has anyone heard of someone who use to donate plasma having pain in the arm long after you stop donating?

Question

I have a sharp pain where the needle was inserted.It doesnt last long and its speratic.

Answer 1

Donating plasma? Are you sure you weren't selling the plasma? Most donors donate whole blood. Plasma is usually bought at clinics that aren't so reputable.

If you *donated* a lot, then odds are they damaged your veins for good. This happens frequently because of *donors* coming into the clinic so often. More often than a good medical clinic would allow. (Because they want the money that's being paid out for the plasma of course).

Sounds like you need a trip to a real Doctor now, tell him the truth of how often you donated, and he or she will be able to tell how baddly you've damaged your veins by looking at them usually.

You should really stop doing this if you haven't already, once you destroy those veins you will only screw yourself over in the future. Someday they might need to hit that vein to save your life, and if it's shot, then it could cause your death or a delay in your medical treatment.

Answer 2

You could have a hematoma at the venipuncture site. A hematoma is a bruise. That will cause some pain at the site. It usually does not last very long - a day or two. Sometimes a venipuncture site will hurt a little bit just because of where it is located - like a sensitive area on your skin - but usually heals quickly. If you have a very large bruise, you should call the plasma center and report it. They should have given you a list of dos and donts and a contact number in case you have any problems. If you have redness or heat at the site, that could be a sign of infection and needs to be treated by a doctor right away.

Answer 3

Recieving a venipucture is not without risk. Just about any blood collection facility will tell you that. Here is a sample from a waiver one facility makes its patients sign:

"I understand the procedures used to collect blood are recognized as safe but that the blood donation is not entirely without risk. Such risks include, but are not limited to, lightheadedness, nausea, fainting, passing out, passing out and fall with injury, soreness or bruising around the vein following the procedure, nerve injury at or near the phlebotomy site, and under rare circumstances a phlebotomy procedure can lead to a need for extended medical treatment."

I've seen waivers that even went so far as to include death as a possible side effect. And you might get any of these from just one venipuncture.

Don't get me wrong, though! I was a phlebotomist for about three years, and managed to not kill anybody even though I drew more than a thousand litres of blood out of people. But I have seen just about anything short of that, including full-body seizures, prolonged periods of unconsciousness, and other unpleasantness.

If you are experiencing pain more than a week or two after you last donated, I would guess that you have suffered some nerve damage from your last procedure. Unfortunately, there is almost no way to detect nerves when a venipuncture is performed... that is one of the reasons it's usually drawn from the antecubital area - there aren't many nerves to hit there. Your best bets are to either just wait an hope it heals over time (it usually does), or to consult a physician. It is possible, though remote, that the pain may never go away.

I hope that's not the case for you! Good luck!

Answer 4

I have donated plasma many, many times. It can hurt a little for a few days if they had any problems getting the needle(s) placed correctly. They use a thicker needle so it can definitely stretch your vein a bit. If it gets red around the needle site then I would see a doctor but other than that I would give it a couple of days and you should probably be fine.

Answer 5

That happened to me today! I think it was nerves. I was totally freaking myself out. and i didn t eat the greatest last weekend (I went to a vegan wedding and i have a soy intolerance... no protein for me! lol) Bio-Life was so nice though they took care of me and i felt fine after the saline went through. I drank so much water yesterday it s ridiculous. I m going to try again Thursday, hopefully do better that time. Did you ever figure it out?