Blood giving

I went for my first blood donation on Tuesday. The main reason I went is because I wanted to see what it is like to donate blood. I had undergone many IV infusions in the army and had lost some blood in the process but it is nowhere near the amount that will be sucked out during the donation. So it is for the experience that I agreed to meet Ho Teck at 1 to donate our blood. I reached there half an hour late due to my poor estimation of time. When I reached, he was already on the inclined chair with the infusion tube connected. I had a lecture at 2 and I thought I could breeze through the registration. But it turned out to be a half an hour wait. After the registration, I had to go for blood testing. I had always been afraid of the finger prick. I am more afraid of it than a 16G needle. Perhaps it's the uncertainty of not knowing when the needle is going to prick my finger. The finger prick test went about without much fuss although I was quite shocked at how much blood they sucked out from my finger. Luckily, I didn't feel faint unlike the last time I did it. After the blood test, I proceeded to the actual donation after a short wait. 2 helpers attended to me as I waited in anticipation for the donation to begin. They were all very friendly and thanked me for coming. They attached the equipment and then left and I was left wondering who will be the one poking the catheter into me. In the end, a plump chinese lady did the job. She was very friendly as well. Using the blood pressure gauge, she located my vein which wasn't very visible. Memories of nervous buddies topoing their way up down left right through my veins ran through my mind. But I need not have worried. After applying a gel onto my arm and rubbing it so hard that my skin turned red, she injected anaesthetic onto the area to be shot. I asked her how many G the needle was and she told me it was 16G. I was relieved as I had thought it would be 14G. And I thought to myself that even if she missed, the topoing would be bearable as I had experienced it before. But I need not have worried as she expertly eased the catheter into my vein. She could have done it without anaesthetic and it would still be relatively painless. I watched the tube and was wondering why there wasn't any blood flowing. I later then realised that the brown tube is actually the dirty yellow tube containing my blood inside. I was told to squeeze the stress ball in order to let the blood flow faster. It was tiring to squeeze the ball and after seeing that there wasn't much difference in the flow rate, I decided to stop squeezing. I didn't expect one of the helper to come over and ask me whether I was ok. Maybe it's the ' I'm a first time donor Please be gentle with me' sticker that I had on my T-shirt. My pack was filled with blood after 10 mins and it looked full, ready to burst anytime. I had this crazy idea of poking it with a needle but it was quickly extinguished when it was taken away by the helper. I was given a while to rest but I felt fine. I had thought that I would feel giddy after donating 500ml of my blood but I felt like I could donate another pack. It was surprising given that I had felt giddy before after giving a blood sample of 10ml for the Hep B test. I proceeded to the refreshment area after my rest. I scanned for the Milo packets that I zoomed in on the moment I stepped into the hall but they were gone so I had to settle for orange juice. I was stunned when one of the helpers gave me 2 certificates, one was a cert of appreciation and one was a no chicken award for being a first time donor. The helpers made me feel like a hero. And I feel guilty because all that I have done is to experience something for the first time.