Breath gets harder, heat beat races, sweat forms, shivers throughout body, pupils dilate, mind goes elsewhere.

Yes, this could be the intro for some sexy scene, but if I added just one more line…

…..all colour drains from face and that faint, queasy feeling comes on…….

Then this is the description for many people when talking about donating blood.

The idea of being jabbed with a long, sharp needle can turn even the most macho of men into a whimpering mess.  Funny enough, not to pigeonhole an entire gender, but it is often men who can’t handle being pricked, probed or investigated.  Maybe it is because women have to tune into their bodies at least once a month, that we are sometimes just better with this sort of stuff.  I guess for those women that decide to have children, a little pain is just preparation for the big showdown at childbirth.

That being said, there are a huge amount of women & men who couldn’t think of anything worse than seeing their own blood drain out of their nimble bodies for any other reason than a blood test.  For those people, relax I’m not going to come running at you screaming ‘how dare you, you must give blood.’  I also know that not everyone can give blood either.   BUT:  if you have been thinking about it and just never got round to it, then DO!!!  There are so many people in this world who constantly need healthy blood to survive.

These are some of the ways your blood can be used (might have to click on image as this pic looks teeny)

What spurred me on to write this, is that I’m going to give plasma for the first time next week (apparently I have sick as veins for it) and the other is cause I just witnessed another type of life saved from this very thing.  Though it wasn’t from a human, it was from a dog –for another dog.  My sister’s poor little Labrador Sasha ate some rat poison (we think by eating a rat) and got very sick, very quick.  It has been a really scary week for her family as there was a while, where we honestly didn’t think she was going to pull through.  To be honest, in all the times of donating blood for humans, did I ever stop to think, well shit, animals need blood transfusions too.  So maybe you don’t feel up to the jab, and I know it seems a  little inhumane to make your dog do it instead-but if you have a healthy animal-it is worth chatting to your local vet and seeing how you can help out too. After a blood transfusion this week, Sasha is home and doing better and fingers crossed keeps heading in that direction.

I went along with a friend about 4 years ago to donate blood and together we gave it a go.  Now it’s not to say that the reason you ever donate anything (your time, your money, your blood) is to get a reward from it.  But there is something about sitting at a centre, surrounded by other donors and just knowing that by this small little gesture, you might possible save a life or many.  I’m not going to lie, it’s a pretty good feeling, especially when you think, what if this was my friend, family or lover.  You never know what will happen in your lifetime, because one day, you might need it too.

For more information check out:

https://www.donateblood.com.au/ready-to-donate/make-appointment

Or read this article –there is evidence to prove that donating blood can also be beneficial for the donor.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2333882/Donating-blood-good-YOUR-health-receiver.html