Today I had an appointment with the Canadian Blood Services (http://www.bloodservices.ca/) to donate blood again. I was early for my appointment. They let me proceed eventhough I was early. After I checked in with the receptionist, I went to the next counter where they checked my iron level. To check the iron level, they poke your finger and collect a few drops of blood and put it in a machine and the machine spits out a number or it says yes or no. I'm not exactly sure what it says, but the attendant then tells you if your level of iron is acceptable. If your level is acceptable, then they give you a long questionnaire to fill out. You are only allowed to fill out the top half at this stage.
The questionnaire is another screening process before you get to actually donate your blood. You have to respond truthfully in this questionnaire. It is beneficial to the Canadian Blood Services to make sure they have clean (untainted) blood. In the questionairre there were questions such as if you have had sex for money in the last 12 months, if you were in Africa in the last 3 months, if you had any dental work done in the last 3 days, if you had any tattoos or piercings done in the last 6 months and other similar questions. After you finish that questionairre, you go into a small room and you see an attendent (I think it is a nurse). The nurse then asks you the questions from the bottom half of the questionairre. There are questions such as if you had used drugs with a needle in the last 12 months and other similar questions. While in the room, the nurse takes your blood pressure and your heart rate. The blood pressure and heart rate has to be a certain range for them to let you proceed to donate blood. My blood pressure was fine. My heart rate was a bit high. The nurse asked if I was nervous. I was nervous because I remembered the last time I donated blood. I remembered I felt the needle in me and it felt uncomfortable for the 10 minutes the blood was coming out of me. The nurse tried to calm me down a bit then took my heart rate again. The first time it was 107. The second time was 104. I asked what it had to be for me to proceed. She said it had to be 100 or lower. She said I can come back tomorrow or another day I am free. I was rejected from donating blood because my heart rate was too high :(
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