I had a blood donation today. Well, I tried to. When the nurse put the neddle in my arm the blood was very slow moving down the tube. And then it stopped and they said I was done. I never got to even get the blood all the way down the tube! Why is that???
When they took the nedle out it bled a lot!?!?!
Last time I was at the doctor they drew blood and they had the same problem!?!?
It there something wrong with me or my heart???
2007-11-01 14:23:22 · 6 answers · asked by Bob S 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Heart Diseases
I used to draw blood for the Red Cross. Several days before donating, you need to begin drinking lots of water. This causes your blood to flow better; your veins to be more visible (reducing chances of missing); & helps prevent some of the natural dehydration that occurs from blood loss.
I would discuss this with your primary doctor, as he can order a blood test.
2007-11-01 14:32:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Before anyone else harps on the ability of the blood bank technicians (that they don't know what they're doing, et cetera), allow me to clarify a few points. Blood collection is indeed a science and not all people are good donors. Some are disregarded because of obvious medical reasons (like they're HIV+ or some other disease) while some are disregarded for purely physical reasons; that is, some people just don't have the veins to donate.
Blood for donation needs to come out of a person at a very fast rate or else it may clot in the tube. If your veins cannot sustain a minimum flow rate, that would disqualify you. Further, in order to achieve that flow rate, they put in a size 14 GA needle. This is the largest vein needle in existence. If your veins are the kind that they have trouble just drawing routine blood tests from, then save yourself the time and aggravation. Don't be surprised that they can't get a fast enough blood return and call it a day. Or would you be happier if the tech kept trying until you were black and blue?
Thank you for your generosity and humanity in attempting to donate. Express your disappointment to your Mom and Dad for giving you such uncooperative veins.
How many veins have I personally stuck? About a quarter million. And no, I'm not exaggerating either.
Ralph
2007-11-01 15:04:46 · answer #2 · answered by ralphrepo_01 4 · 8⤊ 0⤋
Slow Blood Flow
2016-11-14 23:10:42 · answer #3 · answered by filson 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not a phlebotomist, but I'm a frequent blood donor, and I've seen this happen to other people. I think the vein collapses and clogs the needle. There is no way to continue, so they tell you you are done. When the needle is withdrawn, you bleed like a stuck pig because the needle is not in the way and nothing has clotted yet.
It's probably good to have flexible veins.
2007-11-01 14:37:56 · answer #4 · answered by Computer Guy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Blood flow should change for all your organs... Organs that are less involved in the muscular or cardiovascular system will decrease and ones that are more involved will increase to increase O2 concentration. I would say your eyes would have a relatively constant blood flow so I hope that helps!
2016-03-13 09:47:35 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
It wasn't you, not in an important way. The person placing the needle did a poor job and didn't get the needle into the center of your vein. After wasting your best vein that way, they didn't want to try again. That you bled a lot showed you have plenty of blood in your vein. It just may not be as large a vein as someone who is easy to get blood from.
If it's a recurrent problem, maybe your superficial veins aren't built up enough to be easy targets the way a weightlifter's might be. That is meaningless when it comes to your health. Your deep veins carry much more blood that the ones they draw blood from. But exercise could pump up your superficial veins if you want to make it easier to draw your blood. It's otherwise not a marker for your health.
2007-11-01 14:39:55 · answer #6 · answered by David D 6 · 3⤊ 4⤋