I tried donating blood today.

Babyblue said:
aww.. That is when I found out you have to be 16... She was dissapointed that she could not do so due to her age. but the T shirt I got.. I told them to give me one her size. :D


It made her feel better. She told me that on her 16 birthday she wants to donate blood. Again I was :shock:

She is such a sweet thing!! She makes me so proud!!
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llloooollll!! not exactly what you hear from most kids on their 16th birthday :lol:
 
a 16 gauge average to take about 7 minutes of your time....

Is what they told me.

But a 25


Let me seek around and find out what is the average time. And if a person is willing enough and the demand for blood is as scarce. Why would people complain about how long it takes to donate. That would defeat the purposes of giving.
 
Jiro said:
llloooollll!! not exactly what you hear from most kids on their 16th birthday :lol:
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That is what I say!!! I will remind her on her 16 th birthday.. Lets see...:giggle:

This is from the crybaby that bawled her eyes out when she had to get her 7th grade shots a few months ago. :shock:
 
Babyblue said:
a 16 gauge average to take about 7 minutes of your time....

Is what they told me.

But a 25


Let me seek around and find out what is the average time. And if a person is willing enough and the demand for blood is as scarce. Why would people complain about how long it takes to donate. That would defeat the purposes of giving.
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Most places do not even carry the smaller gauge needles. So, that would make donation with a 25 difficult if they do not have the smaller needles.
 
lmvashaw said:
Most places do not even carry the smaller gauge needles. So, that would make donation with a 25 difficult if they do not have the smaller needles.
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OK... So Im going to ask you.

This is just merely an opinion I am asking of.

What do you think cause my hematoma?


I see that you have read this thread.. let me start from the begining.

At first they had a hard time finding a vein.. so they removed the rubber band.. and used a Blood pressure cuff to tighten my arm up more. I was holding the rod in my hand and pumped my hand like they asked. They found an good vein. got the needle in.

As soon as they released the Blood pressure cuff. Blood started spewing outside of the needle side and a hematoma was rapidly developing. I had a huge knot. They removed the needle and took them a while to stop my arm from bleeding.

My elbow is slightly swollen and the crease of my elbow to my forearm is totally black and blue.
 
Babyblue said:
a 16 gauge average to take about 7 minutes of your time....

Is what they told me.

But a 25


Let me seek around and find out what is the average time. And if a person is willing enough and the demand for blood is as scarce. Why would people complain about how long it takes to donate. That would defeat the purposes of giving.
Click to expand...

Given that I am AB-, they have never complained about using a 25 guage needle, or the time it takes. (Which is about 45 mintutes). Only 1/10th of a percent of the population has my blood type, so it is always in high demand.
 
Babyblue said:
OK... So Im going to ask you.

This is just merely an opinion I am asking of.

What do you think cause my hematoma?


I see that you have read this thread.. let me start from the begining.

At first they had a hard time finding a vein.. so they removed the rubber band.. and used a Blood pressure cuff to tighten my arm up more. I was holding the rod in my hand and pumped my hand like they asked. They found an good vein. got the needle in.

As soon as they released the Blood pressure cuff. Blood started spewing outside of the needle side and a hematoma was rapidly developing. I had a huge knot. They removed the needle and took them a while to stop my arm from bleeding.

My elbow is slightly swollen and the crease of my elbow to my forearm is totally black and blue.
Click to expand...

I could tell you exactly what caused it, but will wait for Imvashaw to answer.:P
 
All bickering aside...

Just wanna say, babyblue, you are doing a stellar job for donating blood. Wish I could do that, or even join the military.

So kudos for you to try again.
 
Babyblue said:
OK... So Im going to ask you.

This is just merely an opinion I am asking of.

What do you think cause my hematoma?


I see that you have read this thread.. let me start from the begining.

At first they had a hard time finding a vein.. so they removed the rubber band.. and used a Blood pressure cuff to tighten my arm up more. I was holding the rod in my hand and pumped my hand like they asked. They found an good vein. got the needle in.

As soon as they released the Blood pressure cuff. Blood started spewing outside of the needle side and a hematoma was rapidly developing. I had a huge knot. They removed the needle and took them a while to stop my arm from bleeding.

My elbow is slightly swollen and the crease of my elbow to my forearm is totally black and blue.
Click to expand...

A hematoma is caused by bleeding into the tissues, outside of the vein. (As I am sure you are aware)

It sounds to me that they did not get the needle all the way into the vein. I am not sure if you have seen a needle up close, but they have a beveled end (cut at an angle) if the entire bevel is not in the vein some blood can escape through the part of the hole that is not in the vein and go into the tissues. Another possibility is that they moved the needle after it was in and caused a small tear which would give the blood room to come out of the vein, yet not into the needle.

They could have also have gone all the way through the vein and caused a hole on the other side which bled through. If it was spurting bright red blood I would say it was an artery, but that is not likely.
 
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lmvashaw said:
A hematoma is caused by bleeding into the tissues, outside of the vein. (As I am sure you are aware)

It sounds to me that they did not get the needle all the way into the vein. I am not sure if you have seen a needle up close, but they have a beveled end (cut at an angle) if the entire bevel is not in the vein some blood can escape through the part of the hole that is not in the vein and go into the tissues. Another possibility is that they moved the needle after it was in and caused a small tear which would give the blood room to come out of the vein, yet not into the needle.

They could have also have gone all the way through the vein and caused a hole on the other side which bled through. If it was spurting bright red blood I would say it was an artery, but that is not likely.
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Nope.... A mild hematoma can be caused by what you are speaking of.

I know what a needle look like. being slanted or what not.

What ever I speak of here will not defer me from donating blood again..

But the BP cuff was released to fast. They kept in on too long and had me pumping my hands. As soon as they released the BP cuff. Blood came rushing in my arm. Literally causing a breach. I had a M.D told me that my vein may have ruptured at the site due to the SUDDEN rush of the blood flow.


View attachment 14160

My arm is still swollen and sore. This is not your everyday average hematoma. From a prick of a needle.
 
Babyblue said:
Nope.... A mild hematoma can be caused by what you are speaking of.

I know what a needle look like. being slanted or what not.

What ever I speak of here will not defer me from donating blood again..

But the BP cuff was released to fast. They kept in on too long and had me pumping my hands. As soon as they released the BP cuff. Blood came rushing in my arm. Literally causing a breach. I had a M.D told me that my vein may have ruptured at the site due to the SUDDEN rush of the blood flow.


View attachment 14160

My arm is still swollen and sore. This is not your everyday average hematoma. From a prick of a needle.
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Wow, I didn't realize it was that big. Most patients will say "it is huge!" and it will be the size of a silver dollar :).

Random bit of information: According to an RN I work with; a hematoma the size of your fist is about 10% of your blood. I have never seen a hematoma that big on a young person though. Only really old people. Generally the wounds I see are open :P
 
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lmvashaw said:
Wow, I didn't realize it was that big. Most patients will say "it is huge!" and it will be the size of a silver dollar :).

Random bit of information: According to an RN I work with; a hematoma the size of your fist is about 10% of your blood. I have never seen a hematoma that big on a young person though. Only really old people. Generally the wounds I see are open :P
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I live in Florida... I have been wearing long sleeve shirts for the past few days to prevent people from thinking I am a druggie. my elbow is also swollen making it sort of weird to bend it.

So now you see what I am speaking of. This picture was taken a few minutes ago.. I attempted to donate blood last Wednesday evening...

I have always gotten bruises or mild hematomas from donating blood.. but never had a painful experience like this one.
 
Babyblue said:
I live in Florida... I have been wearing long sleeve shirts for the past few days to prevent people from thinking I am a druggie. my elbow is also swollen making it sort of weird to bend it.

So now you see what I am speaking of. This picture was taken a few minutes ago.. I attempted to donate blood last Wednesday evening...

I have always gotten bruises or mild hematomas from donating blood.. but never had a painful experience like this one.
Click to expand...

Yeppers. They blew the vein big time, and the blood started to pool. With a 16 guage needle, they got much more leakage than they would have with a 25 guage. Then they release the BP cuff that was acting like a tourniquet, and the blood infiltrated.

Poor you. I know that has to be painful. And it will take awhile for the blood to resorb so the swelling and bruising will get better.
 
souggy said:
All bickering aside...

Just wanna say, babyblue, you are doing a stellar job for donating blood. Wish I could do that, or even join the military.

So kudos for you to try again.
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Thanks.. I will try again next month... They wanted to try my other arm after this incident.. as they were checking... I was in so much pain that I told them no... I will come back next month.

They kept apologizing up and down. I almost felt sorry for the young lady that did this to me. She was almost in tears herself.

The Mobile blood bank will be back... and so will I. Just hope I do not get the same gal! :fingersx:
 
Babyblue said:
Thanks.. I will try again next month... They wanted to try my other arm after this incident.. as they were checking... I was in so much pain that I told them no... I will come back next month.

They kept apologizing up and down. I almost felt sorry for the young lady that did this to me. She was almost in tears herself.

The Mobile blood bank will be back... and so will I. Just hope I do not get the same gal! :fingersx:
Click to expand...

You are a brave and socially conscious soul. Makes me proud to call you "friend"!:P
 
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