I scheduled the appointment for early in the afternoon, ate a big lunch, and drank lots of water. I also refrained from taking the pain reliever that I really wanted for my mysteriously tight and sore neck.
I realized as I approached the donation site that a mobile unit meant that a diesel engine would be running constantly to power the thing. I was less than thrilled about the prospect of breathing diesel fumes while donating blood — I’d had enough problems with being light-headed during my previous donation, no fumes required!
In the end, despite my best efforts to be in great shape for donating blood, my efforts were foiled by an iron count that was just a wee little bit too low. Ever so slightly.
Lessons learned:
1. Choose a fixed donation site, not a mobile unit, unless you have a special fondness for breathing diesel fumes.
2. If you’re in fairly serious pain and want to take medication, it may be better to take it and reschedule your blood donation than suffering (which in this case was needless since I was unable to donate anyway).
Her Green Life 