about 7% of the population has.

[ondemania]

my mums been giving blood for years! shes got one of the special badges and stuff hehe. i cant give blood cos im too light :< but i think its a great thing to do!

[happy_face]

I would like to give blood but whenever I've been to the hospital for blood test I come out looking like a pin cushion because they can't find my veins and I find it traumatic when you have to get stabbed 5-6 times. I also found out that you have to wait a year after a tattoo before they accept you as a blood donor and as I have a bit of an addiction to tats it would never work

[Denise S.]

I received my GOLD award some time ago.   Well Done !!!    More people should be like you.

[nicola_red]

I've never given blood because I've never been more than a year away from a piercing, tattoo or operation.  I would also like to point out that I have loads of gay friends and they won't allow gay men to give blood unless they have a certificate to prove they are HIV negative, which I think is terribly discriminatory.

[Robinia]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Saturday!!

A big thank you to you & all those who donate blood, as you say it's a wonderful thing to do.  I had lots of transfusions during chemo but can't donate myself. They made big news about Prince Charles donating at the time so I told everyone I'd got some of his!!  (After 3 weeks though it all your own!)