Friday!

Hi Everyone!

I'm very tired and my arm is sore but at least it's Friday.

Went for plasma donation last night. I usually use my left arm but for some reason last night, it wasn't drawing very well. They decided to stop, return my leftover blood (everything except for the plasma - it gets taken out) and I was given the option to try my other arm. I said ok. The problem was, when they started returning my blood in my left arm, instead of going back into the vein, it collected in my arm in a big bump. A lot of rushing and some ice on my arm got rid of the bump. It didn't hurt very much - more like a tingling that you get if the iodine isn't quite dry when the needle goes in. My arm's sore today and my bruise is just starting to appear. It's a bit yellow around the needle hole but I figure the full effect won't show up until tonight or tomorrow.

I switched to my right arm (which only has a small vein so it's very slow) and they were able to get a second draw on me.

When you donate plasma, whole blood is drawn into a machine where it is collected in a bucket and spun around. The centifugal force separates the plasma. The leftover blood is put into a container until it's full. At this point, the machine changes direction. Instead of drawing blood, it pumps the blood back into the vein. This is why you can donate plasma every week but can donate whole blood only every 56 days. In plasma donation, your iron is returned to your body but it isn't in whole blood. It usually takes about 25 minutes for me to donate. Women usually have 2 cycles - draw, return, draw, return. Men usually need 3 cycles.

Last night I finished 2 but I would've needed another draw to fill up the bag. They decided to stop after 2 because they could still use my plasma but they didn't want me hooked up for so long (almost an hour). One of the nurses gave me a ride home (it was the end of her shift).

I slept terribly last night because my arms couldn't get comfortable. Poor Mike! I kept waking up and he kept thinking it was time to play.

Have a great day!