A friend of mine referred me to
BioLife, a place she goes to donate plasma, to earn some extra cash (every little bit helps when you have a missionary out!)
So, I go for my first time and they do all this "paperwork" (on the computer) first - including getting my fingerprint digitally, so I can "sign" by putting my finger on this devise.
They also do this medical pre-screening where they weigh you (Oh joy! That's enough to back out right on the spot!) and check your arms. They also take your temperature/blood pressure/pulse and they prick your finger to test your blood for hematocrit & protein levels.
By the time I get called up for my med pre-screen, I'd already been there for about an hour (plus the 15 min. drive time) so
I was ready to get the show on the road! Only to have them test my finger prick and tell me
my hematocrit level was too low - BY ONE POINT! So, I was disqualified from donating that day. What?!? I'm not good enough? I didn't like that feeling. I couldn't leave it like
THAT!
They gave me a pamphlet with ideas on how to raise my hematocrit levels, some of which were eating more tuna and raisins! I DON'T THINK SO! Those are two foods I try to never come in contact with! Thus, my low levels? I opted for the iron supplement route instead and went back the next day and passed! YES!
(Although, they didn't get a good "stick" on the first arm, and they eventually had to take it out and re-try on my other arm - a "Two for One deal" as they call it, ya, real funny!) They told me that first arm they had tried is a little more tricky, and in the future, to ask for an"experienced" person. Ummmm, shouldn't they ALL be experienced?
So, then I went back the next week - I wanted to see if I could do it "incident-free" and not have them find anything wrong with me. Since, it was my 2nd time, I was "flagged" when I signed in, I guess.
So, they had me walk over to the receptionist area,
Then she directed me to the waiting area.
Then when I was "cleared" by a supervisor, they told me to go over to the computer area for my questionnaire. One of the questions was about recent vaccinations received and I had just gotten my flu shot the day before, so I marked it yes....which ended up "flagging" me.
When I walked over to the pre-screen area, they saw the "flag" and had me walk over into a private consultation room to ask me about that question.
She didn't know if the flu shot was OK, or not, so then we walked over to the nurses offices to find out.
They said it was OK, so then we walked back to the consultation room, and that computer wouldn't work.
So, we went to find help, then FINALLY we were cleared to go back to pre-screening.
And they proceeded to take my vitals - and
surprise, surprise, my pulse was too high!
What? Another failure?
She said it was probably from all that walking to and fro in the previous 10 minutes. (It might've ALSO had something to do with the fact that, right before she took it, I started thinking about my "2 for 1" experience from last time!)
This time, instead of rejecting me right on the spot, they told me to sit down for 5 minutes and then they could re-test my pulse.
I felt pretty unsettled about not "passing" again - I don't like that! It's just a little, little thing, but it didn't sit well with me, so I was determined to prove them! I HAD to be found worthy! ;) So, as I sat, I may or may not have engaged in deep yoga-like breathing exercises until they called my name again, and after testing me - my pulse was just fine! YES!
So, then I was bound & determined to have a SMOOTH draw and PASS everything with flying colors, that I went again. Hematocrit - PASS. Pulse - PASS. (We're on a roll!) And then it came time for the stick. It should've been a clue to me when the phlebotomist took extra time feeling my arm and touching up and down my vein. Then she kept rubbing my vein and looking and feeling some more. In fact, it WAS a clue, I was very aware of her hesitancy, BUT I had talked to her before we started saying that an experienced person needs to do my left arm, and she didn't back out, so I took that to mean she was, and I didn't refuse her and demand someone else. Because, after all, wasn't that a lot of the reason I was THERE again? Trying myself, not to be refused? So, I'm not prone to do it to someone else. She finally completed the stick, but the flow wasn't up to par, so she called for assistance, and someone else came and "adjusted" the needle (i.e. pushed it further in - too far, I believe, since as soon as she did it, I FELT a pain! So, they moved it back a bit). That draw took a little bit longer than normal, so NOT a success in my book.

That time WAS going to be my last time.......BUT in the days since I was there,
I have developed bruising on my arm in the area above the stick site - it is in the area I felt pain in when they pushed the needle up TOO FAR.
Surprise, surprise! The bruising on my arm now disqualifies me for another donation until it goes away. So just knowing
that; if I were to go in, not that I was necessarily even planning on it, BUT IF I DID and they saw my bruised arm, I'd be rejected......and that BUGS ME again. It's like I have this little phrase that goes off in my head repeatedly,
"They WILL NOT reject me. They WILL NOT reject me. I CAN do it! I CAN!"
Uh oh, I think this means I might be back! ;)
*This "condition" I have can probably be attributed to my 5th Grade teacher. She made us memorize quotes, and one of them (that I OBVIOUSLY took to heart) was,
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"