I guess you could call me bloody-minded

[soc_puppet]

Circumstances happened over the past couple of days that left me particularly behind on f'list reading, etc. I am, however, too lazy to catch up at the moment (though I'm apparently not too lazy to obsessively read TVTropes in this manner).

I've also been low on iron the past month or so (boo!), preventing me from successfully donating blood. Since my most recent iron deficiency has kindly coincided with a natural bodily function of most females my age, I've decided to make a poll of it.

To anyone interested: For reasons beyond your control, your body expels a certain amount of blood every four to eight weeks*. You are magically given a way to choose how you would rather expel this blood. The two options are mutually exclusive.

[Poll #1424442]

* Arbitrary number. I know the less voluntary option is rarely so kind as to be so regular; similarly, the more voluntary method can have you ready to go in as few as six weeks, but everyone I've donated with won't accept fewer than eight.

Edit: I should add, I meant the question to take place in an ideal world, where other issues related to donating blood are suspended. Which I probably should've said. But you could still answer either way, I guess?

Part of me is also just really interested in the reasons people do and do not donate blood, I guess ._.a (FTR, I like to donate because it's basically a lazy way to "volunteer" for the community :D;; The cookies and stuff are just other volunteer perks.)

Comments

[vitani]

But donating also involves a much larger amount of blood, and I personally am not able to do it, because I don't have enough iron and tend to end up collapsing.

[soc_puppet]

My sympathies :( I'm borderline too low, so I can usually push it up with iron supplements/high iron foods/etc, but occasionally I also get weird blood pressure things that can throw me off mid-donation. *hugs?*

[websofseaweed.livejournal.com]

Well, we already discussed my feelings on this :) Donating blood FTW!

[soc_puppet]

So true, yes! I totally respect people who can't or might-but-have-issues and stuff, though.

[semiramis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what faoiltiamatani said. I tend to get dizzying reverse baroreflex for half an hour every other time I even get blood taken for medical reasons, which... I'm told is considerably less volume than they take for donations. er. orz

[semiramis.livejournal.com]

...or wait, should I answer without taking that into account? Because if so, then, yeah, I'd totally rather give blood.

[soc_puppet]

I'm thinking ideal world here, where that sort of thing wouldn't be an issue - which I should probably edit to add ^^a It was mostly an idle thought along the "Wouldn't it be cool if..." line.

[semiramis.livejournal.com]

Well in that case!

[changes vote]

Hahaha. The weird thing is, I have very little fear of medical needles even though I otherwise have this. Thing. About intentional injury of any sort, even if it's in the service of medicine. And especially around the hand/forearm area, which is... where they usually stick you to take blood. I think it's partly because I got really used to getting vaccinated a lot during a particular developmental point in my childhood or something, idk.

Everytime I've had blood drawn, the nurses complain at me about my tiny veins, though. Like "I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING, LEMME SEE YOUR RIGHT ARM. ...OKAY NO, GIMME THE LEFT AGAIN. ......" :I

[soc_puppet]

XD I've been complimented on my nice veins. Which is never something I expected from a non-vampire, I gotta say.

I also have to look away every time they poke me :x I mean, I know why I do it, and I know why they do it, I just. Don't particularly want to watch.

[semiramis.livejournal.com]

Hahaha I like. I get told I have very delicate, tiny veins, while the nurse turns around and searches for the smallest needle if there is one smaller. orz

Haha, the blood test ones only take like a couple of seconds, even for the ones where they need two samples; I imagine the donation takes longer? I sort of get this weird detachment while they're doing it though, like--oh, how interesting, the tube is rhythmically filling with blood, hm. xD

[soc_puppet]

Mine are small (though not extra small), but they're easy to see, I guess? So it might be more of a comment on my skin (woo, go freakish paleness from being an internet hermit!) than my veins.

Donation takes about twenty minutes, on average. It can go longer or shorter depending on, uh. Factors I know nothing about. The center I go to has a TV mounted on the wall that's usually turned to the food network, and if that fails, the staff is always willing to talk :Db Though man, the fact that blood is hotter than room temperature really should not freak me out as much as it does.

[zidane.livejournal.com]

1 Week of Cramps > Needles and Passing Out

[soc_puppet]

100% respectable position. It's half the reason I asked the question, 'cuz I know there's plenty of people with plenty of good reasons to stick with menses.

[harusamemosuke.livejournal.com]

I'd rather feel woozy for maybe a day and not have to worry about staining my underwear and having cramps. Donating blood ftw.

[soc_puppet]

TBH, I probably wouldn't be quite so annoyed with menses if I could actually put the product to some good use - but going without the other things would be cool, too.

[harusamemosuke.livejournal.com]

It is a bit of a waste, isn't it? I'm just selfish, really. The donating blood is more of a side benefit - I'd really just rather not have to bleed for eight days (yes, my period is that long. >.>)

[soc_puppet]

Yeowch >_O I don't blame you one bit, there.

[kaitodoushi.livejournal.com]

I have like a bad iron deficiency XD; And I keep forgetting to take my pills for it which doesn't help >.>

Still, if I could donate blood I would much rather do that. Ugh.

[soc_puppet]

I have a friend who all but bled blue, and then apparently stopped having problems after he added more red meat to his diet and started working out more. But it was, like. Crazy more working out. Three hours a day, three or more days a week, or something. ...Same friend I based this fic on, actually.

[kaitodoushi.livejournal.com]

Huh, really? Yeah, there's no way I could work out that much XD; I haven't been eating as much red meat as I used to, though. I'll keep that in mind...

[soc_puppet]

According to him, yeah. (He's practically a real life anime character o_O) Red meat, dark green veggies, watermelon, tomatos... I've gotten the "These foods have extra iron in them, so eat up more to boost your iron count!" sheet so many times I've practically memorised it X3 They also push a couple different cereals - Total especially.

I'm starting to get hungry now. Time for snackage!

[kaitodoushi.livejournal.com]

I just got the "Take these three times a day" pill "speech" which I'm lucky if I remember once a day. Ah, lots of foods I don't like XD This may be why I have the problem.

[soc_puppet]

Blech XP Yeah, no wonder. There's a fair amount in eggs, too (mostly in the yolks). Fig newtons apparently have some, too. And you can check the labels on just about anything for iron. ...I am such a know-it-all, WTF.

[semiramis.livejournal.com]

DARK CHOCOLATE

DARK CHOCOLATE HAS IRON it's part of how I handle my problem sometimes, especially when I get on those kicks were I just can't stand the sight of red meat. You'll have to check labels because it varies from variety to variety, but unless you're allergic or somthing. Yeah. |Db

[soc_puppet]

Good news! Or, uh, news, at any rate. I found a copy of that sheet they give me every time I'm deferred for low iron! Suggestions for foods high in iron can be found on this sheet, which you can look at or not, as you choose. (Though I would definitely second the dark chocolate idea. Mmmm, chocolate...)

[kaitodoushi.livejournal.com]

Oh, woo hoo, thanks! Hmm, I know at least when I was younger dark chocolate was too rich for me, but if I go with this (and given the fact that I'm still forgetting the pills, I may have to XD;) I will keep it in mind @_@

[candy--chan.livejournal.com]

I donate double red blood cells as often as I'm able, thus getting over my lifelong fear of needles. I'd rather deal with one day of being tired and cranky and having my appetite do weird things than a whole WEEK of being tired and crank etc.

[soc_puppet]

Y-yeah, I'd have to agree. Though I don't wanna privilege blood donating ability too much :x As I mentioned above, I wouldn't mind monthlies quite so much if I could put the product to good use; most of the reason I donate blood is because I want to help people, and it's a cheap, easy way to do so. *lazy but good-hearted?*

OT, your icon cracks me up something fierce XD

[candy--chan.livejournal.com]

My parents have done it for ages. I just recently started going along. Monthlies are a pain and a waste. Donating blood means less discomfort for us, AND it means we're saving up to three lives per pint. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved!

Thanks! :D

[soc_puppet]

My grandma's a retired nurse, so that's the first thing she took my mom out to do on her eighteenth X3 I guess you could say it's in my blood? *shot* And I would pay good money for someone to find a way to "recycle" menses.

[dogmatix-san.livejournal.com]

*hearts your icon* XD

[candy--chan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[dogmatix-san.livejournal.com]

Menstruation please. I can deal with being stuck with needles and watching the blood being sucked out of me if I absolutely have to, but voluntarily walking in once every two months to the needles and the blood and oh hi lightheadedness and racing heart and ooooo the light's doing that funny shade fluctuation thing again ahahaha. *hides off in a corner*

[soc_puppet]

Yeah, definitely a good reason to stick with menses -_-a No reason to flirt with needle-phobias (or other ick factors, or other other factors that I don't know enough about, etc) on my account.

[polysamachan.livejournal.com]

Donating blood in a heartbeat. I wish I could do it. Having blood drawn (and needles) don't bother me anymore, and I'd like to be able to help people, but I get too sick. But I also don't menstruate anymore, either. (For the same reason.) So. It's kind of a neither thing, I guess.

[soc_puppet]

Alas on the getting/being too sick :( ...Though slightly less on not menstruating, but the reason is still crappy.

[ytak.livejournal.com]

I could totally get over my discomfort (almost fear) of needles if I could get away without menstrating. I cramp bad, suffer deep bone aches, have bad mood swings, and get a migrane the first day or two. I've donated blood once and know I can handle it (physically).

[soc_puppet]

Blech >_O Yeah, if it's a choice like that, I'd definitely be on the same side.

[ytak.livejournal.com]

Too bad we don't get a choice. I asked one of my friends if she'd donate or menstrate and she choose donate because she gets really mean at that time and she actually gets sick.

[qable.livejournal.com]

I'd rather donate blood, but I'm unable to do so. Apparently, being born in an American military base in Germany during the eighties means I'm at risk for something or other, and so I can't donate.

[soc_puppet]

Yeah, blood centers are kinda crazy paranoid about blood-borne-pathogens. For good reasons, granted, but still. (Half of the qualification questions could be skipped with "Have you had sex in the past twelve months?", and another quarter could be eliminated with "Have you ever had sex?" It is annoying to me!) Anyhow, you think they'd have a nice generic test to cover stuff like that, but nope! No suck luck.

[eldena.livejournal.com]

I'm not allowed to donate blood due to being a skeleton, but in an ideal world... I don't have a fear of needles or anything, so it's a shorter duration, less side effects, less mess, and the stuff gets put to good use? Yes please.

[soc_puppet]

Ah yes, skeletal-state-of-being; my old foe. (Well, not really.) I do know of one person who lied about her weight so she could donate, though I don't think I'd recommend it ^^a