Hello everyone!

A friend of mine wants me to go with her to donate plasma and it is the first time doing this for both of us. So, I was wondering what advice those of you who have donated before could give! I know that drinking a lot of water is one of the main things, but that is where my knowledge stops. 😄 Are there any tips or advice you guys could give?

Thank you in advance everyone!

I would suggest calling up the hospital/clinic/wherever you are donating and ask one of the nurses if they could give you some more information about the process and how to prepare. Nurses are busy people, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind cuz it would be a quick question about something nice you are volunteering for that saves their patient's lives. :)

Aside from drinking a lot of water, eat a big, hearty meal about an hour to an hour and a half before going. Eating increases your heart rate and you'll be turned away if it's too high. That happens to me all the time because I have a naturally high heart rate and I kept making the mistake of eating right before the appointment.

A heads up though. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours to donate plasma and you may have needles in both arms. The one needle is what is used to draw and then it goes into a machine where the cells and plasma are separated. Then the cells are returned through the other needle. I'm not telling you this to scare you and I think it's awesome you are thinking about donating plasma. I just want to give you a heads up because I know I couldn't sit there for that long and not move. But others can and they are awesome people.

If you aren't sure you can sit there that long, a whole blood donation takes 15-20 minutes and you sit and get cookies and juice/ soda for 20 minutes when you're finished.

This post reminds me I need to make an appointment to donate whole blood...

Good luck!

Thank you and !

I will definitely be calling and eating before donating. I did not know about the two needles thing! Thankfully I'm not too bad with needles and neither is my friend, since we both have multiple tattoos. The sitting that long might be an issue though xD

You're welcome. If you're gotten a tattoo within the past 12 months, you'll be turned away. It is a long time to sit with needles in your arms, which is why I donate whole blood. Good luck!

Bring a book or an audiobook or something to occupy yourself. I donate double units of red blood cells (I'm a universal donor) and it takes an AGE without something to distract. I have a friend who knits, but I have no idea how she gets away with that.

Some places have a TV running, but if they don't, you'll want something to occupy your mind.