The lovely people at #LifeBlood want donors to do a survey about talking (ugh) with people (ugh) about it.

"
Finally, we would like to hear from as many donors as possible with different views, cultural backgrounds, and donation history. If you know other eligible donors (i.e., someone who has donated blood in Australia and has made an appointment to donate blood with Lifeblood in the past 24 months) who might be interested, please invite them to complete the survey by sending them this link:
https://redcrossblood.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5uorn8YeY5rxrV4
"

So, now I have done that.

Donation time again. Amazing that a year ago I wasn't allowed to donate because of the foot and mouth crisis in the UK during 1990s. Now I'm up to 9 donations.

...still don't like it 😂

#lifeblood #donate #giveblood #savelives

Whatever you do, make sure there is coffee involved. #LifeBlood

Gave plasma at the Town Hall #lifeBlood.
Go on, do it. Stubbing your toe on the bed leg hurts much more than giving blood does. And you bang your tie on that thing allTheBastardTime, right?
It makes you feel good, and you meet nice nice people like Avalon and Julie.

Ok, that was not a good experience. I ended up having to stop the donation about 3/4 of the way through. Started getting some pain in my arm and they were very quick to remove the needle.

Probably going to have a nice bruise and need to monitor it for the rest of the day.

Still, I donated some and it won't stop me coming back again.

#health #lifeblood #donate #giveblood

Ok, donation time again. I'm giving plasma in about 30 minutes and I've drunk enough water over the past 24 hours to feel sloshily nauseous.

I was only allowed to give blood in Australia from last August due to having lived in England during the foot and mouth outbreak of the 1990s. This will my seventh donation. Not sure I'll be able to donate as often in the future, but while I have time, I'm going to do my bit.

Btw, I don't enjoy the whole process so any words of wisdom or encouragement would be appreciated.

#giveblood #donate #lifeblood #health #joinin

Donating plasma. Looking forward to free treats.
#lifeblood #lifebloodau #plasma #donate

Just found out my Dad has received around 4 blood transfusions recently so - a big thank you to Red Cross Life Blood and the anonymous blood donors in particular. Thank you.

#blooddonor #blooddonation #bloodinfection #lifeblood #redcrosslifeblood

I'm off to donate blood today. I'm a regular donor but this one is special because my father has received a good many transfusions in hospital over the past few days. (He has anaemia, a blood infection, latent myeloid leukaemia and a bunch of other weird unexplained blood stuff going on.)

So it feels right to give back today. I mentioned this to one of the Drs, and somehow it came out in conversation that I was -0 and CMV non-reactive.

"Ah," said the doctor,
"Your blood won't be going to someone like your Dad. They give your blood to babies."

To babies? Oh the responsibility!

#blooddonor #blooddonation #hospital #o-negative #geriatrichealth #hospitals #lifeblood

Making another donation.
Looking forward to tasty tasty snacks.

#donation #plasma #donateblood #lifeblood #lifebloodau #snacks

Making another donation.
Looking forward to tasty tasty snacks.

#donation #plasma #donateblood #lifeblood #lifebloodau #snacks

Squeezing out some more plasma

#donateBlood #lifeBlood #lifeBloodAu #plasma #isThisVirtueSignalling

Plasma donation almost done.

#lifeblood #donateblood #plasma

Just donated blood plasma again and am having a snack in the recovery area

They have juice and milk boxes (Queenslanders would call them Poppers and here in Victoria we called them Primas, but this is actually Popper brand)

Anyway, I just stuck the plastic straw in the box and orange juice quickly spurted down the clear tube in a way that reminded me of the way my blood had just spurted down a tube into the plasmapheresis machine

I liked this little moment of correspondence

imagining myself as the thirsty machine processing the orange’s blood

#Lifeblood #blood #plasma

Quite excited today.
Driving down to the city to visit #LifeBlood, then meeting my lover for lunch, then seeing the new building at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Another plasma donation done. Feeling ever so slightly virtuous (and satiated on free snacks).

#lifeblood #donateBlood #freeSnacks #virtueSignaling

Huge queue at the #Lifeblood donation centre in #Melbourne #CBD this morning. I wonder if they are understaffed, or if there’s some problem with their computer system, or more donors than usual

Another bag 🩸 in the bag. You even get a free strawberry milk for donating blood #redcross #lifeblood

#plasma #donation time.
#lifeblood #donateblood
#isThisVirtueSignalling

@Scarp ditto. #lifeblood