#136

My new pin! 8/30/2023 dwm

The first time I gave blood was in college. It was freshman year. The blood drive was in Hubbell, the large dining hall at Drake.

 

I don't remember many details. I think it was my second or third time giving blood when my hand felt numb.

 

I went back to Hubbell to see if my situation was serious. I was told to use my hand more and it would 'wake up.'

 

After college, I didn't roll up my sleeves very often to give blood until we moved back to Wisconsin in 1989. The job I had some down-time and a few times I stopped at a community blood drive to donate.

 

Once the sharp pain of the 'stick' was over it was easier to enjoy the experience. I liked helping people who needed it. One drive stands out, it was the drive where Culver's was giving dishes of frozen custard to people who just gave blood. I might have heard someone in line ask about giving twice.

 

When we lived in Augusta, east of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, I became a more active donor, going to the Red Cross office to give blood. It would have been the early 1990s, before HIPPA, when their office was covered with signs and pictures congratulating people for reaching milestones in terms of giving blood. 

 

I was awed by the names of people who had given 10, 15, or 25 gallons of blood. I couldn't imagine reaching those levels.

 

Giving blood became a habit. I took a break for a while when we moved to Indianapolis but eventually started giving every eight weeks at the Indiana Blood Center.  There was a Red Cross downtown, but all the drives I saw in the area seemed to be handled by the Blood Center, so that's where I went. 

I reached my fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth gallons with the Indiana Blood Center. In 2012, we returned to Wisconsin. The first couple times I gave in Madison was at a community blood drive, including one where I work. That time it took nearly 15 minutes for the phlebotomist to get the full pint. 

 

Another time I gave on the University of Wisconsin campus because donors could get a special t-shirt. That's when I learned the reason it hurt so much to give blood. It was because giving 64 or more times develops scar tissue under the skin which the needle had to go through to reach a vein. I used my right arm for the next year or two, and it didn't hurt as much when we went back to the left arm.

Friday was my 136th time, getting me to 17 gallons. One pint can help up to three individuals so that's potentially 408 people!

If you're healthy and eligible, I hope you'll give blood. The pain lasts a moment, the good feeling from helping someone who needs it lasts much longer.