Sorry you had such a bad time on your ride post donation, glad you are safe and didn't get hurt in the loopy state!

No medical expert, or not even a med tech, but my background is in healthcare, and now I work at a medical lab with blood banking services too. I have given blood myself before, and yes, it can really make you feel just as you described post draw depending on the person, and activitiy. Your health, weight, blood pressure, etc. can all add to it. Other people give, and are just fine. Next doc check up, or blood donation, mention it to the center, and see what they say--maybe you needed a lil more time, or it could have been something else? You can call the center's RN, or your doc now too--waiting and wondering makes me persoanally crazy, I know.

In college when I was super skinny and very low blood pressure, borderline weight of almost being able to not donate, I did, and had your same experience. So I know what you are saying. Also, in my age and changing hormones/periods etc. I think I am borderline anemic certain times of the month and would not think of donating during these times of feeling bad due to having this side effect. They test if you are ok too before hand, so don't let it scare you off--they wouldn't take your blood if it was an undue harm to you or others.

About the comment of who can donate and who can't--it is really strict with the rules. Sad in some ways, because there are lots of people who would probably be fine to give, but if there is any remote chance of a problem--it puts the nix on it. I don't totoally know the details myself, but the blood goes thru a whole process even after being giving to verify it's purity that it is safe. Some patients are scared of getting blood from someone else, they give their own, or get "directed donation" in which you can have someone you know with your same type give blood for you if needed for surgery, etc.

Thanks to you ladies that can/do give blood I will say first hand. You help save lives, including my own a couple times.

Post delivery birth, I had a severe unexpected blood loss, and desperately needed a transfusion. Later on, I developed an autoimmune disease that the only treatment for me to potentially not get any worse and be able to walk nornally, much less ride my bike, required a blood bi-product. The treatment is called IvIg or gamma globulin therapy (blood has diff parts to it, e.g. red cells, white cells, etc. and this is the antibodies), and blood banking trivia, it takes 10,000 blood donors to make enough antibodies for one IV bag of the medicine. Everyday before I would go to the hospital to get my tx, I would have to call and see if they had it or not--because sometimes it would get in shortage and they would have to get it sent from all over the country to get it. Was a pretty scary phone call to make, cuz without it, I never knew if my legs would ever work right to walk normaly again.

Even though I still have some problems that come and go, I mostly recovered, and can do most things fine... like ride my bike. So, on that note, I'm gonna go pedal it out for you ladies on my ride... thanks for saving my life.