Does the sight of blood bother you?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

Holy crap. I can’t finish reading some of your stories, fellas.

The first (and last) time I ever heard what you have as your signature was from a buddy when I was 12 or 13. LOL

thanks for the nostalgic chuckle.

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I’ve probably given 5 gallons of blood over the years. I don’t know why, but I always hold the bag of blood before they take it away. It’s weird to feel the warmth and weight of it.

My next donation on May 19th is the 8 gallon mark!

Edit: I'm also CMV Negative (Explained below from the Red Cross web site) - so my blood goes to newborn/premies as they can't have blood which is CMV Positive.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/local-homepage/news/article/why-cmv-negative-blood-is-so-important.html

CMV Negative Blood Explained
What is CMV?

CMV (cytomegalovirus) is a common flu-like virus that up to 85% of U.S. adults have been exposed to by the age of 40. You may have already been exposed to CMV without knowing it, because most people infected with CMV have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. However, CMV can be quite serious even fatal for babies and people with weakened immune systems.

How Do You Get CMV?

CMV is contagious. It is passed through close contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, breast milk and more. It is possible for CMV to be passed during an organ transplant or blood transfusion, when the donor is CMV positive and the recipient is CMV negative.

If a pregnant woman has CMV antibodies in her blood or contracts a CMV infection during her pregnancy, she can pass CMV to her baby through the placenta. CMV contracted by an unborn baby is known as congenital CMV.

What is CMV Negative Blood

As with other viruses, once someone has had CMV, their body retains the antibodies. So if you have ever had CMV, it’s likely you are “positive” for the antibodies. If you never had CMV, you haven’t produced antibodies against the virus and are considered “CMV negative,” and have CMV negative blood.

Why is CMV Negative Blood Important?

Although congenital CMV affects around 1 in 200 babies, many of them will not show any symptoms. Some will have symptoms such as premature birth, low birthweight, hearing or vision problems, and other developmental issues. It can also cause a potentially life-threatening infection in newborn babies whose immune systems have yet to fully develop. For this reason, babies needing transfusions as part of their medical care should only receive CMV negative blood from donors who have not been exposed to CMV.

The American Red Cross supplies CMV negative, pediatric-specific blood products to hospitals throughout the country every day. Since CMV is so common among adults, only a small number of donors are eligible to meet this need. If you are CMV negative, please consider donating blood as often as possible throughout the year.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

My next donation on May 19th is the 8 gallon mark!

Good job. My BIL is at 15 gallons. I only got to 6.

[Bill Douglas]

I used to donate blood. I even got phoned up to donate some of my slightly odd blood group for someone who needed it.

But I lived in the UK in the early 90's and New Zealand doesn't want blood from anyone that may have Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, also known as mad cow disease. So no more donations from me. I quite enjoyed it for some reason.

[varmint]

Kid A has always had this strange quirk where she bursts out laughing at the site of blood. she's in nursing school now.

[SCadaddle]

I turn my head and look the other way when it comes to needles and blood work at the hospital. Don't want to see anyone else bleeding. Doesn't bother me much when I injure myself and see my own blood that way.

Now puke, don't much care for that, and wasn't long after receiving my pilot's license I had the opportunity to realize what would happen if I were pilot in command and a passenger got sick. Would it be a chain reaction? Would I manage to fly the airplane?

I just looked out the side window while it was all going on thankfully out the passenger's side window.

[Geneman]

HAH..... do a 6 month rotation as an intern/resident at an inner city ER.....try Baltimore .....holy crap. the cars drive by all night, open the door and kick out a gunshot or stabbing victim... or they walk in holding their carotid..., if he is lucky enough.... a week or so of this .....it does not even register anymore ....blood becomes like jelly on toast.... just a bit more sticky

[tops911]

No problems with blood here (5 combat deployments). I did clean up a mess from a suicide, lots of blood. I also fall under the "Mad Cow" rules and can't donate blood.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

I turn my head and look the other way when it comes to needles and blood work at the hospital. Don't want to see anyone else bleeding. Doesn't bother me much when I injure myself and see my own blood that way.

Now puke, don't much care for that, and wasn't long after receiving my pilot's license I had the opportunity to realize what would happen if I were pilot in command and a passenger got sick. Would it be a chain reaction? Would I manage to fly the airplane?

I just looked out the side window while it was all going on thankfully out the passenger's side window.

Way back in the stone ages when I was 18, I donated blood at the local red cross, it was all normal until the nurse pulled the needle out. I yelped as that hurt! She called me a big baby, and I said look at that needle. It had a big hunk of me hanging off of it, and it had a barb on the tip from defective manufacture. I was bleeding like a stick pig, and they wrapped my arm tight and I had to hold my arm up over my head for a long time. The good news was I was young and healed up quickly. After that I always want to see the needle and watch them shove it in my arm. I have "easy veins" and they never had issues. I do have scar tissue in the crook of both elbows from many donations.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I’ve probably given 5 gallons of blood over the years.

I have given at least that much, 50 units just from the time I lived in Texas.


I will never donate blood again in California.

[David]

I started donating blood at 18. Partly for the good karma because that's also when I started riding motorcycles on the street and partly so I could watch the needle go into my arm to help me get over my issue with seeing my own blood. I never got too banged up in a motorcycle wreck and I got used to seeing my own blood so I guess it worked.

I also figured in some medieval way it was good to have an occasional blood letting.

I haven't given in quite a while since they stopped doing it at work but I've lost count of how many gallons I've given.

[drcoastline]

In general, just looking at a minor cut, giving blood or something similar I'm fine. If an emergency and I am involved I am fine, adrenaline I supposed, If I'm a by-stander or after the emergency is over, I get sick to my stomach and lightheaded.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by David

I started donating blood at 18. Partly for the good karma because that's also when I started riding motorcycles on the street and partly so I could watch the needle go into my arm to help me get over my issue with seeing my own blood. I never got too banged up in a motorcycle wreck and I got used to seeing my own blood so I guess it worked.

I also figured in some medieval way it was good to have an occasional blood letting.

I haven't given in quite a while since they stopped doing it at work but I've lost count of how many gallons I've given.

First time for me giving blood was back in 77 during a blood drive at our high school. Me, Tom Burke and another guy gave blood, left school, and bought some beers. Our thought was, it wouldn’t take as much beer to catch a buzz!

The next day, one of my teachers asked where I was and I said I was giving blood. He didn’t believe me and asked to see my arm. I missed his class, because I was drinking beer with my friends.

Good times!

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Having gutted many a deer....no. Not one bit. Heights however......

for me, heights are no problem.
Depths scare me though.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

for me, heights are no problem.
Depths scare me though.

Way way back when I was 15, and a very strong confident swimmer and still invulnerable, one of my school friends was really into scuba diving. Living in Hawaii, there are lots of scuba opportunities and he was urging me to join him in a dive. I had zero training, not a minute of classroom time, or even a nice calm pool to learn. One of the Navy Seal scuba instructors, and a man on the team of frogmen that jumped into the ocean to recover the Apollo missions astronauts was there to show me the basics. We went into a choppy ocean a few dozen feet from shore. I was breathing just fine, and then went underwater. At first everything was fine, until a large wave passed overhead, and started to toss me around a bit. My brain said to my lungs and body "you idiot, you are underwater, you can't breath down here!" and my breathing just locked up. I could not force myself to breath through the regulator. I had to pop up the three or 4 feet and rip the thing out of my mouth and breath.

I figured it was no big deal, and tried again and again and on the fourth try, I said I am done. I was fine in the calm water, but a big wave came along and tossed me around, and my breathing just shut down. I don't have any fear of the water, and in the right opportunity, would try scuba again. So not a real phobia, but my lungs know breathing underwater is not possible.

I have little doubt if I had first trained a bit in a pool, or on a calm day I would have been OK. Living in Oklahoma, I don't see the joy of scuba much and I have plenty of other hobbies to keep me busy on land.