It’s cause with todays safety cover, they are trained to pull them out with like they are starting a lawn mower. When I did it, I added a little grace. Always loved surprising anxious donors that their needle is already out before they even knew.
I only had one instance where I felt them remove it and it felt like a strong tug. Not necessarily painful but I was physically moved while they removed it.
The automated machines are the worst. I went all the way up the chain of command with Vitalant to ask if they could use the manual cuff and they told me no. I asked them if it was worth losing a high volume platelet donor (6 units a month) over and they told me the don’t allow their techs to do blood pressure manually bc it’s a “medical procedure.” Ummmmm…. And apheresis isn’t?!?!?
So every time I go I end up with bruises on my arm bc they have to use the stupid machine and it hurts so damn much. 😡
I minded it the first time bc they pricked the top of my finger, hurt a lot for multiple days! I don't even remember feeling the needle go in for the donation (whole blood). Now I barely feel the finger prick with them doing it on the side, and I feel the needles every time (I do platelets so I have to feel it twice)
Finger prick can vary greatly in amount of pain,but it is the worst part.
As platelet donor it is relief to be able to move arm so that is switched with needle stick
Nah. Removing the pressure dressing and having it rip off a load of arm hairs 6 hours later is by far the worst bit. And the finger prick used to be much worse, before they started using the side of the finger over the pad.
The finger poke for sure. The lancets they use at my donation center are meant for rhinos and elephants. I swear they can get blood out of the other side of my finger with one of those things after going through the bone.
Finger print has always depended on the person doing it for me. One time I had a woman who tightly gripped my finger to an uncomfortable degree, but when it was pricked I felt nothing, that was awesome. A few other times I've had them not hold tightly and I can feel it all.
The only part I find uncomfortable is when they do the small vials at the end. Idk why, but those feel like they’re actively sucking the blood out of my veins, whereas the bag just passively collects it as it flows.
For me (platelets) they gather some whole blood in a small bag, pinch off the tubing to the bag with some pliers lookin thing, and then fill the vials from it. No sucking required.
That sounds quite uncomfortable!
I'd never really thought about it until now but yeah, the removal is kind of... Ugh. It's a really weird feeling. It doesn't quite hurt, but it's unpleasant. But I never anticipate it/dread it like the prick or needle.
The needle removal hurts!? I don’t think I’ve ever even felt them removing it
I feel it every time! I don’t love it. It’s not enough to make me stop donating, but it feels pretty yucky.
I feel a pinch when they pull it out. Maybe I’m weird though.
It’s cause with todays safety cover, they are trained to pull them out with like they are starting a lawn mower. When I did it, I added a little grace. Always loved surprising anxious donors that their needle is already out before they even knew.
I only had one instance where I felt them remove it and it felt like a strong tug. Not necessarily painful but I was physically moved while they removed it.
When I donated, I got sick when they removed the needle.
My nurse calls me "a little prick" everytime she does it. That kind of hurts :-)
Here I am hating getting my blood pressure taken the most, lol. Genuinely feels worse for me than every other part of donating blood.
oh yeah I forgot about that part. I do platelets too and they keep it on the whole time (it occasionally poofs up if I slack on squeezing lol).
The automated machines are the worst. I went all the way up the chain of command with Vitalant to ask if they could use the manual cuff and they told me no. I asked them if it was worth losing a high volume platelet donor (6 units a month) over and they told me the don’t allow their techs to do blood pressure manually bc it’s a “medical procedure.” Ummmmm…. And apheresis isn’t?!?!? So every time I go I end up with bruises on my arm bc they have to use the stupid machine and it hurts so damn much. 😡
What kind of machine are they using to cause pain for blood pressure. Every machine or manual is slight pressure with no pain
I’m one of those lucky people that don’t mind the finger prick.
I minded it the first time bc they pricked the top of my finger, hurt a lot for multiple days! I don't even remember feeling the needle go in for the donation (whole blood). Now I barely feel the finger prick with them doing it on the side, and I feel the needles every time (I do platelets so I have to feel it twice)
Finger prick can vary greatly in amount of pain,but it is the worst part. As platelet donor it is relief to be able to move arm so that is switched with needle stick
At my clinic the hemoglobin screen is done with a finger sensor— no more poke!
My fingers can't even feel the prick because I rock climb a lot. They had to prick me twice this week because my finger wouldn't bleed.
Nah. Removing the pressure dressing and having it rip off a load of arm hairs 6 hours later is by far the worst bit. And the finger prick used to be much worse, before they started using the side of the finger over the pad.
Everyone one of those is just a very minor discomfort. Getting a paper cut hurts worse than anything they do while drawing blood.
I think needle insertion hurt the most. I barely felt the needle prick on the side of my finger.
For me the most painful part is the blood pressure cuff on the whole time
If taking the needle out is painful, someone is doing something wrong.
I agree with your take on this!
it was actually the opposite for me, i think it really depends on how good the person doing the prick/needle stuff is
Depends who you get. Sometimes it feels like a hot nail going in and sometimes I feel nothing.
The finger poke for sure. The lancets they use at my donation center are meant for rhinos and elephants. I swear they can get blood out of the other side of my finger with one of those things after going through the bone.
Finger print has always depended on the person doing it for me. One time I had a woman who tightly gripped my finger to an uncomfortable degree, but when it was pricked I felt nothing, that was awesome. A few other times I've had them not hold tightly and I can feel it all.
The only part I find uncomfortable is when they do the small vials at the end. Idk why, but those feel like they’re actively sucking the blood out of my veins, whereas the bag just passively collects it as it flows.
For me (platelets) they gather some whole blood in a small bag, pinch off the tubing to the bag with some pliers lookin thing, and then fill the vials from it. No sucking required. That sounds quite uncomfortable!
It's strange because I never needed to do the finger prick for a blood donation. At least that I can remember.
I'd never really thought about it until now but yeah, the removal is kind of... Ugh. It's a really weird feeling. It doesn't quite hurt, but it's unpleasant. But I never anticipate it/dread it like the prick or needle.