Random Vandy Memory That Popped Into My Head Today
I successfully donated blood for the second time today! I say “successfully” because there’s a funny story about that. The first time I tried to donate, my iron level was too low, and the second time I could only fill half a bag so the nurses gave up.
This past November though, my friend Victoria and I vowed to donate together at the blood drive at Vanderbilt. We scheduled appointments within fifteen minutes of each other but somehow never saw each other throughout the whole process. I went first and was glad to hear that my iron level was high enough. They hooked me up to the bag and everything seemed to be going smoothly. The nurse told me that I had filled the bag and I thought the hard part was over…until I started to feel lightheaded. Now, I had never passed out before so I had no idea what the signs where, and just when I began to tell the nurse I didn’t feel great, I passed out. I remember waking up to people spritzing water in my face and holding a fan nearby. I was a little disoriented but everyone was really nice—one of my sorority sisters who was donating at the same time even came to check on me.
Afterwards, I met my friend Deanna (who I Skyped with in my last post) to work on an Orgo lap report and wondered how it went with Victoria. I figured her donation went smoothly and she beat me out of there. It wasn’t until I returned to the Mayfield that I learned that she had thrown up and passed out after donating…haha we were a pathetic pair. But we did both successfully give blood!
So today I decided to try my luck again and volunteered to donate. It was the smoothest process yet! Friendly nurses, free cookies, and complete consciousness. So now my little spiel: if you’re eligible, go donate! It’s such an easy way to help others, and each donation could potentially save three lives. THREE LIVES! That’s huge! I’m going to try to start a routine of donating every few months, because I’m O negative, aka the universal donor, aka kind of a big deal.