Donating Blood

[lph]

Rereading this thread I wanted to add: we're given iron supplements and pretty much ordered to take them until they're gone, which can take me six weeks if I'm a bit lax. I try to avoid supplements otherwise,preferring real food, but I'm so wiped out after a "bloodletting " that it feels like a good idea to take them.

[Grits]

I'm wiped out after giving blood too. It takes forever for me to make a complete donation. I don't know if it is because I have low blood pressure or what. I have to drink tons of water the day before and day of for me to even hope to be able to successfully donate; otherwise, I don't finish in the allotted time, and I have to quit. This discourages me from giving blood, and I don't do it as much as I would like to. I would also like to donate platelets since I have a SIL who has had to have multiple platelet transfusions but haven't tried it yet. Any of you donated platelets?