UPDATED LIST: Here
Twice in the last five years I’ve tried to estimate how many times I’ve donated blood. Last night I finally pulled together all the records I have; mostly donor cards from the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay and the SouthEast Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross, but also a print out from the SEM Red Cross. Here’s what I found to date:
46 successful donations
—————–
19 whole blood
27 aphresis
04 turn aways
01 long botched attempt to get my vain, resulting in failure to donate
One of my write-ups say I did aphresis once before, which would make the total 28 and whole blood 18. Was that in MA, was that the one at MGH?
46 is also only the count for which I have records. There were at least 3 more to my memory, all in college.
My records and recollections:
| Date | Blood Pressure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 04/23/96 | 110/70 | The one that started it all: High School blood drive. |
| 10 or 11/96 | Attempted first college donation, turned away because I was 17. I was so mad! I had already donated once before, and was living away from home, and was in college. Why did I have to have my parent’s permission?! | |
| ??? | I do not have records of most of my college year donations. But I distinctly remember three successes, a turn away, and a botched job. | |
| 04/27/00 | 120/70 | Last college donation |
| 12/07/00 | 100/60 | |
| 04/20/01 | 106/62 | |
| 07/16/01 | 140/70 | |
| 10/05/01 | 129/79 | Donated at Massachusetts General Hospital, not via the Red Cross. One donor card says 09/26/01 and the other 10/05/01. Both have same BP and Pulse, so it’s the same donation, just don’t know which date is correct. Pulse: 71 |
| ??? | Hm… no 2002? The 2001 and 2003 donations are on the same donor card. But I remember being turned away for low iron one time at the little bible church in Burlington at which I used to donate. Could that have been in here? | |
| 01/09/03 | 118/60 | |
| 03/07/03 | 110/74 | |
| 06/24/03 | 98/72 | Last donation in Massachusetts |
| Date | Blood Pressure | Notes |
| 09/22/03 | 112/74 | At the Fisher Building in Detroit. Pulse: 70 |
| 04/02/04 | At Livonia donor center. I don’t have this on a donor card, but it’s on the print out I got at the donor center. | |
| 09/20/04 | At the Fisher Building in Detroit. BP not listed on card. | |
| ??? | Somewhere in here I was turned away at the Fisher Building in Detroit for too low iron. | |
| 03/14/05 | 128/78 | At Livonia donor center. |
| 05/31/05 | 118/70 | At Livonia donor center. |
| 11/12/05 | 110/70 | At Livonia donor center. |
| 04/29/06 | 110/78 | At Livonia donor center. |
| 08/21/06 | 140/84 | |
| 02/03/07 | 102/64 | First aphresis donation! Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 03/10/07 | 100/80 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 04/14/07 | 128/90 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 05/19/07 | 124/80 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 06/16/07 | 122/86 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 07/14/07 | 118/84 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 08/11/07 | 120/90 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Bloomfield Hills donor center. |
| — | Women disallowed from donating Plazma. I don’t think I ever wrote up my rant on this. | |
| 09/23/07 | 114/76 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 10/21/07 | 100/66 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 11/17/07 | 116/86 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Riverview donor center. |
| 12/28/07 | 110/80 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 01/20/08 | 116/82 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 02/10/08 | 140/90 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 03/25/08 | 136/82 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 04/12/08 | 124/76 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Bloomfield Hills donor center. |
| 05/03/08 | 108/70 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 06/07/08 | 120/70 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 07/13/08 | 110/80 | Aphresis donation. Read about it here. At Livonia donor center. |
| 08/10/08 | 114/72 | Aphresis donation. At Livonia donor center. |
| 09/21/08 | 100/66 | Aphresis donation. At Livonia donor center. |
| 10/04/08 | 104/70 | Aphresis donation. At Livonia donor center. |
| 11/01/08 | 100/74 | Aphresis donation. At Livonia donor center. |
| 12/06/08 | 102/70 | Aphresis donation. At Livonia donor center. |
| 01/16/09 | 118/84 | Aphresis donation. On my birthday! At Livonia donor center. |
| 02/08/09 | 112/78 | Aphresis donation. At Livonia donor center. |
| 03/??/09 | I asked a simple question, and got turned away for it. “How long before you get pregnant should you stop donating blood?” The nurse I had, S, said that since they have no idea how the stuff (that they put back in you during aphresis when they return your blood) effects pregnancy or even getting pregnant, that she didn’t feel comfortable letting me donate. Even though I wasn’t planning on starting to try for several months if not a year. *sigh* Oh well. In the end, I was thankful to her for that. | |
| 06/13/09 | 116/68 | Whole blood donation. About a month before my surgery. |
| 10/31/09 | 104/76 | Whole blood donation. I have absolutely no memory of this donation. And it’s on Halloween too! But both my donor card and the records at the Red Cross say I did it (I asked at my 01/2012 donation). |
| — | Pregnancy, nursing, then when I tried to donate again I constantly had to cancel due to being sick. I finally gave up scheduling appointments until things got better (daycare, nights’ sleep, etc). | |
| 01/16/12 | 124/98 | Aphresis donation. At Ann Arbor donor center. |
| 02/06/12 | 126/88 | Aphresis donation. At Ann Arbor donor center. |