Today I saved 3 lives!!! I'm so proud of myself (^_^)

Every year my school has a blood drive twice a year. The Red Cross sets up a station in the Library.

In past years I couldn't donate because I wasn't 17 and I needed my parent's permission. My mother would never sign the papers :( But now I can legally do it without her consent. 

I'm not gonna lie. I was nervous as hell. I wasn't even scared of the needle but rather all that blood flowing out of me. It just seemed so weird to me.

So 30 mins or so before my appointment I got really anxious. I was even 5 mins late because I was stalling in the bathroom T_T

The nurse took me to this little booth and asked me to pick myself out in the yearbook to verify that I was who I said I was. She also looked up my birthday to make sure I was of age. 

I had to answer some questions about my health and ual activities. I almost got excluded because I got a piercing in the last 12 months but I told her it was done with a sterile needle. And my temp was slightly higher than normal but I said I felt fine. It was hot in the room.

And then the hardest part came... The anemia test!!! She had to prick my finger and test my blood to make sure I had enough red blood cells... TWICE!! The first time is was slightly under the limit. The second time was perfect. Hmm... strange. But the prick felt like I got stabbed (O.O) Well actually I did get stabbed haha My fingers were aching for an hour afterwards. T_T 

Then the nurse took me over to the cot and I laid down. She put some cleaning stuff on my right arm, which was cold and tickled XP And then she stuck me with the needle. She got it on the first try!!! A lot of times they have trouble because I have deep veins. It didn't even hurt that bad either. Soon my blood started flowing. It only took about 15 mins to give a pint of blood. She said my blood flows well. It was probably all the water I had.

Afterwards she gave me a snack and told me to wait 15 mins at the table just to make sure I was well before leaving.

I TOOK IT LIKE A CHAMP!!

I don't know if it's because I ate breakfast and drank water that morning or if being overweight means I have more blood in my body than others but I felt great. I wasn't dizzy or nauseous. One guy turned really pale and fainted. He's OK though. And a lot of people said they felt weak and tired.

My mom said our family has that strong blood ^^

Anyway, that was my interesting experience giving blood for the first time :D I would do it again~