it's in you to give

Today I donated blood for the first time. It was not an unpleasant experience, nor was it comfortable. I can still feel the echo of that seemingly too large needle jammed into my veins. I unwisely chose to ride my bike there. It took 35 minutes to go and 45 to return, so nervous was I of straining my heart. My mind is fuzzy right now. And my body weak. Not a good day to move furniture, which I started to do this morning. Bad planning on my part, but it will all get done. Eventually.

I reccommend giving blood. And asking as many questions as you can. They treat you really well, care about your experience and give you as many cookies as you can eat afterwards. (For me: three packages. And two cups of tang.) In all they take 2 cups of blood, or 585 grams. You can watch as much of the process as you like or zone out or watch TV. Or, better yet, watch the other people. Those who get dizzy and whose chairs are suddenly tipped up, who are plastered with damp paper towels on their foreheads, chests and wrists.

Just don't do the following.

1) don't forget to eat breakfast. Or lunch. Or book your appointment at lunch or breakfast time. Book your appointment in a nice, middle of the day time. A time when your belly is full. But not too full. You might barf.

2) Don't spend the morning rearranging your furniture, or at least if you do, be sure to finish so that when you get home and all you feel like doing is lie down you actually have somewhere to lie that is not the floor. As nice as the floor is, the bed is better.

3) Don't ride your bike. Or at least be prepared to double the length of your ride home. They say to avoid anything strenuous. Just keep the heart rate down and you should be fine.

I did all three of those things. I am fine. I do have a bruise that is starting to heal on my arm.

I called – as instructed by the informative pamphlet – to inform the nurse at Canadian Blood Services that I did, in fact, have a bruise around the "needle site." "Is this normal?" I asked. Yes, she replied, then proceeded to ask if I had any streaking up and down my arm. How big the bruise was. If I had a fever. No. No. No.

Here are some things that I didn't know. That when you need blood, you can receive blood from a particular donor only once. After that your body has created antibodies and will reject the blood. If you are waiting for a donor organ, you will most likely die not because the organ is unavailable, but because you exhaust the supply of donors before you get the organ. There are a finite number of donors out there. This is why they treat the new ones so well.

Also, it is not a race. No matter how competitive you feel, regardless of those urges that compel us to rush ahead faster than the guy in the next reclining chair, it's your blood. And your blood wants to stay inside you. Asking it to exit is strange enough on its own. Forcing it to exit at a greater rate than it is prepared to leave is probably unwise. So squeeze the warm ball, yes, but don't rush. Watch TV. Relax. Think forward to the cookies. You'll get there eventually.

Finally, the amount of blood they take is about 10% of what's in you. That's not much and a lot at the same time. So treat yourself well. You deserve it. You are saving a life, and that feels good.

It is in you to give. That is one marketing campaign that really sticks with me.