By partyrocker12 - 19/09/2012 19:45 - United States

Today, I decided to give blood for the first time in my life. As an 18-year-old, 5'1", 110lb woman, I guess I shouldn't have been allowed there, much less permitted to leave the room to get some food. I ended up passing out in the middle of the dining hall. FML
I agree, your life sucks 21 923
You deserved it 4 212

partyrocker12 tells us more.

partyrocker12 1

Hello, OP here! Thank You all for your concern! I'm doing a lot better. I actually ended up passing out three more times before they carted me off to the hospital, where I took a nice nap. I think what did me in was my blood pressure, which to me actually seemed low to give blood. I have normally low blood pressure (96/84 is my average) and it was 100/85, or something like that. They also did not attempt to detain me. As for the amount, they took 2 cups from me, so one of the smaller bags. This is a company that regularly visits my university (not the Red Cross, if it was Red Cross it would be different), and my sorority sister who took care of me had two bags taken from her last year, she's about 5'5" and weighs maybe 170lbs and she nearly passed out. I think the next time I give blood, it will be with RC. They made no attempt to stop me as I went up a flight of stairs, handed my meal card over, and made my way over to the pop machine, which is where I fainted for the first time in my life. Thank You again for your concern, and I'm so glad that I did it.

Top comments

hopsinlove17 26

At least your vein didn't collapse. Shame on the doctor who permitted you...at our blood drive you have to be 120

Comments

hopsinlove17 26

At least your vein didn't collapse. Shame on the doctor who permitted you...at our blood drive you have to be 120

hellogoodbye1996 6

No, you either have to be 22 years of age, or weigh 140 at 5'1. It's 120 If you are 5'5.

I guess they must not ask or don't care because the same thing happened to me. :| I ended up having to call off work that night because every time I would try to stand up, I got extremely dizzy. It sucks because I would really like to give blood again.

16, 1 specifically said "at our blood drive". They were not talking about EVERY blood drive.

Mearemoi 14

Well, #1 did say it was at HER blood drive, not necessarily everywhere.

Well they must all be different because I was only 17 at the time. It just depends on who is running the drive.

I tried to give blood once, but I also didn't weigh enough. I was sad that I couldn't do it, but after hearing what happened to OP I guess it's for the better.

hopsinlove17 26

16- we had to be 17 with parental consent or 18 without it. The minimum weight requirement for our school was 120 due to previous passing out in the years beforehand. I've never heard of a height requirement. That seems a little unnecessary.

paolayupp 6

That's strange. I was allowed to donate weighing 115 and I'm 5'2 and I felt perfectly fine afterwards. Maybe some just can't handle it.

B3Y0ND 3

34- I think they have height requirements solely to match up with your weight. Because if you think about it, you could be 6'1 and 120 lbs and donating blood could cause you to pass out...

hopsinlove17 26

34- that seems legitimate. I never thought of it that way. Good point.

OhDearBetrayal 25

There is a chart they give out that tells you what weight you should be over for your height. I'm 5'0, 115 lbs, 17 years old and I didn't qualify. The shorter you are, the more you have to weigh. Imagine taking out 1 pint from someone who weighs about 90 lbs at 5'0 vs a person that is 6'2 and 203 lbs, it's going to be different.

I know I sound like an idiot, but why do you have to weigh a certain amount? I can understand if your like... Anorexic or something, but 110 is a good weight. I'm 5"3 and 115 pounds and was fine when I lost a lot of blood. Sorry of I sound stupid =/

iloveryan052710 8

Ive donated blood three times and I'm 5'4" and only weigh 112. If you weigh less like I do, they are just supposed to consider you a lightweight and take less blood from you then they do everyone else.

Yea thats odd because due to a medical condition I have, I have to get blood tests quite frequently and I weigh 116 at 5"6 and always feel perfectly fine afterwards

Shame on the doctor? What doctor? I've donated blood several dozen times, and the only doctor there was me. It's all nurses and phlebotomists.

In Ontario Canada you have to be a minimum of 110 pounds which is fine but after donating you are brought to a sitting area for about 10 minutes to sit and relax drink juice have some cookies. It's normal for a lot of first time Donors to faint or feel dizzy. Also the technicians pay special attention to first time donors because they don't know how you will respond.

hopsinlove17 26

114- sorry Doc! Not everyone can be an amazing doctor like you(: and you're right, they are nurses. My apologies.

teddygraham1 1

I've donated to 3 different blood drives and the requirements for all 3 said you had to be 18 years of age and weigh 115 pounds. And every body reacts differently. My first donation I was 120 pounds and had no problems. The next 2 I weighed a bit more and had awful reactions while the blood was still being drawn.

50- u r 34......... U just commented that u never thought of it the way u wrote it......... Is anyone else confused?

#16 what is required at your blood drive isn't required at every blood drive.

#137 why did you agree with #34 if that was you?

Okay, it's not just the weight limit. Different people react differently. It's not that "you shouldn't be allowed in there". The minimum weight you should be is 100 pounds but they prefer you to be heavier. I donated for the first time 3 months ago when I was only 104 pounds (I spent an entire year trying to gain enough weight, I was previously 95 pounds). I'm also a 4'11 18 year old girl. I didn't faint or pass out because i stayed aware of my body and drank a lot Gatorade before and after and also consumed as much iron as I could beforehand. I managed to bring my weight to 110 and donated again and still felt perfectly fine. However, my sister, who weighs 130 pounds, fainted when she donated. Both times. Don't blame the phlebotomists for your reactions.

Well, at least for the blood drive in Miami Dade. Like I said in another post, All you need is to be 18 years old (or 17 with parent consent), 100-110 pounds (they kind of discourage donating if you're under 110 but it's still possible) and your HgB level has to be at least an 8.

Every blood drive is different and every person is different. When I was in high school I donated blood and I was over the required weight. After they took my blood they had me lay on the table until I felt ok to walk over and get some juice and a cookie. I started to feel faint while still on the table and they tilted it a little until the feeling went away. I can remember feeling weak and dizzy the whole rest of the day even though I kept snack on a cookie and sipping juice. Eating An actual lunch seemed to make me feel sick. And for some reason sitting down made me feel like I was gonna pass out but when I would walk around I would feel better. After a good nights sleep I felt 10 times better the next day. Everyone reacts to it differently. I can tell you that the nurse taking my blood scared the shit out of me while I was on the table. She started freaking out about the cord attatched to my needle getting caught on something. I almost crawled right out of my skin, lol!

Yes, everyone is different. I donated twice and felt perfectly fine afterwards (I even ran after because I was late for something and still didn't get sick). My sister donated once when she was around 105-110 and fainted twice. Then she tried years later when she was 130 and still passed out. And my boyfriend passed out when he tried to donate and he's 155 pounds. It also helps when you plan on donating. Then you can properly care for your body beforehand and try to raise your iron level; the higher the level the higher the possibility you have on not passing out. Guys can get faint if it's their first time donating because they don't "lose" blood as often as girls. And if girls are too near their period, then they can get sick as well because you're loosing too much blood.

Actually, the shorter you are, the higher the weight requirement. It's because If you are really short (like myself and the OP), your body contain less blood than other people already, and it is a standardized amount of blood that they take. Because of this, shorter people need to weigh more so that there is more body mass, meaning larger veins and more total blood in the body. I am 5'1", 115 lbs, and 17 years old, and they wouldn't let me donate.

I'm not allowed to donate blood due to my weight. But once I gain weight I will :)

dryersheet 11

40- the fact that you think Justin beiber is life is astonishingly mind numbing (her bio)

124 - as his picture suggests, he probably doesn't care. That and he's male. Deal with what he likes, just like how I can say something on the fact that you have a troll face.

124- The fact that you posted such an irrelevant reply is astonishingly mind numbing

124, He's already been insulted for his profile many times. He finally came up with something clever so just let him have his moment.

avatar0810 15

Your picture fits this comment so well.

128, she finished the job. She just wasn't quite ready to walk around yet.

Some people should not be allowed to practice any form of medicine.

Redneck17 8

It's definitely not abnormal to pass out the first time you give blood. I've seen a 300+ pound man pass out after donating for the first time. 110 is the least you can weigh to donate blood, technically. Although, my 100 pound friend lied & said she was 110 & didn't pass out the first time she donated. Therefore, I would not blame the nurses for her passing out.

Really cause they told me they would weigh me, otherwise i would have lied and done it

Yeah, I always lie about my weight and I'm shorter than OP. They don't usually take the actual time to weigh you. I get really dizzy after donating if I walk around, but I've never passed out. She shouldn't have even been up and about for at least 15 minutes after giving blood though.

I know it was probably embarrassing to pass out in front of people, but that is way better than passing out alone where they wouldn't have been able to help you...

No good deed goes unpunished. I'm surprised the nurses didn't help you a little more, especially since it was your first time giving blood.

just_dandy20 2

You have to weigh more then 110. Like 125+. That's crazy that Dr. Allowed you to do so, knowing your weight! Because they do ask what your weight is, just in case. Unless its physically obvious you meet the standards. Lol

I am right on 125 and I'm 5' 9". I felt so dizzy after I gave blood, I also became incredibly hungry and had the worst headache of my life.

Harry9404 3

As long as you weigh at least 110# you are eligible for a regular donation.

OhDearBetrayal 25

For every height it's different. I'm 5'0 and the weight I'm supposed to be at in order to donate is 130

I would hate to live where you because then I would not be able to donate lol. I'm 4'11 and 110 pounds... I LOVE to donate blood because I'm O+ and can help so many people. Luckily the rules for the blood Centers here and different... Lol

Yikes! Well congrats on donating blood; you did a great thing. I hope you get better soon!

You could've also gotten some creepy, old guy that had to stab your arm repeatedly, and wiggle the needle around inside your arm like I did. All due to him not being able to find the vein. Finally, someone else tried and got it on the first try. -____-

royalthehusky 2

Better than having a jumping vein. It's not easy to get first shot, so people who take my blood are forced to wiggle the needle around.

My veins tend to be hard to find, so I usually end up getting poked more than once, one time this guy who was drawing my blood was fairly new, after about 4 tries, he had to ask someone else to do it, my arm had a big bruise.

That happened to me. I was so annoyed with the lady who did it.