Donating Blood

Yesterday, around 2:00 P.M., I donated blood. It was an interesting experience. After a brief medical questionnaire, I was given a finger prick to test my hemoglobin levels, and a blood pressure. The nurse told me the prick was the most painful part of the test. I figured she was just trying to make me less nervous (my heart rate was 98, which for me is somewhat elevated).

She wasn't kidding. The actual donation itself was pretty quick. There was a small prickling sensation when the needle went in, and another when it went out. Besides that I didn't feel much. I just spent a few minutes staring at a wall while my blood was collected. If, in that time, I somehow forgot I was giving blood, I probably would have assumed the sharp feeling was a rock in my sleeve or something.

The best part of the whole thing was, as I was getting up, the nurse told me I had just saved 2-3 lives. That felt good. Also, there was free food afterwards. Red Powerade has never been so ironically delicious.