I got sucked!

Blood went streaming out of my veins...passing through a narrow pipe...coursing towards a vessel...

Yes, I got sucked. Not by a vampire, though—thank heavens.

On June 20, 2013, for the first time, I donated blood during the mobile blood donation activity of the Provincial Health Office of Pangasinan in partnership with Red Cross. Honestly, all I planned to do that day was to cover the activity held at the Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City, Pangasinan for a news report—not to donate blood. That wasn't because I was selfish and didn't want to share my blood to those who might need it. I just thought I wouldn't qualify because of my underweight look.

But the weighing scale said I qualified, having a total weight of 55 kg, so I went to the registration area and signed the form. Further screening revealed that my blood pressure was (and is) normal, therefore I am neither hypertensive nor anemic. Thank heavens again.

The bloodletting activity was conducted in the conference room of the hospital where 77 good Samaritans, including me, donated 450 ml each of blood.

Posing beside my blood bag. That's where my blood would go.

And the needle pierces into my virgin vein. 

That looks painful, but I'm perfectly well. It isn't painful at all. Your arm will feel heavy, though, but the nurse will give you a tiny ball which you will have to squeeze every five seconds, so your arm won't numb.

I can't remember exactly how many minutes it took the bag to get filled with blood, but I'm sure it took longer than others' bags did. I think I heard the nurse say the thicker the vein, the slower the flow of the blood is.

When all the space in the bag has been occupied, the nurse removes the needle, asks me to raise my arm for a minute and apply pressure on the tiny hole the needle left, and then puts a band aid over it.

After that, I felt dizzy. According to the nurse, that was normal. Well, yeas. I interviewed several donors that day and they felt the same thing.

A few years back, I really wanted to donate blood, but my weight then wouldn't permit me (I weighed a little under 50 kg, the minimum weight requirement). Now that I gained some, it was a pleasure to donate blood and know that sooner or later, the 450-ml blood I gave will help someone continue seeing the bright day and the starry night.

All the blood bags collected that day went straight to the Red Cross blood bank.

So, do I see myself donating blood again? Definitely yes.