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

[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.